124:
estate foreman and other families of the estate lived . . . saw her leading some of them showing them the doors of the rooms where the whites usually slept. . . .â Another GangĂĄ woman reported seeing
Fermina and another male rebel âclearly and distinctly,â with Fermina showing fellow slaves where the white plantation residents slept. The woman, named Catalina, said she heard Fermina and another male rebel yelling to other slaves, âtelling them âThe whites are escaping . . .â and began to run in pursuit of the fugitives.â
20:
252:
161:, began an investigation. During which, the government tortured suspects and arrested the âconfessedâ organizers. Persecution and torture spread throughout much of western Cuba in 1844. Before the investigation ended, âthousands of people of color, free and slave, had been executed, banished, or imprisoned, or had simply disappeared.â
224:, sharing that âthis plan was most definite and uppermost in his mind during the last months of his life . He complained of not being laid to rest in his native soil and, predicting that Cuba would suffer the same fate as that of a neighboring island, seized by the blacks, begged my mother to come to Spain with their children."
84:. Due to this, Cuba became one of the worldâs largest sugar producers as well as one of Spainâs remaining colonies. The plantations of the west-central region became known for their hard labor as well as their sugar production. Slaveholders began to purchase more African women in an attempt to ensure their economic status.
149:
Carlota was found dead the morning after the uprising. Twenty-four-year-old
Fermina was interrogated and imprisoned for months. She was one of eight accused leaders to be executed by a firing squad. Her body was then burned. All the other slaves of the mill were ordered to be witnesses, along with a
141:
she . . . heard is named
Carlota, was boasting that she had attacked with a machete a white daughter of the overseer who is named Doña Maria de Regla.â Magdalena LucumĂ testified that Carlota âwas talking about having attacked the child Maria de Regla, daughter of the mayoral with a machete. . . .â
87:
In March, May, and
November 1843, a series of slave revolts occurred on the island of Cuba. In December of 1843, an enslaved woman named Polonia GangĂĄ informed her owner that his property was about to be overtaken. Polina's comment is seen as the beginning for hunting down the said conspiracy. There
140:
Carlota LucumĂ was enslaved on the
Triunvirato estate where the rebellion began. Carlota is remembered for attacking the overseerâs daughter at Ăcana and for bragging about it to several other slaves. A field worker named Matea GangĂĄ stated, âIt is very true that a black woman from Triunvirato whom
136:
Fermina denied the allegations against her. When questioned about what she had been doing that night, she stated that âshe was sleeping in her cabin,â and that when she heard the noise she ran from her cabin and "hid in a cane patch." She insisted that those who testified against her must have done
110:
and was verbal about her dislike for her working conditions on several occasions. During summer of 1843, Fermina escaped from Ăcana with a group, and there is a possibility that she and another slave organized a smaller rebellion in June. By
November Fermina has a reputation as a troublemaker. For
61:
Historians have debated over the years whether the
Conspiracy of La Escalera was real or whether it was largely an invention of the Spanish authorities to justify a crackdown on abolitionists and the Afro-Cuban population, though at this point there seems to be a consensus that some kind of revolt
127:
Camila
Criolla, a field worker on the same estate, testified that Fermina âwas shouting to the Triunvirato slaves telling them that the whites were escaping that way; that right away observed that Fermina was approaching the plantain grove directing several slaves and telling them âgrab that fat
123:
Several enslaved women gave harmful testimony about
Fermina regarding the events of the night of 5 November. A woman named Filomena GangĂĄ stated that âshe only remembers having seen the black woman Fermina among the rebels.â Filomena reported that âFermina joined the rebels to show them where the
132:
for he is the one who puts shackles. . . .ââ Camila believed âthe fat white manâ to be the foreman or overseer on the estate. Another fieldworker named MartĂna said that âwith great shouts, requested a large hammer to take off the shackles of the prisoners who were locked up on this estate.â
175:
During interrogation, questions were designed to find the most dramatic or violent moments of the rebellion. Officials framed their questions "in terms of who killed, who set fire to buildings, who had weapons (such as machetes), who released people from shackles, who assaulted white
239:
The novel Sab is best known for its antislavery character. The Royal Censor banned Sab in Cuba because it contained âdoctrines subversive to the system of slavery in this island and contrary to morals and good habits.â
50:, an alleged slave revolt and movement to abolish slavery in Cuba. The term "Year of the Lash" refers generally to the harsh response toward the would-be revolt by the Cuban colonial authorities, whereby thousands of
474:
164:
More than four thousand individuals were arrested. The most famous of those sentenced to death was the accused
Gabriel de la Concepción Valdés, alias
527:
484:
401:
336:
280:
63:
275:
107:
320:
58:('the ladder') alludes to the fact that slave suspects were bound to ladders and whipped with the lash when they were interrogated.
