Cuba Past and Present. Richard Davey
easily on any interesting subject. Conversation must soon flag, indeed, in a country where the intellectual pabulum of the fair sex consists, generally speaking, of a singular combination of the Catholic prayer-book and the worst stamp of French novel. The usual way of spending the evening in a Cuban house is to place two long rows of rocking-chairs opposite one another, and sit chatting, everybody, meanwhile, smoking the inevitable cigarette. In some of the houses, music of a high order may be heard, and not a few of the Cuban ladies sing charmingly. During the Carnival, a good many dances take place in private houses, but even these are extremely dull, for as soon as a gentleman has danced with a lady, he is expected to lead her back to her rocking-chair, where she sits smoking in smiling silence till the arrival of another partner. It would be thought highly improper for a young man to start a conversation, let alone a flirtation, with an unmarried girl.
The general want of that association between the sexes, so necessary to the welfare of each, makes the Cuban women indifferent to the opinion of the Cuban men. They care for nothing but the most childish chatter and gossip, have no desire to improve their minds, no ambition beyond that connected with their own personal comfort and vanity. They marry when they are mere children, from twelve years of age to about eighteen—and if no suitor has appeared upon the scene by that time, they are looked on as old maids. Belonging to a most prolific race, those who marry soon have large families about them, and devoted as they are, in most cases, to their children, they find their happiness in their domestic circle. The haughty spirit derived from their Spanish ancestry is not dead in the hearts of the Cuban ladies. Many of them have proved the fact, of late, by qualities of self-sacrifice, courage, and splendid heroism, which have gone far to carry the revolutionary struggle to its present phase. The exceedingly pernicious habit of bandaging infants in swaddling clothes is still prevalent, even in the best regulated Cuban families. This may account for the excessive infant mortality, for though as many as eight or ten children are born to most parents, they rarely succeed in rearing more than three or four.
There is a saying in Havana that "the church is good enough for the old maids of both sexes." The women are pious from habit. Nearly all of them begin the day by going to Mass, and in Holy Week they literally live in church. But, for all this, religion does not seem to have any deep influence on their lives. The men make no pretence to piety. Generally speaking, Catholicism in Cuba has become a mere matter of form and custom, although there are doubtless many sincerely pious people in the island, who practise all the Christian virtues, both in public and in private. Still, I fear the clergy can hardly have done their duty by their flocks for many generations past. Yet, I am assured, a more evangelical spirit is stirring among them at the present moment. This we may fairly ascribe to the vigilance and zeal of the present Pope, Leo XIII., who has appointed more energetic and able bishops than any of his predecessors, since the Apostolic age. I am assured that the present Archbishop of Santiago and Bishop of Havana—the island is divided into two dioceses—have effected many remarkable reforms, not only among their clergy, but also among the laity.
To resume: the Cubans are, as I have already indicated, the descendants of Spaniards born on the island. They form considerably over a third of the population. The true Spanish population, which is not at all numerous, includes the absentee grandees, who own at least a fourth of the island, the numerous officials sent out from Spain, and the very considerable garrison which has always been kept in Cuba, to maintain order, and suppress all attempts at open rebellion. The Spaniards keep very much to themselves, although, of course, many of them are allied with Cuba by family ties, and are on very friendly terms, in times of peace, with their own kinsfolk. Still, there is a local feeling against them, as the representatives of bad government in a sorely-troubled colony. Their manners and customs are not quite identical with those of the natives. Their women, for instance, have a far higher sense of dignity than the native ladies. They are more sincerely pious, and, in many cases, far more highly educated and accomplished. On the other hand, the men are extremely overbearing and exclusive. Their manners are ridiculously elaborate, but their hospitality, though courteously proffered, is less genuine than that of the native Cubans. When a Cuban says, "Come and stay," or "Come and dine with me," he means it, and is hurt, however humble his circumstances may be, if you refuse.
During the last fifty years, a great many Americans have established themselves in Cuba as planters, merchants, and shopkeepers. They come from all parts of the United States, and associate very little with the Spaniards, although they are generally very friendly with the Cubans. The principal American settlements are at Cardenas, quite a modern town, and known as "The American City," Havana, Cienfuegos, and Santiago. The Spaniards, on the other hand, suspect and dislike the Americans. There are not many English established on the island. The railroads, however, and some of the best tobacco estates, are mainly in British hands. There is a small French colony, consisting mainly, I am assured, of persons who cannot live in their own country. In the old slave times, most of the overseers were Frenchmen who had been expelled from France, and not a few were well known as having "served their time." There is also a small Italian colony, and a very considerable German contingent, who live their own lives, apart from their neighbours. Until within quite recent times no religion but the Roman Catholic was tolerated on the island, but, at the present moment, there is, if anything, greater freedom of worship than in Spain itself. From all I have heard, Cuba is the last place in the world where people trouble their heads over theological or philosophical questions. Life is essentially materialistic, and the chief aim and struggle of existence is to get as much comfort as may be, out of an exceedingly uncomfortable climate.
The Jews in Cuba barely number 500, and are mostly of Spanish origin, and engaged in trade. A great many Jews fled to the West Indies from Spain, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but few remained in the Spanish possessions. The danger was too great. Five or six of the Cuban Jewish families are reported wealthy, and are much respected, but they keep entirely to themselves. We next come to the two last divisions of the heterogeneous population of the Pearl of the Antilles—the coloured race, and the Coolies.
The coloured folk of Cuba, who vary, as I have said, from the deepest ebony to the lightest cream, form a little over a third of the whole population. That they are not more numerous in proportion to the whites, is due to causes which I shall endeavour to explain hereafter. At a very early date, slaves were introduced into Cuba, to replace the massacred aborigines. At first the black merchandise was exceedingly dear; in fact, according to ancient authorities, slaves were "worth their weight in gold." But, in the seventeenth century, the importation from Africa began on a great scale, though very few females were at first landed, as the majority died on the way over. This fact necessitated a system of constant replenishment of the males, and it was only in the last century that negresses were brought to Cuba in any great numbers. Their appearance was followed by the inevitable result—a peaceful invasion of small niggers. And the dusky Venus found scores of worshippers, among the haughty Dons. Even worthy Brian Edwards, the pious author of the History of the West Indies, did not neglect to pay tribute to the charms of the "Sable Aphrodite" in an Ode from which I cannot resist culling the following lines:—
| Her skin excell'd the raven plume, Her breath the fragrant orange bloom, Her eye the tropic beam. Soft was her lip as silken down, And mild her look as ev'ning sun That gilds the Cobre stream. The loveliest limbs her form compose, Such as her sister Venus chose In Florence, where she's seen, But just alike, except the white, No difference, no—none at night, The beauteous dames between. O sable Queen! thy mild domain I seek, and court thy gentle reign, So soothing, soft, and sweet, Where meeting love, sincere delight, Fond pleasure, ready joys invite, And unbought raptures meet. The prating Frank, the Spaniard proud, The double Scot, Hibernian loud, And sullen English, own The pleasing softness of thy sway, And here, transferr'd allegiance pay, For gracious is thy throne. |
Notwithstanding the nominal abolition of the slave trade, something like half a million of slaves have been imported into Cuba since the first treaty between England and France—for the gradual abolition of slavery was officially signed in 1856. The traffic continued even as late as 1886, when slavery was at last entirely and finally suppressed. It was often connived at by the Governor, and other high officials at Havana, who thus increased their popularity, and their private fortunes. In the course of 1878 I was told, on good authority,