Chapter XVII

For a correct understanding of the internal dissensions and uprisings which played so large a part in the history of Cuba during the greater part of the nineteenth century, it is necessary to have clearly in mind an idea of the number, nature and distribution of her population during this period.

The first record of anything like a satisfactory enumeration of the people of the island is that of the census of 1775. It was known as that of the Abbe Raynal, and was taken under the direction and by order of the Marquis de la Torre. It was so far from being accurate and complete that it can hardly be regarded as much more than a fair estimate. Indeed, most authorities are of the opinion that its figures are far below the actual facts. It showed a population of 170,370, for the entire island, with 75,604 of this number residing in the district of Havana.

The population of Cuba at that time was made up almost entirely of two races, the whites and the blacks, the native Indians having long ago practically disappeared. The following table gives a brief resumé of the result of the census of 1775:

Men Women

Whites54,55540,864

Free colored 15,98014,635

Slaves28,77415,562

99,30971,061

Total 170,370

The spirit in which this census was taken was admirable. It sought not only to present statistics as to the age, race, sex and social condition of the population, but also, so far as possible, to indicate something of its distribution. It is not difficult to imagine, however, what a momentous undertaking such a work must have been with the meagre facilities then in the hands of the authorities, and it is not astonishing that the results left much to be desired. The failure was not one of intent but of the means by which the information might be acquired.

In 1791 a second attempt to enumerate and classify the population of Cuba was made by order of Don Luis de las Casas. This showed a population of 272,141. This apparently great increase, however, is to be attributed to a more accurate compilation, rather than to any unusual immigration to Cuba during this period. Indeed careful statisticians, notably Baron Humboldt, have reached the conclusion that even these figures fell far below the truth, and that in reality the population of the island at this period numbered at least 362,700 adult persons. Humboldt's conclusions merit quotation. He says:

"In 1804 I discussed the census of Don Luis de las Casas with persons who possessed great knowledge of the locality. Examining the proportions of the numbers omitted in the partial comparisons, it seemed to us that the population of the island, in 1791, could not have been less than 362,700 souls. This has been augmented, during the years between 1791 and 1804, by the number of African negroes imported, which, according to the custom-house returns for that period, amounted to 60,393; by the immigration from Europe and St. Domingo (5,000); and by the excess of births over deaths, which, in truth, is indeed small in a country where one-fourth or one-fifth of the entire population is condemned to live in celibacy. The result of these three causes of increase was reckoned to be 60,000, estimating an annual loss of seven per cent, on the newly imported negroes; this gives approximately, for the year 1804, a minimum of 432,080 inhabitants. I estimated this number for the year 1804, to comprise, whites, 234,000, free-colored, 90,000, slaves, 180,000. I estimated the slave population, graduating the production of sugar at 80 to 100 arrobas for each negro on the sugar plantations, and 82 slaves as the mean population of each plantation. There were then, 250 of these. In the seven parishes, Guanajay, Managua, Batabano, Guines, Cano, Bejucal, and Guanabacoa, there were found, by an exact census, 15,130 slaves on 183 sugar plantations."

After expatiating on the difficulty of ascertaining with absolute accuracy the ratio of the production of sugar to the number of negroes employed on the different estates, Humboldt continues:

"The number of whites can be estimated by the rolls of the militia, of which, in 1804, there were 2,680 disciplined, and 27,000 rural, notwithstanding the great facilities for avoiding the service, and innumerable exemptions granted to lawyers, physicians, apothecaries, notaries, clergy and church servants, schoolmasters, overseers, traders and all who are styled noble."

Accepting, however, for the moment the figures of the census of 1791, merely for the sake of future comparison, let us see how the population of the island was distributed at this period. Of the 272,141 inhabitants shown by the census over half, or 137,800, were in the district of Havana, and almost one third of the latter number in the city itself. These were divided as follows:

Whites, both sexes73,000

Free colored, both sexes27,600

Slaves, both sexes37,200

137,800

One of the best reasons for believing that this 1791 census does not tell the whole story is that the proportion of white persons to the black slaves is practically two to one, while as a matter of fact the most eminent authorities are agreed that during the first half of the nineteenth century, and for some years previous, it was about 100 to 83, a matter which, as we shall see, was of grave concern to the Spanish colonists.

It should be noted in passing that the greediness with which the Spanish conquerors regarded their possessions in the New World had marked effect on the difficulties of numbering the people. For too well the plantation owners had learned that a record of an increase in their possessions, an added number of slaves or signs of growing prosperity, meant that the long arm of the crown would stretch out to despoil by further taxation, added to the already heavy toll. It is no wonder, therefore, that the efforts of the census takers were impeded rather than furthered.