213:
509:
is a standard account. See his introduction, "La Escalera and the Historians," for an overview of the historiographical debate.
542:
537:
103:, and was taken on board a slave ship. If so, she was one of the millions of people forced into slavery from that region.
72:
of being the "prime mover" of the conspiracy. Turnbull had already been expelled by Cuban authorities two years earlier.
184:
81:
180:
165:
137:
so âto place themselves in a good position and leave her ,â and that they must have received some kind of reward.
522:
452:""What Looks Like a Revolution" Enslaved Women and the Gendered Terrain of Slave Insurgencies in Cuba, 1843â1844"
265:
532:
364:
Sugar is Made With Blood: The Conspiracy of La Escalera and the Conflict between Empires over Slavery in Cuba,
172:, and one of Cubaâs most famous poets. Free people of color made up almost half of those sentenced to death.
285:
93:
455:
158:
115:
for five months. A massive uprising occurred on 5 November 1843, several days after they were removed.
176:
employees/employers, who led rebels, and how the witnesses positioned themselves within such events."
359:
502:
407:
194:
480:
415:
397:
316:
233:
229:
225:
67:
394:
The Year of the Lash: Free People of Color in Cuba and the Nineteenth-Century Atlantic World
312:
The Year of the Lash: Free People of Color in Cuba and the Nineteenth-century Atlantic World
89:
31:
270:
19:
232:, wrote a of slave conspiracy in the making. He included the use of the term âWorse than
179:
Carlota is so interwoven in memory that Cuba launched its 1975 attack in support of the
516:
23:âPunishing Slaves in Cubaâ, an illustration of a slave being tortured using a ladder
459:
310:
257:
51:
479:. Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora. Boydell & Brewer.
451:
247:
100:
99:
It is likely that as a LucumĂ, Fermina, like Carlota, came from the region of
54:(both slave and free) were executed, imprisoned, or banished from the island.
419:
411:
154:
80:
Nineteenth-century Cuba was built upon systematized violence, similar to
221:
169:
129:
112:
43:
157:, government agents under the orders of the Cuban captain general,
217:
18:
96:. These two women are seen as leaders in the November uprising.
39:
106:
Records indicate that Fermina worked in the fields on the
150:
slave representative from each of the nearby properties.
88:
are two more well-known African-born rebel women of the
111:
running away, Fermina LucumĂ was whipped and placed in
476:
Women and Slavery in Nineteenth-Century Colonial Cuba
42:
in reference to 29 June 1844, when a firing squad in
337:"La Escalera, Conspiracy of | Encyclopedia.com"
203:El negro en la EconomĂa habanera del siglo XIX
16:Execution of leaders of a slave revolt in Cuba
8:
62:was planned. The British consul to Cuba,
366:Wesleyan University Press, 1988, page 4.
296:
216:wrote of her dad's desire to return to
473:Franklin, Sarah L. (5 February 2013).
281:David Turnbull (British abolitionist)
7:
445:
443:
441:
439:
437:
435:
433:
431:
429:
387:
385:
383:
381:
304:
302:
300:
276:Spanish colonization of the Americas
228:, in his famous novel of the Cuban,
207:Rethinking Slave Rebellion in Cuba
14:
250:
128:white man and hit him with your
46:executed accused leaders of the
528:Spanish colonial period of Cuba
396:. University of Georgia Press.
315:. University of Georgia Press.
392:Reid-Vazquez, Michele (2011).
309:Reid-Vazquez, Michele (2011).
236:!â and hinted at La Escalera.
153:Following the rebellions near
1:
214:Gertrudis GĂłmez de Avellaneda
201:, Pedro Deschamps Chapeauxâs
450:Finch, Aisha (Spring 2014).
