Leaving the Ever Faithful Island: Cuban Exiles’ Political and Material Cultures in the Mid-19th Century

• In Event: Cuban Diasporas Across Time: Dialogue and Divergence

Abstract

In Europe and in the Americas, political exiles were a fixture of the nineteenth century. Studies of individuals forced to leave their homelands have reshaped our comprehension of national identities simultaneously in formation. Situating the case of Cubans leaving the island within this scholarly field allows a wider view of the so-called “Cuban exile tradition.” Cuban exiles landed on foreign shores long before 1959, and even before the struggle for independence began in earnest in 1868. An “archeology” of such types reveals a particular Cuba exile political culture of the era, but one that also had links to European Diasporas, Latin American societies, and U.S. politics.

To this end, this paper examines three nineteenth-century Cuban exiles’ distinct political trajectories: a reformist headed to Spain, an annexationist going to the United States, and a pro-independence activist banished to West Africa. I examine both the political culture and the material objects each exile brought with them on their journey. Such a selection of diverse exile “types” helps us to complicate what has been often misunderstood as a unified group.

Author

• Romy Sanchez, Université Caen Normandie