Spanish immigration to Cuba

Last updated
Spanish immigration to Cuba
Total population
Cuba's population: 11,433,239
Spanish residents:
145,167 (2018) [1]
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Spanish
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholicism
Large Protestantism minority
Related ethnic groups
Spaniards, Other Latin Europeans

Spanish immigration to Cuba began in 1492, when the Spanish first landed on the island, and continues to the present day. The first sighting of a Spanish boat approaching the island was on 27 October 1492, probably at Bariay on the eastern point of the island. Columbus, on his first voyage to the Americas, sailed south from what is now The Bahamas to explore the northeast coast of Cuba and the northern coast of Hispaniola. Columbus came to the island believing it to be a peninsula of the Asian mainland. [2] [3]

Contents

Early settlement

Diego Velazquez de Cuellar, the first governor of Cuba. DiegoVelazquezCuellar.jpg
Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, the first governor of Cuba.

In 1511, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar set out with three ships and an army of 300 men from Hispaniola to form the first Spanish settlement in Cuba, with orders from Spain to conquer the island. The settlement was at Baracoa, but the new settlers were to be greeted with stiff resistance from the local Taíno population. The Taínos were initially organized by cacique (chieftain) Hatuey, who had himself relocated from Hispaniola to escape the brutalities of Spanish rule on that island. After a prolonged guerrilla campaign, Hatuey and successive chieftains were captured and burnt alive, and within three years the Spanish had gained control of the island. In 1514, a settlement was founded in what was to become Havana.

Historical influence

Language

Spanish was brought to Cuba by the Spaniards. Cuban Spanish is most similar to, and originates largely from the Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands. Cuba owes much of its speech patterns and accent to the heavy Canarian migrations, of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Religion

Cuba is traditionally a Catholic country. The Roman Catholic religion was brought to Cuba by Spanish colonialists at the beginning of the 16th century, is the most prevalent professed faith. After the revolution, Cuba became an officially atheistic state and restricted religious practice. Since the Fourth Cuban Communist Party Congress in 1991, restrictions have been eased and, according to the National Catholic Observer, direct challenges by state institutions to the right to religion have all but disappeared, [4] though the church still faces restrictions of written and electronic communication, and can only accept donations from state-approved funding sources. [4] The Roman Catholic Church is made up of the Cuban Catholic Bishops' Conference (COCC), led by Juan García Rodríguez since 2016, Cardinal Archbishop of Havana.

The Roman Catholic Church estimates that 60 percent of the population is Catholic. But the Catholic Church is subject to government restrictions, and it is not allowed to have its own schools or media. [5] According to statistics, Catholics represent 71.79% of Havana's population, 69.24% Matanzas, 63.15% Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba having the lowest percentage of Catholics at 23.81%. [6]

The Palacio del Centro Asturiano building was created as place of social reunion for the Asturians Antiguo Centro Asturiano, hoy Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.JPG
The Palacio del Centro Asturiano building was created as place of social reunion for the Asturians

.

Immigration waves

The European heritage of Cubans comes primarily from one source: the Spaniards (including Canarians, Asturians, Catalans, Galicians, Andalusians, and Castilians). The native white population are nearly all descendants of the Spaniards and most non-white Cubans also have Spanish ancestry. [7]

20th century

For four years, between 1916 and 1920, Cuba was the first major destination of Spanish migrants to Latin America (about 60%), and the second major destination, after Argentina, between 1900 and 1930. [8]

Other results show that between 1902 and 1931, 780,400 (60.8%) were from Spain, 197,600 (15.4%) from Haiti, 115,600 (9.0%) from Jamaica and 190,300 (14.8%) other countries. [9]

Concurrent situation

According to current statistics, there are over 9,566 Canarians, 23,185 Andalusians and 11,114 Galicians living in Cuba. [10] [11]

Immigration by ethnic groups

Andalusians

Andalusians are a fairly large community in Cuba, in fact the way Cubans speak is strongly influenced by the Spanish dialect of Andalusia (in the same way as the Canarian accent).

Bullfighting, as well as the traditional Andalusian cultural festival, also has a presence in Cuba since the colonial period and uninterrupted from 1538 to 1899. In Havana there are many bullrings and bullfighters from Cádiz, Spain pass through them. In the first half of the 19th century, bullfights were held in Sancti Spíritus in 1850 and in other cities. In the 19th century, Havana and Montevideo were the cities with the most bullfights, which finally lost the tradition in the last years of the 20th century.

