Synopses & Reviews
"Based on impressive archival research. . . . The material is presented thematically, allowing the reader to develop a synthetic vision of how Havana's growth related to the emergent realities of the Atlantic world. . . . A lucid and definitive work."
-Journal of Latin American Studies "Helps to close the historiographical gap of pre-eighteenth-century Cuba. . . . A convincing and deeply-researched example of the economic and cultural interconnectedness of the Atlantic, particularly across national and imperial borders."
-Caribbean Studies "A contribution to Atlantic history. . . . Recommended."
-Choice "Explores a critical but neglected milieu in the formation of the early Atlantic world. . . . Wonderfully researched and vividly documented social historical account of early Havana."
-Hispanic American Historical Review "An exciting and pioneering work. . . . Meticulous research in reconstructing Havana's initial economic, population, and urban growth."
-Colonial Latin America Review "A most welcome addition to the emerging field of Atlantic studies and to Cuban historiography. . . . Sets the ground and leads the way. . . . An invitation for more Atlantic-oriented urban studies and conversations."
-William and Mary Quarterly "Complicates and enriches current Cuban historiography. . . . Researchers will return to this book time and again for precious details. . . . Belongs in any graduate seminar on the Atlantic not only because of its subject matter, but also as an example of patient, careful, and perceptive research and scholarship."
-Canadian Journal of History "Interest in modern Cuba has deflected scholarly attention away from the early history of the island. This excellent book reopens the history of early Cuba. It is a wonderful and singular re-creation of the history of Havana and of Cuban society based on a meticulous analysis of the earliest extant records. While there is much new here on slavery and commerce, as one would expect, there is also considerable new information on landholding, social organization, mining, and a host of other themes. De la Fuente's book will change our understanding of how the Hispanic Caribbean and the early Atlantic world developed. It establishes de la Fuente's reputation as a historian of the colonial world and one of the few who writes with equal authority on both colonial and modern Cuba."-Stuart B. Schwartz, Yale University "De la Fuente supplies, for the first time in any language, a comprehensive and thoroughly researched history of the establishment and growth of Havana, one of the New World's great cities. The mass of fascinating information contained in this work represents a major development of the broad picture sketched out by other historians of the early transatlantic exchanges. This well-written book should appeal to anyone interested in a colorful corner of the Caribbean, and it will be necessary reading for students of empire and slavery."-Robin Blackburn, University of Essex "De la Fuente skillfully harnesses primary source materials to generate an impressive analytical history of early colonial Havana. This book is a solid piece of scholarship and will certainly become a well-recognized work on Latin American colonial history, Cuban history, and Caribbean history."--Laird W. Bergad, Lehman College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York
Synopsis
De la Fuente provides the first examination of the transformation of Havana into a vibrant Atlantic port city and the fastest-growing urban center in the Americas in the late sixteenth century. He shows how local ambitions took advantage of the imperial design and situates Havana within the slavery and economic systems of the colonial Atlantic.
Synopsis
Havana in the 1550s was a small coastal village with a very limited population that was vulnerable to attack. By 1610, however, under Spanish rule it had become one of the best-fortified port cities in the world and an Atlantic center of shipping, commerce, and shipbuilding. Using all available local Cuban sources, Alejandro de la Fuente provides the first examination of the transformation of Havana into a vibrant Atlantic port city and the fastest-growing urban center in the Americas in the late sixteenth century. He shows how local ambitions took advantage of the imperial design and situates Havana within the slavery and economic systems of the colonial Atlantic.
About the Author
Alejandro de la Fuente is University Center for International Studies Research Professor of History and Latin American Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.