Fighting Slavery in the Caribbean: The Life and Times of a British Family in Nineteenth-century HavanaThis volume presents a social history of life in mid-19th-century Cuba as experienced by George Backhouse (and his wife, Grace), who served on the British Havana Mixed Commission for the Suppression of the Slave Trade. Documented with extracts from the Backhouse's correspondence, diaries and other contemporary papers, Martinez-Fernandez paints a detailed picture of the Cuban slave trade, its role in the sugar industry, and the interrelated contradictions within Cuba's economy, society and politics. The Backhouse story provides addition al insights into important aspects of life in the "male" city of Havana, social antagonisms between Britons and North Americans, interactions with European social circles, religious tension, and the reality of tropical disease. Drama is added to the narrative in the author's description of the tragic and mysterious murder of George Backhouse in August 1855, possibly the result of a slave traders' conspiracy. |
Contents
Settling in the Tropics | 27 |
The Mixed Commission and Cubas Emancipados | 41 |
Life in a Male City | 65 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
Alice April arrival in Havana August aunt Back Backhouse Papers Backhouse to Catherine Backhouse to Lord Backhouse to Mary Ballou Belot Bremer Britain British Calzada captain-general of Cuba carriages Catherine Backhouse Catholic Cerro Church city's colonial color Concha consul contemporary Crawford to Lord Cuba's Cuban Sketches Dalrymple Dalrymple's Dana December Diary Due South emancipados England February female Foreign Office Gan-Eden George and Grace George Back George Backhouse George's Gobierno Superior Civil Grace and George Grace Backhouse Grace wrote Habaneras Havana Hazard Hilton Hurlbert Intramuros Isla de Cuba January Johnny José July June La Habana letter Lord Clarendon Lord Palmerston male March March 21 Martínez-Fernández Mary Backhouse Mixed Commission months Murray November October Paquette Paseo pesos Pezuela Philalethes postilions Protestant residence Runge September servants slave trade social Spanish sugar United visitor volantas wet nurse woman women Woodruff Wurdemann Yankee Travels yellow fever
References to this book
Narrative Mutations: Discourses of Heredity and Caribbean Literature Rudyard J. Alcocer No preview available - 2005 |
Narrative Mutations: Discourses of Heredity and Caribbean Literature Rudyard J. Alcocer No preview available - 2005 |