European Colonisation of Cuba
1492 – c. 1550
Before 1492
Cuba was inhabited by Native Americas
called the Tianos (Arawaks)
Christopher Columbus discovered Cuba in 1492
He claimed the island for the new Kingdom of Spain
During this period many European countries were seeking to colonise
Why colonise?
• Wealth was seen to equal power
• Wealth, and therefore power, was measured by “bullion” – precious metals
sent back to the mother country
The main powers who expanded and colonised were:
South and Central
Americas, Caribbean
Caribbean and
North America
GLORY!
• The more bullion you produced, the more
power you had
• You could also claim that your empire was
bigger, had more people, was worth more, and
so on, if you had colonies
• Colonies provided markets for goods
• They provided dockyards and training areas
• They gave bases for attacking other empires
• In short, colonies = glory!
• As early as 1493, the Pope took an interest in the
‘New World’
• The Pope was Spanish, so favoured Spain
• He divided the ‘New World’ between Portugal and
Spain
• Later, Spain was given the right to all land in the
Americas that was discovered or ‘to be discovered’
• Britain, as a Protestant country, didn’t listen to the
Pope
• But Spain still grew immensely powerful in the
Americas
In 1538 there were only a few towns in Cuba.
Havana had 60 to 70 houses. Santiago was the largest city but only had 80 houses.
Bayamo had 30-40 homes
The Spanish settlers needed Cubans to work on the crops or in the mines.
There were very few black slaves at this point, but as Cubans died, Africans were brought in.
Goods were exchanged from the New World and
the Old World.
This exchange was called the Columbian
exchange
Slaves, Christianity, syphilis, smallpox, tobacco,
coffee, colonisation, education, bullion, sugar
Questions
1. Why did slaves need to be brought into
Cuba?
2. What was the name given to the journey
from Africa to the Americas that slaves
took?
3. Why were the crops produced in Cuba so
profitable?
4. Explain the most important reasons for
European expansion. Mention at least two.
Social and economic impact of
colonisation on Cuba
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Christianity
Plantation system
Small pox, syphilis
Slaves from Africa
Slavery and Racism
• 1557: Only 2,000 native Cubans left alive
(from 3,000,000 in 1492)
• Same year: blacks banned from owning pubs,
inns and taverns, and from selling wine or
tobacco. The punishment was 50 lashes
• 1586: Tobacco sales are regulated. The
punishment for breaking it is 50 lashes if
white, 100 if black, plus 200 lashes in public
in both cases
• 1603: Cuban government is prohibited from
including blacks or “mulattos” – mixed race
people
• 1708: Slaves can buy their freedom
• 1774: 55% of inhabitants are whites, 18%
are free blacks, and 27% are slaves
• 1789: owners must feed and clothe their
slaves and work them for ‘only’ 290 days
per year.
• 1795: A slave rebellion
• 1838: At least 400,000 slaves have
arrived in Cuba by this point
The Causes of Racial Issues
• The racial issues that came to exist in Cuba
were caused by several factors:
• Rigid class / legal system
• Africans being transported forcibly
• Colonial imitation of their motherlands
• European immigration
• Disease
By the 1830s, Cuban society looked like this
in terms of population.
However, people of mixed race were treated
as black. There were only two real
categories – “white” and “non white” – which
affected laws and perceptions.
White
This structure remained for many years,
even after the abolition of slavery
“Mulatto” or mixed race
White
Black
Black
Africans Being Transported
• The slave trade became large-scale from c. 1550 as
the lack of native Americans became acute
• Black Africans were captured, transported, and sold
into slavery
• They tended to die rather quickly
• Children of slaves – or mixed race children – were
considered slaves
• This led to a large slave population who did the
menial jobs
• They were therefore considered inferior
Colonial Imitation
Colonial Imitation
• Colonies copied their home countries in several
respects:
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Language
Architecture
Social Structure
Laws
Ethics
• This meant that those from the mother country
tended to fare better and be treated better than
either slaves or free blacks
European Immigration
• Success of colonies led to immigration
from Europe
• Similarity of colonies to mother country
also helped
• Colonies offered opportunities to poor
Europeans, who were superior in the
colonies due to their skin colour
• This increased immigration and division in
colonies
Diseases
• The main killer was
smallpox,
• There was, in the
eighteenth century, some
work towards a
vaccination as well.
• Neither immunity nor
vaccination were
available to native
Americans.
• Millions died.
• Africans, who had some
immunity to smallpox,
were brought in to make
up the numbers.
• Picture of smallpox victim
about to appear.
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Rigid Class system
Africans brought to the Americas as slaves
Colonies imitate culture of parent country
Europeans immigrate to the Americas
Diseases kill native Americans