This document summarizes an article analyzing Jose Marti's work "Mi Raza" and his views on race and anti-racism in Cuba. It discusses how Marti rejected ideas of racial superiority and advocated for racial equality and unity among Cubans of all backgrounds. The summary highlights that Marti saw racial mixing and transculturation as ways to eliminate racial conflict in Cuba by increasing understanding between groups. It also notes that while Marti believed the new Cuban republic would not tolerate racial discrimination, in reality discrimination continued after independence.

1. Contributions in Black Studies
A Journal of African and Afro-American Studies
Volume 12 Ethnicity, Gender, Culture, & Cuba
(Special Section)
Article 6
1994
"Race" and Anti-Racism in Jose Marti's "Mi Raza"
Dionisio Poey Baro
Centro de Estudios Martianos, Havana
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Marti's "Mi Raza"," Contributions in Black Studies: Vol. 12 ,
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Dionisio Poey Baro
,
"RACE" AND ANTI-RACISM IN JOSE
MARTI'S "MI RAZA"*
O N APRIL 16,1893, Jose Marti's "Mi raza," appeared in the
newspaper Patria;this issue also listed the results of the April
10th elections in which Marti wasunanimously re-elected as a
national delegate. This work, like Marti's other
literature, is infused with an anti-racism shaped by his life
experiences: listening as a
young child to talk about the creation of man in God's image;
seeing at the age of nine
the hanging of a slave; knowing first-hand the vicissitudes of
clandestine human cargo

3. taken through inhospitable places, hidden from public view in
the sugar plantations;
working alongside and being lashed with slaves in the quarries.
Marti texts, such as "Mi Raza," dealing with race in Cuba are
numerous. Most
appeared during the preparatory stages of the 19th century war
of independence from
Spain. In almost all of his political writings and speeches there
are passages intended to
demonstrate that in the future republic there would be no place
for racial discrimination
and that there would be a prevailing spirit of unity, based in the
purest and most essential
democratic tendencies from the liberation war. He never ceases
to repeat that the anti-
segregationist measures approved by the Spanish government
expressed their fear of the
revolution, and their attempts to destabilize it by undermining
its social base.
"Mi raza" synthesizes many of the subjects which Marti had
discussed in his
previous works. The ideas are presented with such depth and
intensity that the piece can
be considered his most developed work on interracial relations.
"Mi Raza" entails a
series of original proposals for a solution to racism, as well as
an analysis of society in
that era. Jose Marti proclaims a spiritual identity shared by all
people, repudiating
arguments for racial superiority. For Marti, emphasizing the
values of race is only
justifiable in order to demonstrate, contrary to affirmations
made in his time, that there
is absolutely no evidence of the incapacity of a Black person to

4. develop fully.
Believing that transculturation would eliminate racial conflict in
Cuba, he
writes "El negro que se aisla provoca aislarse al blanco" ["The
black person that isolates
him or herself provokes the white person to do likewise"] and
vice-versa. According to
Marti, mestizo identity is the most effective means of perfecting
the compactness of
Cuban ethnicity. "Deben mezclarse~asrazas" ["Races should be
mixed"], wrote Marti
as a final solution to the problem in his personal notes entitled
"Para las escenas" ["For
the scenes"].1 This, for him, meant more than a call to action -
since he also said "cada
cual sera libre en 10 sagrado de la casa"2 ["everyone will be
free in the sacredness of the
"Editor's note: translation by Isabel Valiela.
CONTRIBUTIONS IN BLACK STUDIES, 12 (1994),55-61
1
Poey Baro: "Race" and Anti-Racism in Jose Marti's "Mi Raza"
Published by [email protected] Amherst, 1994
56 Dionisio Poey Bar6
home"]. Rather, it was the sincere recognition of a truth which
he always saw developing
in Cuba, one which had to increase as prejudices subsided.
Above all, he was convinced
that "mestizaje" was more than a voluntary option; it was a

