Indigenous Passages to Cuba, 1515-1900
“Portrays the vitality and dynamism of indigenous actors in what is arguably one of the most foundational and central zones in the making of modern world history: the Caribbean.”—Maximilian C. Forte, author of Ruins of Absence, Presence of Caribs
“Brings together historical analysis and the compelling stories of individuals and families that labored in the island economies of the Caribbean.”—Cynthia Radding, coeditor of Borderlands in World History, 1700–1914
During the colonial period, thousands of North American native peoples traveled to Cuba independently as traders, diplomats, missionary candidates, immigrants, or refugees; others were forcibly transported as captives, slaves, indentured laborers, or prisoners of war. Over the half millennium after Spanish contact, Cuba also served as the principal destination and residence of peoples as diverse as the Yucatec Mayas of Mexico; the Calusa, Timucua, Creek, and Seminole peoples of Florida; and the Apache and Puebloan cultures of the northern provinces of New Spain. Many settled in pueblos or villages in Cuba that endured and evolved into the nineteenth century as urban centers, later populated by indigenous and immigrant Amerindian descendants and even their mestizo, or mixed-blood, progeny.
In this first comprehensive history of the Amerindian diaspora in Cuba, Jason Yaremko presents the dynamics of indigenous movements and migrations from several regions of North America from the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries. In addition to detailing the various motives influencing aboriginal migratory processes, Yaremko uses these case studies to argue that Amerindians—whether voluntary or involuntary migrants—become diasporic through common experiences of dispossession, displacement, and alienation within Cuban colonial society. Yet, far from being merely passive victims acted upon, he argues that indigenous peoples were cognizant agents still capable of exercising power and influence to act in the interests of their communities. His narrative of their multifaceted and dynamic experiences of survival, adaptation, resistance, and negotiation within Cuban colonial society adds deeply to the history of transculturation in Cuba, and to our understanding of indigenous peoples, migration, and diaspora in the wider Caribbean world.
This book is a revelation! . . . Documents and recounts in rich detail the large, diverse range of Native peoples who migrated from the North American mainland (Florida and the US Southwest when under Spanish rule) and especially from Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America) to the Caribbean. . . . Highly recommended.’—Choice‘An invaluable addition to a growing body of research on Indian agency, the Spanish empire, and the diversity of Cuban culture and history.’—The Americas
‘Invites us to rethink how colonialism forced some Amerindians far from their ancestral homelands but nonetheless situated them as important actors in Cuban history. . . . Provides a rich historical account of Cuban Indigenous diasporas that powerfully depicts the scope and complexity of transnational Indigenous social relations in the Americas.’—NAIS
‘Yaremko’s work deftly shows how indigenous migrations to Cuba were intertwined with, or were the result of, some of the most important turning points in Caribbean and US history.’—Bulletin of Latin American Research
‘Positions the Caribbean more centrally in the Western Hemisphere’s often-deplorable tradition of relocated populations and nudges us out of the old black-white Cuba story.’—Hispanic American Historical Review
‘An original and thought-provoking exploration of a mostly little-known dimension of Cuban history.’—Cuban Studies
‘Extends Cuba’s indigenous history beyond the early colonial period. . . . Bring[s] to light hidden histories that will hopefully inspire and motivate greater collaboration among historians, archaeologists, and ethnographers to uncover the past, illuminate the present, and empower peoples who have lived an invisible presence in the building of a nation.’—New West Indian Guide
Jason M. Yaremko, professor of history at the University of Winnipeg, is the author of U.S. Protestant Missions in Cuba.
