Lot 196

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CUBAN SLAVE REVOLT OF 1825
A pair of fine content letters describing the 1825 Cuban slave revolt by an American expatriate from Rhode Island who had established a coffee plantation in Cuba. The first is an A.L.S. "E S Fales" 3pp. legal folio, Sumedero, 21 June 1825 to his Sister Lydia S. French in Bristol, Rhode Island. Soon after the rebellion was ruthlessly crushed , he writes, in most part: "O'er this reaches you, you will no doubt have heard of the insurrection of the Negroes in our part of the Country which as to numbers was inconsiderable but the result was horrid - no less than sixteen whites was most barbarously butchered; among them a family with whom we have been on the most intimate terms of friendship - their names were Arsnitage, an Englishman by birth, but a resident in our Western States for many many years, he commenced a Coffee Estate near ours & for three Years past he was a brother to me & mine his wife was an amiable young woman with whom our Girls was always delighted to be with as she was always pleased to assist them in making dresses &c & scarcely two days passed without our seeing each other. His family consisted of two amiable boys one of 16 the other 18 with a small son of three years who were mangled to death with the exception of the Child who was preserved by one of Mr. A's mulatto woman slave who bro't him to me for protection & is still with Phoebe & will ever remain if his friends in the U. States do not send for him - his father had twenty Negro Slaves & treated them like children of his own, but they joined with the others as bad as themselves on the morn of 15th Inst. at 1 O'Cl[oc]k A. M. & commenced their work of death & after visiting other Estates & getting all possible reinforcements appeared on the high road & was only two miles from our house at about six in the morning: your Sister was in bed, as well as Harriet & Thos (Mary, her husband & Betsey had left us a few [days?] previous for Camarioca) I immediately called her with all possible caution to escape from the house as the Negroes had risen (revolted) & as she was not in a situation to ride on horse back & at the time it would have been impossible any vehicle & we dare not approach the Main Road we took for the Woods... where I left her to join in endeavoring to disperse the assailants (as my Negroes were unconscious of what was going on) on my arrival at the rendezvous was advised to return & provide for Wife; & family's safety. I returned & Mrs. F's children who went on foot for several miles where I left them& returned to our own house & found my Negroes employed as I left them without any symptom of discontent[.] I then took my horses & took my family to a friends house where they still are perfectly secure -- I have great reason to be grateful that my Negroes are perfectly contented & submissive, had they have joined the insurgents no doubt our names would have been added to the Killed, as we live retired from the main road, however as the insurgent Negroes had no system they were soon dispersed with a very considerable loss & as we have no small detachments of men here the Negroes have completely failed -- We have rec'd an order this day to spare no Negroes found in the Woods & I have no doubt that if not all, the greater part of the revolters will be Killed this day, as dogs as well as men are in pursuit. I have slept every night on my place without any white person & now feel myself as secure as in Bristol. My dear sister you can have no idea of such a scene -- poor Phoebe showed more courage than I tho't she ever could possess -- she was expecting immediately to be confined she past the trails of the day with heroism -- I have not seen her the two days past but was informed this evening that she continues well if nothing new transpires (which I do not anticipate) shall go & see her -- W[illia]m poor boy heard of the affair in Matanzas & immediately came out, but finding us safe returned the next day. It was a shocking scene to see the dead beside on the road the Negroes bodies have generally been burnt as they were in such a state that it was impossible to bury them - The Govt. being too much occupied to attend to order funeral rites-- We I think now have no cause of fear & I beg you to tell Mother Wardwell & our friends not to be alarmed on our a[ccount] please... I shall write you again soon & hope you will excuse all incorrections as I am writing like a soldier at his Sentry box... Should any new disturbance occur which I think improbably shall most certainly come on to Bristol with my family-" With integral transmittal leaf addressed in his hand bearing two red cancellation marks. Offered together with a second A.L.S. by Fales, 2pp. 4to.,, Sumedero, Jan. 28, 1826 to Lydia French sending family news and updates and adding an update: "...As to our rebellion; every thing is quiet as we can fear no alarm Being in complete readiness & most of [the] Negroes concerned are either executed or under sentence..." With integral address leaf. The revolt of 1825 began in the rural Matanzas district of Guamacaro, where 90% of the slaves were of direct African origin (as opposed to creole) and thus had known freedom at some point in their lives. Over twenty farms were ransacked and a number of whites were killed. Whether the revolt was elaborately planned or a reaction to the dreadful conditions found on recently established coffee plantations is not known. The white response was rapid and severe. Mindful of the successful slave revolt in Haiti, the whites were determined to prevent what they referred to as an otro Santo Domingo. According to historian Laird W. Bergad, the revolt "ended quickly and was followed by extraordinary repression, massive security precautions on the part of the planters and the colonial state, and the effective garrisoning of rural Matanzas by Spanish militiamen." (Bergad, The Comparative Histories of Slavery in Brazil, Cuba and the United States, p. 209). Usual folds, small losses from seal tears, else very good to fine condition.

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October 9, 2010 11:00 AM EDT
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