5. natural and undetainable
process which would mark the future of the country. He
describes the rich fruit from that
amalgam: "la masa pujante, -la masa mestiza, habil y
conmovedora del pais -la masa
inteligente y creadora de blancos y negros"3 ["the strong race,
the mestizo masses,
talented and movers of the nation, the intelligent and creative
masses of Whites and
Blacks"] in his posthumous letter to Manuel Mercado.
The mix of cultures, habits, food, gestures, and religions
provides a new
dimension as the life experiences of different peoples are
united. The child of that
diversity is a universal being. ("EI cubano caminacomo yoruba"
["The Cuban walks like
a Yoruba"], noticed an astonished Wole Soyinka in one of his
trips to Cuba). In the
paragraphs of "Mi Raza" one perceives a subtle current of
indignation at the web of
conventionalisms, traditions, economic interests, and
psychological factors which
constitute as well as maintain racial prejudices.
After independence, Cuban Blacks and Mulattos were
theoretically offered the
recognition of equality acquired in the war of independence and
mandated in the first
Mambisa constitution. Marti could not imagine that a
meticulously planned social
project such as his could be diverted from its course. Perceiving
neither official
discriminations in the republic nor the need for the formation of
parties based on skin
color, Marti optimistically writes:

6. la semejanza de los caracteres, superior como factor de uni6n a
las
relaciones intemas de un color de hombres graduado, y en sus
grados a veces opuesto, decide 0 impera en la formaci6n de los
partidos. La afinidad de los caracteres es mas poderosa entre los
hombres que la afinidad del color. ... Los hombres de pompa e
interes se iran de un lado blancos 0 negros; y los hombres
generosos
y deinteresados, se iran de otro. 4
[the similarity of character, superior as a unifying factor in the
internal relations of men of varying, and sometimes opposite
color,
decides or dominates the formation of parties. The affinity of
character is more powerful among men than the affinity of
color..
. . Men of pomp and self-interest will go one way whether they
are
White or Black; and generous and unselfish men will go the
other
way.]
Marti's optimism serves as a recurrent echo:
En Cuba no habra nunca guerra de razas. La Republica no se
puede
volver atras; y la Republica, desde el dia unico de redenci6n del
negro en Cuba, desde la primera constituci6n de la
independencia
ell 0 de abril en Guaimaro, no habl6 nunca de blancos ni de
negros.
Los derechos publicos concedidos ya de pura astucia por el
gobiemo
espafiol e iniciados en las costumbres antes de la independencia
de

7. 2
Contributions in Black Studies, Vol. 12 [1994], Art. 6
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"Race" and Anti-Racism in Jose MartI 57
la Isla, no podnm ser negados, ni por el espafiol que los
mantendni
mientras aliente en Cuba, para seguir dividiendo al cubano
negro
del cubano blanco, ni por la independencia, que no podni negar
en
la libertad los derechos que el espafiol reconoci6 en la
servidumbre.5
[In Cuba there will never be a race war. The Republic cannot go
backwards; and the Republic, since the only day of redemption
of
Blacks in Cuba, since the first constitution of independence on
April I0 in Guaimaro, never spoke of Whites or Blacks. The
public
rights conceded out of pure cunning by the Spanish government
and initiated in customs that existed prior to the independence
of the
Island, cannot be denied, neither by the Spaniard that that will
maintain them while encouraged in Cuba, in order to continue
dividing the Black Cuban from the White Cuban, nor by
indepen-
dence, which cannot deny in liberty the rights that the Spaniard
recognized in servitude.]
The economic and social transformations that would occur in

8. the Cuba
projected by Marti would theoretically improve living
conditions for the popular masses
and the most discriminated groups, which would be an
important step in the elimination
of racism. Mass access to education and culture, exercised with
a democratic and just
spirit, would contribute to human elevation and help eliminate
the prejudices impeding
full social development.
However, the leadership of the principal parties after
independence expressed
no real interest in resolving the conflicts inherited from slavery.
Blacks and Mestizos
were only taken into account as unavoidable public figures for
the purpose of giving
prestige to a party and attracting clientele [such were the cases
ofJuan Gualberto G6mez,
Martin Morua Delgado], and above all to feed electoral
appetites with their frustrated
votes. In the state apparatus there was no principal posi tion for
discriminated people of
color. Symbolic of those times, then president Tomas Estrada
Palma ridiculed the
Mambi general Quintin Banderas.6 As a response to the racism
of the ruling elite, the
"Partido Independiente de Color" (PIC) ["Party of the
Independentists of Color"] was
formed. Attacked from the beginning by other parties, the
parliament, the tribunals, and
the press, the PIC was compelled to carry out an armed protest
in 1912. Although some
perceive this as potentially inciting a racial war, paradoxically,
the PIC was the only
party at the time that called for a solution to racial conflicts and

