Cuban Slavery from the Inside Out: Nonfiction Narratives of Cuban Slavery by Cuban and US Writers (Caribbean Studies Series)

Cuban Slavery from the Inside Out: Nonfiction Narratives of Cuban Slavery by Cuban and US Writers is a critical exploration of how nineteenth-century nonfiction texts-written by authors from both Cuba and the United States-documented, rationalized, and contested the institution of slavery in Cuba.Though separated by language and national identity, both countries shared foundational beliefs in racial hierarchy and imperial control, rooted in colonial justifications that evolved from religious and racialized frameworks. The first half of the book focuses on Cuban authors writing from within a slaveholding society.It offers a new interpretation of Juan Francisco Manzano’s celebrated autobiography and examines lesser-known artículos de costumbres by writers such as Anselmo Suárez y Romero, which reflect differing levels of complicity with Afro-Cuban plantation culture.It also analyzes rarely discussed passages from the Condesa de Merlin’s La Havane, revealing her explicit support for Cuban