HIS 334: History of Mexico and Cuba: Cuba : Primary Sources

"This work brings together some of the most perceptive observations of Cuba by 19th-century travellers from America and Europe. This century saw Cuba struggling to emerge as a modern nation; hence, these travel accounts give us a first-hand view of how modernisation directly affected those living in Cuba. A broad spectrum of topics are addressed - the sugar plantations, Cuban rural and urban society, slavery, hospitals, social life and Havana." - Publisher description

"It combines songs, paintings, photographs, poems, short stories, speeches, cartoons, government reports and proclamations, and pieces by historians, journalists, and others. Most of these are by Cubans, and many appear for the first time in English. The writings and speeches of José Martí, Fernando Ortiz, Fidel Castro, Alejo Carpentier, Che Guevera, and Reinaldo Arenas appear alongside the testimonies of slaves, prostitutes, doctors, travelers, and activists. Some selections examine health, education, Catholicism, and santería; others celebrate Cuba's vibrant dance, music, film, and literary cultures. The volume presents a number of pieces about twentieth-century Cuba, including the events leading up to and following Castro's January 1959 announcement of revolution. It provides a look at Cuba in relation to the rest of the world: the effect of its revolution on Latin America and the Caribbean, its alliance with the Soviet Union from the 1960s until the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1989, and its tumultuous relationship with the United States. It also describes life in the periodo especial following the cutoff of Soviet aid and the tightening of the U.S. embargo."--Provided by publisher.

"Putting the voices of the enslaved front and center, Gloria Garcia Rodriguez's study presents a compelling overview of African slavery in Cuba and its relationship to the plantation system that was the economic center of the New World. A major essay by Garcia, who has done decades of archival research on Cuban slavery, introduces the work, providing a history of the development, maintenance, and economy of the slave system in Cuba, which was abolished in 1886, later than in any country in the Americas except Brazil. The second part of the book features eighty previously unpublished primary documents selected by Garcia that vividly illustrate the experiences of Cuba's African slaves. This translation offers English-language readers a substantial look into the very rich, and much underutilized, material on slavery in Cuban archives and is especially suitable for teaching about the African diaspora, comparative slavery, and Cuban studies. Highlighting both the repressiveness of slavery and the legal and social spaces opened to slaves to challenge that repression, this collection reveals the rarely documented voices of slaves, as well as the social and cultural milieu in which they lived."--Publisher's description.

"This documentary history is intended for specialist and non-specialist alike. The introductions to the book's sections, together with introductions to each document, provide a general history of the war. The contents cover the pre-war, war, and post-war periods in Cuba, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Spain, the Philippines, and the United States. Included are documents on the main battles and diplomatic history of the war, along with internal situations in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Spain, the Philippines, and the United States. Of particular interest is the section on Black Americans' views and participation in the war, and the section on the views of many participants, military and non-military." - Publisher description

"Although much has been written about Cuba after Castro, relatively little has been written about Cuba before Castro. The political reality of Castro's Revolution has created a historical void about this period, paying insufficient attention to an important century before 1959. Cuba has become a political punching bag, between supporters and critics of Castro and the Revolution, making it difficult to understand real life in Cuba because of the disproportionate preoccupation with, and monopoly of, the political reality on the island. In spite of some attempts, it continues to be easier and perceived as more pressing, to write about politics rather than the reality that Cubans experienced in their daily lives-- their sufferings and celebrations, successes and failures, lives and deaths, and beliefs and disbeliefs. Going for and against the avalanche of information about the political authenticity in and out of Cuba, most Cubans have tended to forget that Cuba is much larger than the perceived reality after Castro's Revolution. Too many have failed to remember the Cubans who have lived and worked in Cuba in the century before an important period of Cuban history where the nation was forged. Indeed, even limited attention reveals a rich and sophisticated society that calls for study. In this book Jorge J.E. Gracia approaches this situation by telling true stories about some members of his family (Doctor Ignacio Gracia, Maruca Otero, the Marques de Arguelles, and many others) who lived during a culturally rich century before Castro. He hopes to entice historians, academics, tourists and others, to pursue a balanced exploration of the island by telling part of their stories. This enterprise is neither history nor fiction, but memories written by a Cuban who left Cuba when he was eighteen years old and has become a distinguished philosopher in the United States." -- publisher's website.

"The Cuban revolution was one of the defining moments of the 20th century, its influence reaching far beyond the shores of the tiny Caribbean island. As Cuba marks the 50th anniversary of the 1959 overthrow of the Batista dictatorship, this book documents the turbulent history of Fidel Castro's revolution, from the euphoria of the early years to near economic collapse in the 1990s and finally the Cuban leader's decision to step down in 2008. The editor offers a critical examination of Cuba's decades-long relationship with the Soviet Union and the epilogue considers the prospects for the revolution without Fidel Castro. Including a comprehensive chronology and index, this is an essential resource for scholars and others. The editor's introduction takes a critical look at Cuba's decades-long relationship with the Soviet Union and an epilogue considers the prospects for the revolution without Fidel Castro. Drawing on a broad range of primary sources, this is an outstanding resource for scholars and all those interested in gaining an understanding of five decades of Cuban and Latin American history."--Publisher description.

"Diary of the Cuban Revolution is one of the most important historical documents of the decade. Culled from the archives of the Revolution by Castro's close collaborator and director of propaganda, Carlos Franqui, these unedited letters, notes, and interviews reveal the day-to-day lives of Castro and his collective from the beginnings of the Revolution in 1953, through the guerrilla war years, to Castro's conquest of Havana six years later.

In this “fascinating and unique document” (K.S. Karol), Franqui offers what will probably stand as the most authoritative account of the Cuban Revolution. Franqui saw that from 1961 on, Castro had begun rewriting the Revolution to suit his own political ends. Castro fostered the myth that it was his little guerrilla band alone that fought and won the Revolution from the Sierra Maestra. One of Franqui's central points, convincingly documented, is that Castro never could have won without the active support and material help of the cities, which for years shipped arms, medicines, and food into the mountains.
—from the back cover of the book

"A leading scholar sheds light on the experiences of ordinary Cubans in the unseating of dictator Fulgencio Batista In this important and timely volume, one of today's foremost experts on Cuban history and politics fills a significant gap in the literature, illuminating how Cuba's sovereign electoral democracy underwent a tumultuous transformation into a military dictatorship. Lillian Guerra draws on her years of research in newly opened archives and on personal interviews to shed light on the men and women of Cuba who participated in mass mobilization and civic activism to establish social movements in their quest for social and racial justice and for more accountable leadership. Driven by a sense of duty toward la patria (the fatherland) and their dedication to heroism and martyrdom, these citizens built a powerful underground revolutionary culture that shaped and witnessed Batista's overthrow in the late 1950s. Beautifully illustrated with archival photographs, this volume is a stunning addition to Latin American history and politics." - Publisher description