9. for equal rights. The
repression of this party and the Black and Meztizo populations
confirmed that the
structures of the Republic would never tolerate demands for
equal justice.
In pursuit of that equality, Marti rejected the positions sustained
by supporters
of national unity who opposed racial discrimination, yet were
motivated by a certain
paternalism towards Blacks. Believing Black Cubans to be
inferior and insisting on the
idea that "habia que elevar al negro" ["Blacks had to be
elevated"], some progressive
Cubans participated in charity and education projects to
improve the living conditions
of that social sector. Critical of these assumptions Jose Marti
writes:
3
Poey Baro: "Race" and Anti-Racism in Jose Marti's "Mi Raza"
Published by [email protected] Amherst, 1994
58 Dionisio Poey Bar6
El hombre de color en Cuba es ya ente de plena raz6n que lee en
su
libro y se conoce la medida de la cintura; sin que necesite que
del
cielo blanco Ie caigael mamiculto ... sino, que los cubanos
blancos,
... den, en la verdad de las costumbres, ... el ejemplo de la
igualdad

10. que ense: a la naturaleza, confirma la vida virtuosa e inteligente
del
cubano de color y s610 esta hoy de disfraz en las falsas leyes....
En
Cuba no hay que elevar al negro: que a prorrata, valgan
verdades,
tanto blanco necesita elevaci6n como negros, pudiesen
necesitarla.
En Cuba, por humanidad y previsi6n, hay que ser justo.7
[The person ofcolor in Cuba is already a fully rational human
being
that reads his book and knows his waist measure; with no need
for
the cultured manna to falls from the White sky rather, let the
White Cubans, ... give, in the truth of customs, the example of
equality that nature teaches, confirms the virtuous and
intelligent
life of the Cuban of color and which is disguised today in false
laws.... In Cuba the Black person does not have to be elevated;
proportionately, to tell the truth, as many Whites need elevation
as
Blacks could need it. In Cuba, out of humanity and foresight,
one
must be just.]
Understanding that paternalism was rooted in racism, he further
noted: "y aun hay quien
crea de buena fe al negro incapaz de la inteligencia y corazon
del blanco"g ["and there
are still those who in good faith still believe that Blacks are
incapable of the intelligence
and heart of Whites"]. Rather than focus on the alleged lack of
culture of the dark skin
sector, Marti viewed it as necessary to reeducate everyone to
participate fully in a free

11. and decolonized country, whether they were born in a wealthy
house or in a slave
barracks. If the deficiencies of the slave fall entirely upon the
master, those who preach
the "elevation of the Black" also need reeducation.
Marti wrote "Mi raza" to demystify not only the ideas of
superior and inferior
"races," but the very concept of "race." For instance his
noteworthy phrases on race
include the statement that: "El hombre no tiene ningun derecho
especial porque
pertenezca a una raza u otra: digase hombre, y ya se dicen todos
los derechos."9 ["Man
has no special right based on his belonging to one race or
another: say man, and you
already say all rights."] He as well asserted: "Hombre es mas
que blanco, mas que
mulato, mas que negro."10 ["Man is more than White, more than
Mulatto, more than
Black."] Finally, Marti warned: ''Todo 10 que divide a los
hombres, todo 10 que los
especifica, aparta 0 acorrala, es un pecado contra la
humanidad.,,1J ["Everything that
divides men, everything that specifies, sets them apart, or
comers them, is a sin against
humanity."]
These universal anti-racist principles expressed 100 years ago
are reflected in
international law treaties such as the United Nations
Declaration on the Elimination of
All Forms ofRacial Discrimination [1963] which maintains that
"All doctrine of racial
differentiation or superiority is scientifically false, morally
condemned, socially unjust,