Asturians

Asturians are a fairly large community in Cuba. A Cuban, the son of an Asturian, is the author of the anthem of the Principality of Asturias. [12]

Canarians

Celebration of the "Princess Dacil" contest at the Seventh Festival of Canarian Traditions in Cuba. In the center of the image, Mary Ann Alvarez Robbio, who was the winner of the contest in 2010. Celebracion del 7 Festival de Tradiciones Canarias en Cuba (2010), princesa dacil.jpg
Celebration of the " Princess Dácil " contest at the Seventh Festival of Canarian Traditions in Cuba. In the center of the image, Mary Ann Álvarez Robbio, who was the winner of the contest in 2010.

Canarians are a fairly large community in Cuba. The first Canarians that settled on the island arrived in 1492, coming from the ships of Christopher Columbus (three of Columbus's four voyages passed through the Canary Islands). The next group of Canarians to settle in Cuba was in the last third of the 16th century. Due to the fact that at that time the Canary Islands were still repopulating, the Canarian ethnic group that arrived in Cuba was very small. Despite this, it is estimated that between 1585 and 1655, the Canarians represented around 25.6% of the immigrants to Havana. It was not until the seventeenth century, especially with the Blood Tribute (1678-1764), when the Canarian emigration acquired a massive air towards the island, with a massive migration of thousands of Canarians from that moment to Cuba. In fact, in the 18th century, it was the second Canarian emigration country after Venezuela. Although the Blood Tribute was banned in 1764, many Canarians continued to emigrate to Cuba.

Thus, in the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th, Cuba became the main Canarian emigration country that, together with Puerto Rico (in the first of those centuries), absorbed most of the Canarian immigrants who arrived. to America to improve their economic conditions, something that, despite everything, they barely achieved in these countries. Thus, in the Cuban war of independence, numerous canaries and their descendants participated in the liberating side, among which José Martí stood out, and many canaries also participated in the royalist side.

Most of the Canarians came from Tenerife, Gran Canaria and La Palma and settled in cities such as Havana, Matanzas, Oriente, Pinar del Río and in the center of the island, basically dedicating themselves to agriculture. Currently, due to the Canarian emigration to Cuba and Venezuela during the 20th century, most of the Canarians have a family member in those countries. Like a large part of Cubans, they also have some Canarian ancestor. Among others, the following stand out: Lina Ruz González (mother of Fidel Castro), José Martí, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda and Silvestre de Balboa, who, still born in the Canary Islands, is considered the first Cuban writer.

Currently, people of Canarian descent in Cuba preserve their culture and traditions through the celebration of various cultural festivals and other activities. An example is the Festival of Canarian Traditions in Cuba that is held annually, as well as the contest called "Princess Dácil", which is named in honor of a Guanche princess from the Canary Islands. [13] [14]

Catalans

Catalan soldiers' levies before being sent to Cuba Embarcament dels voluntaris catalans al port de Barcelona.jpg
Catalan soldiers' levies before being sent to Cuba

Catalans are a fairly large community in Cuba, proof of this is the large number of Catalan surnames that appear in the telephone directory. It could be considered that the existing Catalan regionalism in Spain was accentuated as a result of the independence of Cuba, since the Catalan business sector monopolized commerce and the textile industry, as well as sugar cane with its derivatives.

In recent times, a large part of Spanish investments in Cuba, especially in the tourism sector, come from Catalan capital.

Galicians

Gran Teatro de La Habana, 1915. Gran Teatro de la Habana Centro gallego. Havana, Cuba.png
Gran Teatro de La Habana, 1915.
In Havana, the Galician anthem was sung for the first time. Hino galego en La Habana.JPG
In Havana, the Galician anthem was sung for the first time.

The Galicians have more than 15,300 members approximately, [15] [16] dispersed mainly in Havana, Cárdenas, Matanzas, Pinar del Río, Camagüey, Trinidad, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo. They arrived from Vigo, to the port of Havana between 1821 and 1877, fleeing famine and political pressure. Many Galicians and other Iberians who had arrived on the island later moved to Mexico and the United States between the 1920s and 1940s.

When the Galicians began to settle in some parts of the island, they began to produce and work both in the fields and in Havana. The Gran Teatro de La Habana previously called Gran Teatro -Centro Gallego until 1961, was built, which housed a very large theater inside, and it was in Havana where the Galician Anthem, called "Os Pinos" (Los Pinos), was sung for the first time in 1924.

