Bread, or Bullets!: Urban Labor and Spanish Colonialism in Cuba, 1850-1898 (Pitt Latin American Series)

Bread or Bullets! is the first thoroughly documented history of organized labor in nineteenth-century Cuba. Based on research in libraries and archives in Cuba, Spain, the United States, and the Netherlands, it focuses on how urban laborers joined together in collective action during the transition from slave to free labor and in the last decades of Spanish colonial rule in Cuba. Nineteenth-century Cuban colonial society and the slavery system sharply divided Cuba's inhabitants by race and origin. This deeply affected the labor movement that started in the late 1850s, as it became difficult to mobilize workers with common interests across the diverse ranks. Paradoxically, this also drove the workers to build class ties across divisions of origin, race, and degrees of freedom. This formed the basis for developing collective action. In the 1860s, the labor movement, under the leadership of white creoles and Spaniards, called peninsulares, joined the reformist movement of the creole bourgeoisie. The outbreak of the Ten Years' War in 1868 created an extremely repressive atmosphere for labor that forced thousands of Cuban workers to flee to the United States. After the peace treaty of El Zanjon in 1878, the workers who returned and those who had remained used their experience to rebuild th Cuban labor movement at an impressive pace. This common goal led Cuban workers to fight continuously against divisions along racial and ethnic lines and to replace their moderate unionist and strongly pro-Spanish leadership with anarchists.The end of slavery accelerated the evolution of Cuban politics and the expansion of the labor movement. Spain's shift toward reactionary colonial policies in 1890 halted this process and accentuated anticolonial sentiment among the popular classes. This helped the left wing of the separatist movement, led by Jose Marti, to launch the War of Independence in 1895 with strong working-class support. Bread, or Bullets! is the first thoroughly documented history of organized labor in nineteenth-century Cuba. Based on research in libraries and archives in Cuba, Spain, the United States, and the Netherlands, it focuses on how urban laborers joined together in collective action during the transition from slave to free labor and in the last decades of Spanish colonial rule in Cuba.Nineteenth-century Cuban colonial society and the slavery system sharply divided Cuba's inhabitants by race and origin. This deeply affected the labor movement that started in the late 1850s, as it became difficult to mobilize workers with common interests across these diverse ranks. Paradoxically, this also drove the workers to build class ties across divisions of origin, race, and degrees of freedom. This formed the basis for developing collective action, in the 1860s, the labor movement, under the leadership of white creoles and Spaniards, called peninsulares, joined the reformist movement of the creole bourgeoisie. The outbreak of the Ten Years' War in 1868 created an extremely repressive atmosphere for labor that forced thousands of Cuban workers to flee to the United States. After the peace treaty of El Zanjon in 1878. the workers who returned and those who had remained used their experience to rebuild the Cuban labor movement at an impressive pace.This common goal led Cuban workers to fight continuously against divisions along racial and ethnic lines and to replace their moderate unionist and strongly pro-Spanish leadership with anarchists. The end of slavery accelerated the evolution of Cuban politics and the expansion of the labor movement. Spain's shift toward reactionary colonial policies in1890 halted this process and accentuated anticolonial sentiment among the popular classes. This helped the left wing of the separatist movement, led by Josh Marti, to launch the War of Independence in 1895 with strong working-class support.Bread, or Bullets! is an important work for anyone interested in understanding Cuban society, Spanish colonialism, and labor relations in Latin America. Bread or Bullets! is the first thoroughly documented history of organized labor in nineteenth-century Cuba. Based on research in libraries and archives in Cuba, Spain, the United States, and the Netherlands, it focuses on how urban laborers joined together in collective action during the transition from slave to free labor and in the last decades of Spanish colonial rule in Cuba. Nineteenth-century Cuban colonial society and the slavery system sharply divided Cuba's inhabitants by race and origin. This deeply affected the labor movement that started in the late 1850s, as it became difficult to mobilize workers with common interests across the diverse ranks. Paradoxically, this also drove the workers to build class ties across divisions of origin, race, and degrees of freedom. This formed the basis for developing collective action. In the 1860s, the labor movement, under the leadership of white creoles and Spaniards, called peninsulares, joined the reformist movement of the creole bourgeoisie. The outbreak of the Ten Years'War in 1868 created an extremely repressive atmosphere for labor that forced thousands of Cuban workers to flee to the United States. After the peace treaty of El Zanjon in 1878, the workers who returned and those who had remained used their experience to rebuild th Cuban labor movement at an impressive pace. This common goal led Cuban workers to fight continuously against divisions along racial and ethnic lines and to replace their moderate unionist and strongly pro-Spanish leadership with anarchists. The end of slavery accelerated the evolution of Cuban politics and the expansion of the labor movement. Spain's shift toward reactionary colonial policies in 1890 halted this process and accentuated anticolonial sentiment among the popular classes. This helped the left wing of the separatist movement, led by Jose Marti, to launch the War of Independence in 1895 with strong working-class support. Bread of Bullets! is an important work for anyone interested in understanding Cuban society, Spanish colonialism, and labor relations in Latin America. Front matter TOC List of Maps, Figures & Tables (2p) Acknowledgments (p ix-xiii) Introduction (p1-) Figure 1. Evolution political forces (p4) 1. Urban Space & Labor (p15-) 2. The Heyday of Colonialism and the First Artisans' Associations (p43-) 3. The Labor Moveent of the 1860s (p71-96) Illustrations: La Serenata (p74) Portrait J.J. Márquez (p81) Illustrations: Don Junípero (4p) Illustrations: Don Junípero (1p) 4. The Ten Years' War (p97-) 5. The Rebuilding of the Cuban Labor Movement (p127-) 6. From Reformism to Anarchism (p146-) 7. Postemancipation Party Politics (p178-) 8. The Turning Point (p203-21) 9. Conclusion & Epilogue (p222-) Abbreviations Used in Notes (p236) Notes (p237-76) Glossary (p277-79) References (p281-312) Index (p313-19; 30p) Bread, or Bullets! is the first thoroughly documented history of organized labor in 19th-century Cuba. It focuses on how urban laborers joined together in collective action during the transition from slave to free labor and in the last decades of Spanish colonial rule in Cuba. [This] argument that urban labor was not absent in the process of colonial uncoupling between Cuba and Spain is new, tight and very well documented. The research is impressive, the data is original, and the material . . . will make this book a touchstone."--Jeremy Adelman, Princeton University Maps, Figures, And Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Urban Space And Labor -- The Heyday Of Colonialism And The First Artisans' Associations -- The Labor Movement Of The 1860s And Spain's Search For A New Colonial Policy -- The Ten Years' War -- The Rebuilding Of The Cuban Labor Movement -- From Reformism To Anarchism -- Postemancipation Party Politics -- The Turning Point Of The Labor Movement -- Conclusion And Epilogue -- Notes -- Glossary -- References -- Index. Joan Casanovas. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The first thoroughly documented history of organized labor in nineteenth-century Cuba, this work focuses on how urban laborers joined together in collective action during the transition from slave to free labor and in the last decades of Spanish colonial rule in Cuba.