12. and dangerous, and nothing justifies it either in theory or
practice. "12 The legacy of Jose
4
Contributions in Black Studies, Vol. 12 [1994], Art. 6
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"Race" and Anti-Racism in Jose MartI 59
Marti as an anti-racist writer is evident in the immense cultural
production of Cuban
scholar Fernando Ortiz who writes:
En cada poblaci6n humana hay una amplia diversidad genetica.
No
existe en la especie humana una raza pura, por 10 menos en el
sentido de poblaci6n geneticamente homogenea. 13
[In every human population there is a broad genetic diversi ty. In
the
human species a pure race does not exist, at least in the sense of
a
population that is genetically homogeneous.]
In El engafio de las razas [The Race DeceptionJ, Ortiz provides
scientific tools
for those interested in combating racial prejudice, continuing
the labor of illumination
begun by Marti. With regard to the often manipulated idea of
racial differences, the
author, with his own arguments and aided by modern findings in
the social sciences,
denies the very existence of race and goes forward with his

13. definition of "mestizaje":
Todo individuo humano, por la forzosa disparidad y conjunci6n
de
sus genes progenitores, es en rigor un mestizo. Y cuantos mas
cruzamientos se hayan dado por las vias ancestrales de donde un
individuo desciende, mas varios podrlin ser los genes que este
haya
tenido a su disposici6n en el acervo de sus antepasados para
formar
su personalidad. ASI los cruces del mestizaje aumentan a
medida
que se suceden las generaciones y, por tanto, son mas varios los
que
en esta intervienen. EI homo sapiens ... es la mas mestiza de
todas
las criaturas. 14
[Every human individual, because of the strong disparity and
the
union of ancestral genes, is strictly speaking a mestizo. And the
more ancestral crossings there have been, the more varied could
be
the genes that form his personality. Thus, the crossings of
mestizaje
increase with succeeding generations, and the genes that
intervene
become increasingly varied. The homo sapiens is the most
mestizo
of all creatures.]
Ortiz analyzes homogenetic and polygenetic theories pertaining
to human origins. IS At
the center of the anti-racist thinking of Marti exists the homo-
or monogeneity of"races."
There is, according to Marti, no natural barrier that sets people

14. against each other.
Extreme racial barriers are socially constructed by deformed
forces. Each person is part
of nature which extends over everything in an infinite process
of perfection. Therefore
all action to liberate and develop the human being is also an
action to re-establish
harmony and balance in nature. People are not seen by Marti as
autonomous individuals,
but rather as individuals related to others through social ties:
5
Poey Baro: "Race" and Anti-Racism in Jose Marti's "Mi Raza"
Published by [email protected] Amherst, 1994
60 Dionisio Poey Bar6
Observando a los hombres se ve que no es cada uno una entidad
definitivamente aislada y con un cankterexclusivo, que venga a
ser
una combinaci6n natural original de los elementos humanos
comunes; sino un tipo de una de las varias especies en que los
hombres se dividen, segun exista en ellos dominantes el amor de
sf,
o no exista, 0 coexista con el amor a los demas, si segun, de los
accidentes usuales que influyen en los hombres, les haya tocado
vivir entre algunos determinados que en personas de cierta
manera
constituidas han de producir una conocida impresi6n cierta.
[BYobserving men one can see that each one is not an isolated
entity
with an exclusive character, a natural and original combination

15. of
common human elements; rather, he is one type of the various
species in which men divide themselves, depending on how
domi-
nant is their self-love, if it does not exist, or if it co-exists with
love
for others, if accordingly, of the usual accidents that influence
men,
they happen to live in determining factors that in people who
are
constituted in a particular manner will produce a well known
true
impression.]
Marti considered the human individual to be a unity of matter
and spirit, and
at the same time a collective of closely related individuals, with
all of one nature. Such
a being has no other path but that of union; such a being
transcends all racial division,
Marti surmised:
Siendo una en todos los hombres la naturaleza humana, y uno
siempre en torno de ellos el resto de la naturaleza en que el
hombre
influye, y que influye en el, unos han de ser los actos humanos
cada
vez que el mismo grupo de datos, el mismo estado nacional, la
rnisma penuria econ6mica, la misma irregularidad poiftica, la
rnisma concurrencia en el espfritu de elementos semejantes se
presenten. 16
[Given the fact that there is one human nature in all men, and
one
nature which surrounds them and in which they exert influence,
and

