Shade-Grown Slavery : The Lives of Slaves on Coffee Plantations in Cuba

Within the world of Cuban slave-holding plantations, all enslaved people had to negotiate a life defined by forces beyond their control, and indeed beyond the control of their masters. Slaves on coffee farms survived in ways that allowed them to marry, have children, and maintain and redefine cultural practices that they passed on to their children. Slaves were an important factor in creating a nascent Afro-Cuban culture and identity. In this broad, interdisciplinary study, William Van Norman describes how each type of plantation and the amount of manual labor it required directly influenced the nature of slave life in that community. Slaves on coffee plantations lived in a unique context in comparison to that of their fellow slaves on sugar plantations, one that gave them greater flexibility in cultural and artistic creativity. To gain a deeper understanding of plantation slavery in Cuba, Van Norman explores what life and labor was like for coffee slaves and how it was different from what sugar slaves experienced. Shade-Grown Slavery reconstructs their world and in turn deconstructs the picture we now have of Cuba in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Ultimately, Shade-Grown Slavery reveals the lives of enslaved Africans on Cuban coffee plantations and shows how they were able to maintain and transform their cultural traditions in spite of slavery. Explores The Lives Of Enslaved Africans On Cuban Coffee Plantations And Shows How They Were Able To Maintain And Transform Their Cultural Traditions In Spite Of The Harshness Of Slavery--provided By Publisher. The Crop Mattered -- Café Con Azúcar : The Expansion Of The Slave Population And Plantations -- Transformations : Building Frameworks And Structures -- Space Is The Place : Intentions And Subversions Of Design -- Under The Cover Of Night : Religious Practices -- Buyers And Sellers : Work And Economy Of The Slaves -- When Everyday Actions Escalate : Resistance, Rebellions, And Cultural Complexity -- Performing Culture And The Appropriation Of Identifications. William C. Van Norman, Jr. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: The Crop Mattered 16 1 Café con azúcar: The Expansion of the Slave Population and Plantations 20 2 Transformations: Building Frameworks and Structures 47 Part II. Branches 76 3 Space Is the Place: Intentions and Subversion of Design 82 4 Under Cover of Night: Religious Practices 103 5 Buyers and Sellers: Work and Economy of the Slaves 122 6 When Everyday Actions Escalate: Resistance, Rebellions, and Cultural Complexity 134 Conclusion: Performing Culture and the Appropriation of Identifications 150 Appendix A. Demographic Data 158 Appendix B. Cafetales 160 Notes 166 Bibliography 202 Index 212 This book explores the lives of enslaved Africans on Cuban coffee plantations and shows how they were able to maintain and transform their cultural traditions in spite of the harshness of slavery. -- Provided by publisher