On Becoming Spanish: Cuba and the Racial Politics of Loyal Subjectivity

     Explanations of Cuba’s continued loyalty to Spanish rule in the wake of mainland independence movements typically focus on the slaveholding elite, which preferred the stability guaranteed by Spanish rule to the uncertainties of nationhood.  But how did ordinary Cubans—especially those of African descent who faced persistent suspicions of disloyalty—figure into the politics of the “Ever-faithful isle”?  This paper considers the possibilities and limitations of popular politics during critical junctures that reaffirmed colonial rule on the island:  from the promulgation of the Constitution of Cádiz in 1812, which briefly extended limited promises of citizenship, to the conspiracy of the Soles y Rayos de Bolivár in 1823, which unsuccessfully attempted to mobilize an island-wide rebellion for independence.

     Drawing on research in Cuba, Spain, and the United States, this paper examines what I call loyal subjectivity, the position from which colonial Cubans expressed themselves politically.  Many Cubans of African descent drew on naturalized assumptions about the loyalty generated by the unequal, paternalistic relationships idealized between whites and blacks, and members of free-colored militias and well-placed slaves often professed loyalty to the very state that subordinated them.  Yet, colonial officials and the island’s creole elite routinely policed the borders of loyal subjectivity, citing the loyalty of Cubans of color when they found it beneficial and depicting slave and free alike as inherently disloyal in order to warn of social unrest.  Loyal subjectivity enjoyed a long history in the Spanish Empire, but the destabilizing effects of the American independence movements threw it into question.  That slaves and free people of color continued to invoke their loyalty to the king of Spain during periods of constitutional rule and anti-colonial conspiracies reveals an untold story in the history of Cuba.