[Collection of 16 Spanish documents concerning slavery in Cuba],
| Corporate Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | Spanish |
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| Item Description: | Title devised by cataloger. Documents concerning the administration of slavery by the ministerial department in charge of the direction of the Spanish colonies in Madrid. Mostly corrrespondence between Madrid and officials in Havana, such as the Governor, the Mayor, the Superindent of the Army. In 1789 the Spanish Crown led an effort to reform slavery, as the demand for slave labor in Cuba was growing. The Crown issued a decree, Código Negro Español (Spanish Black Code), that specified food and clothing provisions, put limits on the number of work hours, limited punishments, required religious instruction, and protected marriages, forbidding the sale of young children away from their mothers. But, planters often flouted the laws and protested against them, considering them a threat to their authority and an intrusion into their personal lives. The slaveowners did not protest against all the measures of the code, many of which they argued were already common practices. They objected to efforts to set limits on their ability to apply physical punishment. For instance, the Black Code limited whippings to 25 and required the whippings "not to cause serious bruises or bleeding". The slaveholders thought that the slaves would interpret these limits as weaknesses, ultimately leading to resistance. Another contested issue was the work hours that were restricted "from sunrise to sunset"; plantation owners responded by explaining that cutting and processing of cane needed 20-hour days during the harvest season. Those slaves who worked on sugar plantations and in sugar mills were often subject to the harshest of conditions. The field work was rigorous manual labor which the slaves began at an early age. |
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| Physical Description: | 16 items ; 32 cm or smaller. |