Shade-Grown Slavery: The Lives of Slaves on Coffee Plantations in Cuba PDF
Preview Shade-Grown Slavery: The Lives of Slaves on Coffee Plantations in Cuba
Shade-Grown Slavery The Lives of Slaves on Coffee Plantations in Cuba W C. V n J . illiam an orman r shade-grown slavery Shade-Grown Slavery The Lives of Slaves on Coffee Plantations in Cuba william C. van norman Jr. Vanderbilt University Press Nashville © 2013 by Vanderbilt University Press Nashville, Tennessee 37235 All rights reserved First printing 2013 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file LC control number 2012033921 LC classification number HT1076.V36 2012 Dewey class number 306.3′6209729109033—dc23 ISBN 978-0-8265-1914-6 (cloth) ISBN 978-0-8265-1915-3 (paperback) ISBN 978-0-8265-1916-0 (e-book) For the slaves of Cuba’s coffee plantations and for Esther, Mariel, and Alison Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: The Crop Mattered 1 PArT I Roots: The Expansion of Coffee and the Slave Population 1 Café con azúcar: The Expansion of the Slave Population and Plantations 7 2 Transformations: Building Frameworks and Structures 34 PArT II Branches: The Negotiations of Life on the Cafetal 63 3 Space Is the Place: Intentions and Subversion of Design 69 4 Under Cover of Night: Religious Practices 90 5 Buyers and Sellers: Work and Economy of the Slaves 109 6 When Everyday Actions Escalate: resistance, rebellions, and Cultural Complexity 121 PArT III Harvest Conclusion: Performing Culture and the Appropriation of Identifications 139 Appendix A. Demographic Data 147 Appendix B. Cafetales 149 Notes 155 Bibliography 191 Index 201 aCknowledgments this work began over a decade ago in the provincial archives of M a tanzas, Cuba, when I was a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I worked in numerous archives and libraries in Cuba and in Spain over many years, compiling the data and stories that went into the mak- ing of this study. As is always the case, the first book of any historian is shaped through countless interactions in many venues that all contribute to the final out- come. I want to begin by asking forgiveness for any I have omitted here. Time and memory often conspire against us. Louis A. Pérez Jr. guided my work at UNC and was all I could have hoped for as a mentor. I wish to express my deep gratitude and acknowledge my debt to him. He was always generous with his guidance and helped me find resources on the island that were invaluable to this work. John Chasteen, Kathryn Burns, Lisa Lindsay, and Lars Schoultz offered tremendous insights on preparing this study for publication. Other faculty at the University of North Carolina and Duke University have contributed to my progress and success. I warmly thank Sarah Shields for her encouragement and her example of integrity as a scholar. I val- ued her thoughtfulness and friendship during my years at UNC. Lloyd Kramer guided me from my first days at UNC and continued to be supportive through- out my time in Chapel Hill. John French and Barry Gaspar of Duke University helped me to become more rigorous in my thinking and to see Cuba and slav- ery on the island as part of a larger system situated in the Caribbean and Latin America. Sherry Johnson, of Florida International University, and I became friends while researching in Seville. Our conversations over the years have enriched my development as a scholar and have broadened my knowledge of Cuba. She was generous with advice and in her critiques of my work. I appreciate her support and continued friendship. K. Lynn Stoner was my mentor in the history department at Arizona State University during my undergraduate years. Her guidance drew me into the study ix
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