Fidel Castro's father, Ángel Castro Argiz, was a Galician, specifically from Láncara, Lugo province.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canary Islands</span> Spanish archipelago and region in the Atlantic Ocean

The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 100 kilometres west of Morocco and the Western Sahara. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and are the most populous special territory of the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Cuba</span>

The demographic characteristics of Cuba are known through census which have been conducted and analyzed by different bureaus since 1774. The National Office of Statistics of Cuba (ONE) since 1953. The most recent census was conducted in September 2012. The population of Cuba at the 2012 census was nearly 11.2 million. The population density is 101 inhabitants per square kilometer, and the overall life expectancy in Cuba is 78.0 years. The population has always increased from one census to the next in the 20th century, with the exception of the 2012 census, when the count decreased by 10,000. Since 1740, Cuba's birth rate has surpassed its death rate; the natural growth rate of the country is positive. Cuba is in the fourth stage of demographic transition. In terms of age structure, the population is dominated (71.1%) by the 15- to 64-year-old segment. The median age of the population is 39.5, making it the oldest in the Americas, and the gender ratio of the total population is 0.99 males per female.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciboney</span> Taíno people of western Cuba, Jamaica, and the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti

The Ciboney, or Siboney, were a Taíno people of Cuba, Jamaica, and the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti. A Western Taíno group living in Cuba during the 15th and 16th centuries, they had a dialect and culture distinct from the Classic Taíno in the eastern part of the island, though much of the Ciboney territory was under the control of the eastern chiefs. Confusion in the historical sources led 20th-century scholars to apply the name "Ciboney" to the non-Taíno Guanahatabey of western Cuba and various archaic cultures around the Caribbean, but this is deprecated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spaniards</span> Nationals of Spain

Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance nation native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both indigenous and local linguistic descendants of the Roman-imposed Latin language, of which Spanish is the largest and the only one that is official throughout the whole country.

Isleños are the descendants of Canarian settlers and immigrants to present-day Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Texas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and other parts of the Americas. In these places, the name isleño was applied to the Canary Islanders to distinguish them from Spanish mainlanders known as "peninsulars". Formerly used for the general category of people, it now refers to the specific cultural identity of Canary Islanders or their descendants throughout Latin America and in Louisiana, where they are still called isleños. Another name for Canary Islander in English is "Canarian." In Spanish, an alternative is canario or isleño canario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Spain</span> Languages spoken across Spain

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban Spanish</span> Spanish dialect of Cuba

Cuban Spanish is the variety of the Spanish language as it is spoken in Cuba. As a Caribbean variety of Spanish, Cuban Spanish shares a number of features with nearby varieties, including coda weakening and neutralization, non-inversion of Wh-questions, and a lower rate of dropping of subject pronouns compared to other Spanish varieties. As a variety spoken in Latin America, it has seseo and lacks the vosotros pronoun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuel Mora Morales</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canarian Spanish</span> Dialect of Spanish in the Canary Islands

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conquest of the Canary Islands</span> Conquest

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish diaspora</span> Emigrants from Spain and their descendants

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish immigration to Venezuela</span>

Spanish Immigration to Venezuela began around 1500, when the Spanish first landed on and conquered the territory, and immigration continues to the present day. There are many Venezuelans of Spanish origin, especially from the Canary Islands. And by this event, most White and multiracial Venezuelans have Spanish ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish Uruguayans</span> Ethnic group

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White Puerto Ricans are Puerto Ricans who self-identify as white due to a rubric of laws like the Regla del Sacar or Gracias al Sacar dating back to the 1700's where a person of mixed ancestry could be considered legally white so long as they could prove that at least one person per generation in the last four generations had also been legally white. Therefore, people of mixed ancestry with known white lineage were classified as white, the opposite of the "one-drop rule" in the United States. In the 2020 United States census, the number of people who identified as "White alone" was 536,044 or 16.5%, with an additional non-Hispanic 24,548, for a total population of 560,592.

Canarian Americans are Americans whose ancestors came from the Canary Islands, Spain. They can trace their ancestry to settlers and immigrants who have emigrated since the 16th century to the present-day United States. Most of them are descendants of settlers who immigrated to Spanish colonies in the South of the modern US during the 18th century. The Canarians were among the first settlers of the modern United States; the first Canarians migrated to modern Florida in 1569, and were followed by others coming to La Florida, Texas and Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish settlement of Puerto Rico</span>

Spanish settlement of Puerto Rico began in the early 1500s shortly after the formation of the Spanish state in 1493 and continues to the present day.

As in the rest of Spain, the majority religion in the Canary Islands is the Catholic Church. The Catholic religion has been the majority since the Conquest of the Canary Islands in the fifteenth century. This religion would largely replace the Canarian aboriginal religion through the prohibition of the latter and syncretism. According to a survey conducted in 2019, Canary Islands is the fifth autonomous community in Spain with the highest percentage of people who declare themselves to be Catholics after the Region of Murcia, Extremadura, Galicia, Aragon, and Castile and León. 76.7% of the population is Catholic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indiano</span> Denomination of Spanish emigrants to the Americas.

Indiano was the colloquial name for the Spanish emigrant in America who returned enriched, a social typology that had become a literary cliché since the Golden Age. The name was extended to their descendants, with admiring or pejorative connotations depending on the case.

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