48:ConspiraciĂłn de La Escalera
559:
266:Timeline of Cuban history
183:movement under the title
145:La Escalera and Aftermath
507:Sugar is Made With Blood
199:Sugar Is Made with Blood
82:American slave societies
543:Historiography of Cuba
286:Carlota (rebel leader)
108:Ăcana sugar plantation
24:
538:1844 in North America
119:The November Uprising
76:Historical background
22:
341:www.encyclopedia.com
205:, and Aisha Finchâs
185:âOperation Carlota.â
92:nation, Fermina and
38:) is a term used in
360:Paquette, Robert L.
212:The Cuban novelist
195:Robert L. Paquette
181:Angolan liberation
159:Leopoldo OâDonnell
25:
486:978-1-58046-402-4
403:978-12-8337-507-8
375:Paquette, 3, 156.
226:Cirilo Villaverde
550:
523:June 1844 events
491:
490:
470:
464:
463:
447:
424:
423:
389:
376:
373:
367:
357:
351:
350:
348:
347:
333:
327:
326:
306:
260:
255:
254:
253:
66:, was convicted
28:Year of the Lash
558:
557:
553:
552:
551:
549:
548:
547:
533:Slavery in Cuba
513:
512:
499:
497:Further reading
494:
487:
472:
471:
467:
449:
448:
427:
404:
391:
390:
379:
374:
370:
358:
354:
345:
343:
335:
334:
330:
323:
308:
307:
298:
294:
271:History of Cuba
256:
251:
249:
246:
192:
147:
121:
78:
17:
12:
11:
5:
556:
554:
546:
545:
540:
535:
530:
525:
515:
514:
511:
510:
498:
495:
493:
492:
485:
465:
425:
402:
377:
368:
352:
328:
321:
295:
293:
290:
289:
288:
283:
278:
273:
268:
262:
261:
245:
242:
230:Cecilia Valdés
220:and settle in
191:
190:Other mentions
188:
146:
143:
120:
117:
77:
74:
64:David Turnbull
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
555:
544:
541:
539:
536:
534:
531:
529:
526:
524:
521:
520:
518:
508:
504:
501:
500:
496:
488:
482:
478:
477:
469:
466:
461:
457:
453:
446:
444:
442:
440:
438:
436:
434:
432:
430:
426:
421:
417:
413:
409:
405:
399:
395:
388:
386:
384:
382:
378:
372:
369:
365:
361:
356:
353:
342:
338:
332:
329:
324:
322:9780820340685
318:
314:
313:
305:
303:
301:
297:
291:
287:
284:
282:
279:
277:
274:
272:
269:
267:
264:
263:
259:
248:
243:
241:
237:
235:
231:
227:
223:
219:
215:
210:
208:
204:
200:
196:
189:
187:
186:
182:
177:
173:
171:
167:
162:
160:
156:
151:
144:
142:
138:
134:
131:
125:
118:
116:
114:
113:iron shackles
109:
104:
102:
97:
95:
91:
85:
83:
75:
73:
71:
70:
65:
59:
57:
53:
49:
45:
41:
37:
36:Año del Cuero
33:
29:
21:
506:
475:
468:
393:
371:
363:
355:
344:. Retrieved
340:
331:
311:
238:
211:
206:
202:
198:
193:
178:
174:
163:
152:
148:
139:
135:
126:
122:
105:
98:
86:
79:
68:
60:
55:
47:
35:
27:
26:
412:j.ctt46nn3d
258:Cuba portal
69:in absentia
56:La Escalera
52:Afro-Cubans
517:Categories
460:1511922014
346:2019-11-07
292:References
101:Yorubaland
420:772235659
168:, a free
503:Paquette
456:ProQuest
244:See also
155:Matanzas
222:Seville
166:PlĂĄcido
130:machete
94:Carlota
32:Spanish
483:
458:
418:
410:
400:
319:
234:Aponte
170:Mulato
90:LucumĂ
44:Havana
408:JSTOR
218:Spain
481:ISBN
416:OCLC
398:ISBN
317:ISBN
40:Cuba
30:(in
505:'s
197:âs
519::
454:.
428:^
414:.
406:.
380:^
362:,
339:.
299:^
209:.
34:,
489:.
462:.
422:.
349:.
325:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
