“As Homogenous as Possible”: Immigration, Triscornia, and the Construction of Liberal Modernity in Early 20th-Century Cuba

“As Homogenous as Possible” demonstrates how immigration policies highlighted the congruities and tensions between the liberalizing and modernizing missions of U.S. policymakers, the Cuban social and political elite, and the republican-minded veterans of Cuba’s Liberation Army. Triscornia, in particular, represented the physical construction of a modern, liberal order on the island. Built by the United States during the First U.S. Occupation of Cuba, Triscornia served as a vehicle for, and symbol of, Cuban modernity. This paper argues that while U.S. occupation officials sought to “modernize” Cuba through a series of liberal reforms, they often supported policies that favored stability and U.S. commercial interests. Conversely, Cuba’s social and political elites, many of whom received educations in Europe and the United States and generally supported U.S. efforts to liberalize Cuban law and “modernize” the island, regularly promoted far-reaching reforms and resented the coziness between U.S. officials and the some of the island’s traditional institutions. Immigration policy served as a forum for liberal reform, and well into the twentieth century, featured prominently in debates about Cubanidad and Cuba’s place among the world’s “modern” nations. This analysis draws from a variety of archival collections, including from the Secretaría de la Presidencia and the Secretaría de Estado at the Archivo Nacional de Cuba, the Cuban Heritage Collection at the University of Miami, and a variety U.S. military and government collections.