16. which, in turn, influences them, human acts will also be one
each
time that the same group of facts, the same national state, the
same
economic penury, the same political irregularity, the same
concur-
rence in the spirit of similar elements present themselves.]
6
Contributions in Black Studies, Vol. 12 [1994], Art. 6
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"Race" and Anti-Racism in Jose Marti 61
NOTES
1 Jose Marti: "Para las Escenas," in Anuario del Centro de
Estudios Martfanos No.1 (La Habana:
Centro de Estudios Martianos, 1978).
2 Jose Marti, Obras Completas, Havana, Editorial de Ciencias
Sociales, 1975, vol.2, 300. (The
following references all refer to this edition and only the
volume and page number will be
indicated.)
3 Ibid., vol. 2: 168.
4 Ibid., vol.2: 299.
5 Marti, Obras Completas, vol.2: 300.
6 When the famous and impoverished general, a prominent
figure in the wars of independence
asked the President of the Republic for employment, the latter

17. offered him a position as a
mailman and 5 pesos as financial assistance.
7 Ibid., vol. 2: 108-109.
8 Ibid., vol. 2: 298.
9 Ibid., vol. 2: 298.
10 Ibid., vol. 2: 299.
11 Ibid., vol. 2: 298.
12 United Nations: Declaration on the Elimination ofAll Forms
ofRacial Discrimination, cited
in Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,
Information Bulletin, No. 12.
(Geneva: Human Rights Center, 1991). (Approved by the
General Assembly of the United
Nations in 1963).
13 Fernando Ortiz, El engafio de las razas (La Habana: Editorial
de Ciencias Sociales, 1975), 10.
14 Ibid., 319, 324.
15 Some monogenists tend to conclude that a pure racial type is
not possible. Some polygenists
see as achievable a pure race in which all the diverse "races"
unite to create a new type of race,
some polygenists wait patiently for the coming of that future
race, perhaps revealing that the
constant mixing does not produce a new homogenous type but
rather a mixed being infinitely
adding more varied elements than those of their progenitors.
Still others utilize polygenism
rationalize conquest and colonial expansion, considering
themselves different from their
origins and superior to the ones they dominated.
16 Marti, Obras Completas, vol. 15:395-396.

18. 7
Poey Baro: "Race" and Anti-Racism in Jose Marti's "Mi Raza"
Published by [email protected] Amherst, 1994
Contributions in Black StudiesA Journal of African and Afro-
American Studies1994"Race" and Anti-Racism in Jose Marti's
"Mi Raza"Dionisio Poey BaroRecommended
Citationtmp.1222876266.pdf.J9ZO6
The “Monroe Doctrine” (December 1823)
...[T]he American continents, by the free and independent
condition which they have assumed and
maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for
future colonization by any European power.
. . . In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to
themselves we have never taken any part,
nor does it comport with our policy so to do. … It is only when
our rights are invaded or seriously
menaced that we … make preparation for our defense. With the
movements in this hemisphere we are of
necessity more immediately connected…
… With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European
power [in the Western hemisphere] we
have not interfered and shall not interfere, but with the
Governments who have declared their
independence and … whose independence we have…
acknowledged, we could not view any interposition
for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other
manner their destiny, by any European

