The Female Slave in Cuba during the first half of the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

African slavery, a historical phenomenon of the New World, is seen with the greatest clarity and depth in Cuban colonial society, in the role and place of the slave woman. The African slave women, despite the great suffering they endured, managed to keep in their minds their native land and part of their culture. As a consequence, they not only fed and protected their offspring, but also taught them about Africa, life, freedom and survival. In this way, they ensured that the slaves would not become mere biological fuel¹ for the economic and cultural development of Europe but helped to establish the slaves’ biological and cultural footprints. In brief, they guaranteed the survival of their race, and even more, they played an outstanding part in the wars for national independence in Cuba.