Shade-Grown Slavery: The Lives of Slaves on Coffee Plantations in Cuba

Acknowledgments

ix Acknowledgments T his work began over a decade ago in the provincial archives of ­ Ma­ tanzas, Cuba, when I was a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I worked in numerous archives and libraries in Cuba and in Spain over many years, compiling the data and stories that went into the making of this study. As is always the case, the first book of any historian is shaped through countless interactions in many venues that all contribute to the final outcome . I want to begin by asking forgiveness for any I have omitted here. Time and memory often conspire against us. Louis A. Pérez Jr. guided my work at UNC and was all I could have hoped for as a mentor. I wish to express my deep gratitude and acknowledge my debt to him. He was always generous with his guidance and helped me find resources on the island that were invaluable to this work. John Chasteen, Kathryn Burns, Lisa Lindsay, and Lars Schoultz offered tremendous insights on preparing this study for publication. Other faculty at the University of North Carolina and Duke University have contributed to my progress and success. I warmly thank Sarah Shields for her encouragement and her example of integrity as a scholar. I valued her thoughtfulness and friendship during my years at UNC. Lloyd Kramer guided me from my first days at UNC and continued to be supportive throughout my time in Chapel Hill. John French and Barry Gaspar of Duke University helped me to become more rigorous in my thinking and to see Cuba and slavery on the island as part of a larger system situated in the Caribbean and Latin America. Sherry Johnson, of Florida International University, and I became friends while researching in Seville. Our conversations over the years have enriched my development as a scholar and have broadened my knowledge of Cuba. She was generous with advice and in her critiques of my work. I appreciate her support and continued friendship. K. Lynn Stoner was my mentor in the history department at Arizona State University during my undergraduate years. Her guidance drew me into the study x Shade-Grown Slavery of Cuba and the Afro-Cuban population. She has continued to encourage me and to be a good friend. I am also compelled to mention the late Kenneth Morrison, my mentor in religious studies; he deeply influenced my scholarship as both a researcher and as a teacher. His passing in 2012 was a great loss. He will be missed. I am forever grateful to Lynn and Ken for the contributions they have made to my life. Numerous friends and colleagues have contributed to the success of this project through reading parts of its drafts and offering encouragement, critiques, and advice. Mariola Espinosa, Manuel Barcia, Matt Childs, Katherine Lopez, Charlotte Cosner, Ethan Kytle, Oscar Chamosa, Joshua Nadel, David Carlson, Dan Kerr, Laura Lewis, and Kristen McCleary have been great friends and each in their own way has helped me bring this work to its conclusion. Grants and fellowships aided my research and encouraged my work. I received help from the UNC Department of History through Mowry Grants and a Quinn Fellowship; from the Graduate School through the Waddell Memorial Fellowship and the Off-Campus Fellowship; and from the Institute of Latin American Studies through the Tinker Grants. I also want to thank the Conference on Latin American History for granting me the Lydia Cabrera Award for Cuban Historical Studies. Their generosity permitted my work in Spain, greatly enhancing this project and my knowledge of Cuba. At James Madison University, I have received support from the Department of History, the College of Arts and Letters, and the Office of International Programs. My sincere thanks to Michael Galgano, head of the History Department; David Jeffries, dean of the College of Arts and Letters; and the staff at OIP. I would be remiss if I did not thank the friends and colleagues I have made during my research trips to Cuba and Spain. Gladys Marel García, Gabino La Rosa Corzo, and Tomás Fernández Robaina helped me immeasurably during my trips to Cuba. I am grateful to them for their guidance and for teaching me about Cuba, past and present. This work would not have been possible were it not for the assistance I received from the Centro de Antropología. I especially thank Lourdes Serrano Peralta and Isabel Reyes Mora for their generous help during...