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In the early 19th century, Cuba emerged as the world's largest producer of sugar and the United States its most important buyer. Barely documented today, there was a close commercial relationship between Cuba and the Rhode Island coastal town of Bristol. The citizens of Bristol were heavily involved in the slavery trade and owned sugarcane plantations in Cuba and also served as staff workers at these facilities.
Available in print for the first time is a diary that sheds light on this connection. Mr. George Howe, Esquire (1791-1837), documented his tasks at a Bristolian-owned plantation called New Hope, which was owned by well-known Bristol merchant, slave trader, and US senator James DeWolf (1764-1837). Howe expressed mixed personal feelings about local slavery work practices. He felt lucky to be employed and was determined to do his job well, in spite of the harsh conditions operating at New Hope, but he also struggled with his personal feelings regarding slavery. Though an oppressive system, it was at the core of New Hope's financial success and, therefore, Howe's well-being as an employee.
This book examines Howe's diary entries in the thematic context of the local Costumbrista literary production. Costumbrismo both documented local customs and critically analyzed social ills. In his letters to relatives and friends Howe depicted a more personal reaction to the underpinnings of slavery practices, a reaction reflecting early abolitionist sentiments.
List of contents
Acknowledgements
Note about Citations of George Howe's Diary
Introduction: George Howe: A Testimonial Documentation of a Bristolian-Owned Ingenio in the Province of Matanzas
Chapter 1: Bristolian-Owned Ingenios in the province of Matanzas: George Howe's Sugar Cane Plantation Diary
Chapter 2: Memorializing the Province of Matanzas: A Rural View of the Wildness
Chapter 3: A Plantation Diary: Work Sketches of a Bristolian-Owned Cuban Sugar Cane Ingenio
Chapter 4: The Embodiment of Slavery: Documenting the Work Underpinnings of an Enslaved Crew-Operated Cuban Ingenio
Chapter 5: Cuban Ingenios as an Artistic Inspiration: George Howe as a Writer and Painter of Plantation Work Customs
Conclusion: The Narrative of a Bristolian-Owned Cuban Ingenio: Silences and Intentional Omissions
Epilogue: Revolutionary Ideology and Afro-Cuban Icons: Representation of Racial Dynamics in Cuba Today
Bibliography
About the author
By Rafael Ocasio
Summary
A Bristol, Rhode Island and Mantanzas, Cuba Slavery Connection: The Diary of George Howe explores the under-documented slave trade between Cuba and Rhode Island through the analysis of a diary written by George Howe, a Bristolian man performing managerial work on a Cuban sugar cane plantation in 1832–1834.