In 1811, when the slave trade and the consequent increase of the black population was giving great concern to the more intelligent and far-seeing of the Cuban patriots, pressure was brought to bear on the Spanish government and on March 26 of that year, Señors Alcocer and Arguelles made a motion in the Spanish Cortes against the African slave-trade and the continuation of slavery in the Spanish colonies. A little later in the same year Don Francisco de Arango, an exceedingly erudite statesman, also made a remonstrance to the Cortes upon the same subject. This was in the name of the Ayuntamiento, the Consulado and the Patriotic Society of Havana. The text of this representation or remonstrance may be found in the "Documents relative to the slave-trade, 1814."

Unfortunately in compiling the tables which were published in 1811 no new census was taken, and the increases in population from 1791 to 1811 were merely estimated. These estimates show a population of 600,000—a greater number, it is interesting to note, by many thousands than was shown by the census of 1817, with which we shall deal later. This population was distributed as follows:

Western Part of the Island. Whites Free Colored Slaves Total

Surrounding Country118,00015,000119,000252,000

Havana and Suburbs43,00027,00028,00098,000

161,00042,000147,000350,000

Eastern Part of the Island.

Santiago de Cuba40,00038,00032,000110,000

Puerto Principe38,00014,00018,00070,000

Cinco Villas35,00020,00015,00070,000

113,00072,00065,000250,000

Totals274,000114,000212,000600,000

From the above we can see that at this time there were only 62,000 more white people in Cuba than there were slaves, and if we take into consideration the free blacks, then the negroes exceeded the white population by 52,000. This was perhaps inevitable when we consider that there must be labor to develop the plantations and that that labor was almost entirely provided by the slave trade. Nevertheless, the white population of Cuba lived in somewhat the same state of subconscious terror of the possibilities of a black uprising which tormented the planters in portions of the United States. But "that is another story" of which we shall hear more later.

In 1813 the Spanish Cortes passed certain measures, which, together with the necessity for as accurate as possible an enumeration of the population of the island for the purpose of an equitable establishment of electoral juntas of provinces, partidas and parishes, made a new census obligatory. This was taken in 1817. The results of this new census were as follows:

Districts White Free colored Slaves

Western Department:

Havana135,17740,419112,122

Matanzas10,6171,6759,594

Trinidad (with Sancti Spiritus, Remedios, and Villa Clara)51,86416,41114,497

Eastern Department:

Santiago (with Bayamo, Holguin, and Baracoa)33,73350,23046,500

Puerto Principe25,9896,95516,579

257,380115,691199,292

Total572,363

The census of 1817 was without doubt the most perfect which had up to that time been taken; but, for the reasons before given, it was far from being an accurate enumeration. To these figures, before transmitting them to Spain, the Provincial Deputation added 32,641 transients of various kinds, and 25,967 negroes imported during the year in which the census was taken. These additions made the report read as follows:

Whites290,021

Free Colored 115,691

Slaves225,259

Total630,971

It would seem that these various censuses and the estimate of 1811 show great discrepancies, but on this point we have the sage observations of no less an authority than Baron Humboldt to guide us. He says:

"We shall not be surprised at the partial contradiction found in the tables of population when we taken into consideration all the difficulties that have been encountered in the centres of European civilization, England and France, whenever the great operation of a general census is attempted. No one is ignorant, for example, of the fact that the population of Paris, in 1820, was 714,000, and from the number of deaths, and supposed proportion of births to the total population, it is believed to have been 520,000, at the beginning of the eighteenth century; yet during the administration of M. Necker, the ascertained population was one-sixth less than this number."

The process of census taking even in this twentieth century is an enormous undertaking and not free from error. How much more difficult must it have been in a country where it was to the interest of the intelligent to suppress the facts, where a large proportion of the population was still in slavery, and where means of communication from place to place were far from adequate!

Baron Humboldt after very careful calculation estimated the population at the close of 1825 to be as follows:

Whites325,000

Free colored 130,000

Slaves260,000

Total715,000

This was nearly equal to that of the British Antilles, and about twice that of Jamaica.

During the first half of the nineteenth century three additional censuses were taken:

Census of 1827

Whites Free Colored Slaves Total

Department Male Female Male Female Male Female

Western89,52675,53221,23524,829125,38872,027408,537

Central53,44744,77613,29610,95028,39813,630164,497

Eastern25,68022,09017,43118,75329,50417,995131,353

Total 168,653 142,398 51,962 54,532 183,290 103,652 704,487

Census of 1841

Whites Free Colored Slaves Total

Department Male Female Male Female Male Female

Western135,079 108,94432,72633,737207,954 113,320631,760

Central60,03553,83815,52516,05434,93915,217195,608

Eastern32,03028,36527,45227,34438,35725,708180,256

Total227,144 191,147 75,703 77,135 281,250 155,245 1,007,624

Census for 1846

Whites Free Colored Slaves Total

Department Male Female Male Female Male Female

Western133,968 110,14128,96432,730140,13187,682533,617

Central62,26252,69217,04117,07432,42514,560196,954

Eastern34,75331,95126,64626,77128,45520,506169,082

Total230,983 194,78472,65176,575201,011122,748898,752

J. S. Thrasher, translator of Baron Humboldt's admirable work on Cuba, and himself an authority of note, offers the following interesting and suggestive discussion of the census of 1846:

"The slightest examination leads to the belief that there is some error in the figures of the census of 1846; and we are inclined to doubt its results, for the following reasons:

"1st—During the period between 1841 and 1846, no great cause, as epidemic, or emigration on a large scale, existed to check the hitherto steady increase of the slave population, and cause a decrease of 112,736 in its numbers, being nearly twenty six per cent. of the returns of 1841; which apparent decrease and the annihilation of former rate of increase (3.7 per cent. yearly), amount together to a loss of 47 per cent., in six years.