19. power in any other light than as the manifestation of an
unfriendly disposition toward the United States.
The Platt Amendment, 19011
This document was passed by the US Congress while US troops
were in Cuba after the end of the War of
1898. It listed conditions that the US demanded be met before it
would withdraw its troops.
I. That the government of Cuba shall never enter into any tr eaty
or other compact with any foreign power
or powers which will impair or tend to impair the independence
of Cuba, nor in any manner authorize or
permit any foreign … powers to obtain by colonization or for
military or naval purposes or otherwise…
control over any portion of said island.
II. That said government shall not assume or contract any
[excessive] public debt…
III. That the government of Cuba consents that the United States
may exercise the right to intervene for
the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a
government adequate for the protection of
life, property, and individual liberty, and for discharging the
obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by
the treaty of Paris.…
V. That the government of Cuba will execute, and as far as
necessary extend, the plans already devised or
other plans to be mutually agreed upon, for the sanitation of the
cities of the island, to the end that a
recurrence of epidemic and infectious diseases may be
prevented, thereby assuring protection to the
people and commerce of Cuba, as well as to the commerce of

20. the southern ports of the United States and
the people residing therein.
VI. That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed
constitutional boundaries of Cuba, the title
thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty.
VII. That to enable the United States to maintain the
independence of Cuba, and to protect the people
thereof, as well as for its own defense, the government of Cuba
will sell or lease to the United States
lands necessary for coaling or naval stations…
VIII. That by way of further assurance the government of Cuba
will embody the foregoing provisions in a
permanent treaty with the United States.
1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platt_Amendment#:~:text=On%2
0March%202%2C%201901%2C%20the,treaty
%20accepting%20these%20seven%20conditions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isla_de_la_Juventud
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1898)
“Roosevelt Corollary (to the Monroe Doctrine)”
From speech made by President Theodore Roosevelt to
Congress,
December 6, 1904 (Excerpt)
… It is not true that the United States feels any land hunger or
entertains any projects [i.e. expansionist
projects] as regards the other nations of the Western
Hemisphere save such as are for their welfare. All
that this country desires is to see the neighboring countries

21. stable, orderly, and prosperous. Any country
whose people conduct themselves well can count upon our
hearty friendship. If a nation shows that it
knows how to act with reasonable efficiency and decency in
social and political matters, if it keeps order
and pays its obligations, it need fear no interference from the
United States. Chronic wrongdoing, or an
impotence which results in a general loosening of the ties of
civilized society, may in America, as
elsewhere, ultimately require intervention by some civilized
nation, and in the Western Hemisphere the
adherence of the United States to the Monroe Doctrine may
force the United States, however reluctantly,
in flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence, to the
exercise of an international police power.
If every country washed by the Caribbean Sea would show the
progress in stable and just civilization
which with the aid of the Platt Amendment Cuba has shown
since our troops left the island, and which so
many of the republics in both Americas are constantly and
brilliantly showing, all question of interference
by this Nation with their affairs would be at an end.
Our interests and those of our southern neighbors are in reality
identical. They have great natural riches,
and if within their borders the reign of law and justice obtains,
prosperity is sure to come to them. While
they thus obey the primary laws of civilized society they may
rest assured that they will be treated by us
in a spirit of cordial and helpful sympathy. We would interfere
with them only in the last resort, and then
only if it became evident that their inability or unwillingness to
do justice at home and abroad had
violated the rights of the United States or had invited foreign
aggression to the detriment of the entire

22. body of American nations. It is a mere truism to say that every
nation, whether in America or anywhere
else, which desires to maintain its freedom, its independence,
must ultimately realize that the right of such
independence cannot be separated from the responsibility of
making good use of it. …
1905 political cartoon.
The caption reads “To think that bad boy came near being your
brother.”
An 1898 political cartoon. The caption reads, “Most
extraordinary.”
An 1898 political cartoon. The caption reads, “Most
extraordinary.”
1901 Political Cartoon. The caption reads, “Miss Cuba receives
an invitation.”

23. 1902 political cartoon.
The caption reads, “I’ll give you one teaspoonful; more might
make you sick.”
HIS 134: Modern Latin
America
The War of 1898 and the Rise of the US
XM 4.1
Why did the Caribbean islands
(except Haiti) not go through wars of
independence at the same time as
the rest of the Latin American
mainland (e.g. Mexico, Venezuela)
from 1810-1825?
Independence happened very
differently in the Caribbean
• Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) – a massive war for freedom
from
slavery and then independence from France. The second
independent
nation in the Western Hemisphere, after the US

24. • Dominican Republic – occupied by Haiti for 22 years (1822-
1844) to
prevent reinstatement of European Empire and slavery.
Dominicans
became independent in 1844 from Haiti. Briefly reoccupied by
Spain
1861-1865. Independent from 1865 onward.
• Puerto Rico – part of Spanish empire until 1898. Became a US
territory in 1898 as result of the War of 1898.
• Most English islands remained part of the UK until the 1960s
Dates of independence in Caribbean
basin
Cuban independence occurred much later than
continental Latin America (1898). What difference
do you think that would make for the course or
outcome of the war?
Cuban Wars of Independence from Spain took place in 3
stages. By the time of the final stage, the US was
becoming a much stronger player in the Western
Hemisphere
• 1868-78 - the “10 years war.” Starts with the “Grito de Yara”
(a call to
arms) in eastern Cuba

25. • 1879-80 - the “Little War”
• 1895-98 - final War of Independence
• The last war ended with US intervention in 1898
Role of race & slavery in Cuban
independence movement
• Cuba had many slaves on sugar plantations
• First independence leaders proposed a gradual form of
abolition of
slavery
• But soon declared that any slaves who joined them to fight
would be
freed
• Soon many slaves are fleeing to rebel lines, hoping to fight &
win
freedom
Role of race & slavery
• Over time, the Cuban rebels fighting Spain became more and
more diverse
• In 1868, slavery was still legal in Cuba
• Initial Cuban rebels only demanded Independence from Spain,

26. with some calls for gradual abolition
• But over time, they began to call for immediate abolition as
well.
Role of race & slavery
• Also, the Cuban troops were racially integrated
• Not just the common soldiers
• Officers and generals were also black. They presided over
mixed-race troops (black, white and mulato rebel soldiers)
• Spain depicted it as a struggle for black supremacy to
try to scare white Cubans
• But Spain eventually decreed gradual abolition in 1878
(free womb law)
Spanish cartoon against the Cuban war of
Independence. The caption reads, “How the whites
would look in Cuba if the blacks won.”
Cuba’s Final War of Independence
• Period of 1879-1895 peaceful, but pro-Independence forces
continued to organize
• Race was becoming a more central issue for them

27. • Pro-Independence writers now start to praise the racially-
integrated rebel troops
• Start to describe a future Independent Cuban nation as a
racial brotherhood
• Call for racial unity among patriots
Independence Leaders & Race
Jose Marti was important leader
who argued for a racially-
inclusive future nation:
“There can be no racism in Cuba
because there are no races.”
“Cuban is more than black, more
than mulato, more than white.”
US Enters the Cuban War for
Independence against Spain
• US government uses accidental explosion of the
boat Maine as justification to enter the war against
Spain. Claim it is Spanish sabotage.
• Slogan: “Remember the Maine! To Hell with
Spain!”

28. • “Yellow” journalism (tabloid newspapers)
demand war with Spain, stir up public pro-war
sentiment
Explosion of the USS Maine, 1898
US Enters the Cuban War for
Independence against Spain
1898: “Spanish-American War” begins
• US easily defeats Spain
• US occupies Cuba militarily from 1898-1902, and
exercises huge influence on Cuba through the 1930s
• US also takes over other Spanish colonies:
Philippines (which got Independence in 1950) and
Puerto Rico (a US territory to the present)
• In retrospect, we can see it as the beginning of a
new era of US imperialism in the Caribbean
region (1900-1930)
Should we
consider the US to
be “an empire” in
this period? Why
or why not?