"2d.—During this period the material prosperity of the country experienced no decrease, except the loss of part of one crop, consequent upon the hurricane of 1845.

"3d.—During the period from 1842 to 1846, the church returns of christenings and interments were as follows:

White Colored Total

Christenings87,04974,302161,349

Interments51,45657,762109,218

Increase35,59116,54052,131

"4th.—And because ... a capitation tax upon house servants was imposed in 1844, and a very general fear existed that it would be extended to other classes."

Incorrect as we have seen these various censuses to be, they do furnish us with very interesting means of analysis. We can see by the foregoing tables that the free population (black and white) was nearly two thirds of the entire population of the island; and also that, according to the last census given above, the blacks on the island exceeded the white people by many thousands. The balance of power then lay with the free blacks.

But this was not as dangerous as it may seem—as it often appeared to the Cubans. At this stage of his history the negro was not even one generation removed from his native jungle. He was imitating the white man not so much in his quiet virtues as in his glaring and showy vices. The negro is naturally sociable and happy-go-lucky. The island of Cuba has not a climate which is conducive to arduous labors.

The natural tendency of the colored freed man was to gravitate away from the plantations, into the cities and villages. This made it necessary constantly to be importing new slaves to take the place of the freed man. Frequently, however, the latter improved in his new surroundings. His freedom, his increased obligations, his new sense of self-respect, made him desire to throw his fortunes, not with his enslaved black brothers but with the free born white man. This was the more easy of accomplishment because there is no place in the world where people are more democratic in matters of race than in Cuba. A free black man who improved his opportunities was sure of being received as the equal of the white man in the same station of life. This even extended to intermarriage with white women. Miscegenation was very common, but curiously enough, more common in plantation life, on the same basis that the American planter in the southern part of the United States conducted his relations with his women slaves. The tendency of the free colored man, in spite of his new opportunities, was to marry one of his own race.

In 1820 the slave-trade with Africa was legally abolished, and undoubtedly if this law had been enforced the negro population would have diminished rapidly, because the mortality of the negro race in slavery is very high. Even in Cuba, a land where the climate is more similar to that of his own country than that of any part of the United States, the negro is all too frequently a victim of tuberculosis. Indeed, although in the Custom House between 1811 and 1817, 67,000 negroes were registered as imported, and the real number must have been far greater, in 1817 there were only 13,300 more slaves than in 1811.

Another reason, too, would have contributed very quickly to the diminishing of the negro population. Spain, always greedy for the main chance, never far-seeing in her relations with her American possessions, had urged the importation of male slaves in preference to females. Of course this meant a preponderance of laborers, but it also militated against the increase of the race in Cuba by natural means. There was far from being a sufficient number of young women of child-bearing age. On the plantations the proportion of women to men was one to four; in the cities the rate was better, 1 to 1.4; in Havana 1 to 1.2; and in the island considered as a whole 1 to 1.7. For a normal and proper birth rate there must be a preponderance of women over men.

But, although the laws forbade the slave traffic, by illicit means it continued to be carried on. Between 1811 and 1825 no fewer than 185,000 African negroes were imported into Cuba; 60,000 of these subsequent to the passage of the measure of 1820.

The ratio of population to the square league is a very interesting and illuminating study. On this point J. S. Thrasher gives us some excellent deductions:

"Supposing the population to be 715,000 (which I believe to be within the minimum number) the ratio of population in Cuba, in 1825, was 197 individuals to the square league, and, consequently, nearly twice less than that of San Domingo, and four times smaller than that of Jamaica. If Cuba were as well cultivated as the latter island, or, more properly speaking, if the density of population were the same, it would contain 3,515 x 974, or 3,159,000 inhabitants."

In 1811, at the time the population was estimated, we find the negroes to have been distributed as follows; the figures indicating percentages:

Western Department Free Slave Total

In towns1111½22½

In rural districts1½3435½

Eastern Department

In towns119½20½

In rural districts1110½21½

34½65½100

The foregoing indicates that sixty per cent. of the black population at this period lived in the district of Havana, and that there were about equal numbers of freedmen and slaves, that the total black population in that portion of the island was distributed between towns and country in the ratio of two to three, while in the eastern part of the island the distribution between towns and country was about equal. We shall find the foregoing compilations of inestimable value in consideration of the problem which was such a source of concern to the white population and which played so large a part in this period of the history of Cuba; namely, slavery.