29. How do you think
Latin Americans
interpreted the
US increasing
involvement in
the region in the
second half of the
19th century?
Many people in Latin America and the Caribbean saw
the US as an imperialist aggressor and feared its
expansion
Primary documents on US foreign
policy
Monroe Document (1823)
• How do you interpret this document?
Platt Amendment (1901):
• How do you interpret this document?
Roosevelt Corollary:
• How does this describe the role of the US in the Western
Hemisphere?
• How do you compare it to the Monroe Doctrine (1823)? How
does it

30. relate to the Platt Amendment?
US Newspaper Political
Cartoons about 1898
Take a few minutes to examine the political
cartoons taped on the wall. How would you
characterize these cartoons? What is their
message?
They are also available in the section of Primary
Documents on our Classes page
Review Essay #1 Assignment
Sheet (Classes)
Political
cartoon,
Boston
Globe,
1898
Slide 1Slide 2Slide 3Independence happened very differently in
the CaribbeanDates of independence in Caribbean basinSlide
6Slide 7Role of race & slavery in Cuban independence
movementRole of race & slaveryRole of race & slaverySlide
11Cuba’s Final War of IndependenceIndependence Leaders &
RaceSlide 14US Enters the Cuban War for Independence against
SpainExplosion of the USS Maine, 1898US Enters the Cuban
War for Independence against SpainSlide 18Slide 19Slide
20Primary documents on US foreign policyUS Newspaper
Political Cartoons about 1898Review Essay #1 Assignment

31. Sheet (Classes)Political cartoon, Boston Globe, 1898
1902 political cartoon.
The caption reads, “Yo watch me chile, mebbe yo hab a chance
yosef some day.”
An 1898 political cartoon. The caption reads, “Most
extraordinary.”
INSTRUCTIONS:
The purpose of this essay is to allow you to further engage with
our assigned readings about the Wars of Independence and/or
the War of 1898. Choose and answer ONE of
the prompts below
FORMAT:
The essay should be
3-4 pages long, in Times New Roman 12-point font, double-
spaced, and in Word.
SOURCES:
For this essay you should use the textbook, the primary source,
and any audiovisual
materials assigned in our class.
Do not use any outside sources without consulting me
CITATION:
Your essays must use proper in-text citation that demonstrates

32. where your
information is drawn from. Remember that you need to use
citation
even if you are not using a
direct quote.
For example, if you are paraphrasing a section of the textbook,
you should still
include an in-text citation. When in doubt, provide citation.
You may use any style of citation you are most familiar with –
such as MLA, APA or Chicago
style – as long as you use it consistently throughout the paper.
PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism is defined as “[t]he adoption or reproduction of ideas
or words or
statements of another person as one’s own without
acknowledgment.” This would include, for
example, copying or substantially restating the published,
unpublished, or on-line work of
another person without appropriate attribution. Plagiarism can
include insufficient paraphrasing, even if the source is
attributed. For the purpose of this class, I will use an “eight
word rule,” meaning that if eight consecutive verbatim words
are taken from a text without direct quotes, I will consider that
to be insufficient paraphrasing.
PROMPT: Racial Ideas and The War of 1898
Most Americans learn about the War of 1898 (also known as the
Spanish-American War) from
the US perspective. School curriculums usually focus on the
role of the “yellow” press in
declaring war, the mysterious explosion of the battleship Maine,
and the debates that occurred
in the US congress about whether or not the US should become
an imperialist nation.
This essay assignment asks you to think about the War of 1898

33. from a different angle. How
did ideas about race figure in the war? As we have discussed,
Cuban patriots like José Martí
wanted the new Cuban nation to embrace racial equality. Both
white and Afro-Cuban patriots
fought for the patriot cause. In the United States, the idea of
race also played a role, especially
in how the United States saw itself as uplifting non-white
peoples through its intervention.
For this essay you should draw on our textbook, the film clips,
the essay about Jose Marti, and
political cartoons we viewed in class (also available on Classes)
to give specific examples of
how you see ideas of race influencing the War of 1898.
Sources (please note that this option requires one very short
additional essay):
· Thomas C. Wright, Latin America since Independence: Two
Centuries of Continuity
and Change Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.
· Dionisio Poey Baro, “Race’ and Anti-Racism in José Marti’s
‘Mi Raza,’” Contributions in Black Studies, vol 12, 1994
(available on Classes)
· Documentary film “Empire of Dreams” (link available on
Classes)
· Documentary film “Black in Latin America: Cuba, the Next
Revolution” (link
available on Classes)
1902 political cartoon.
The caption reads, “I’ll give you one teaspoonful; more might
make you sick.”