Our New Colonies. Cuba, Porto Rico and Philippines.
- Title:
- Our New Colonies. Cuba, Porto Rico and Philippines.
- Alternate Title:
- Our New Colonies.
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Smith, John L.
- Date:
- 1898
- Posted Date:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2441.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2441_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1870 - 1899
- Subject:
- Imperialism
Money & Finance
Spanish-American War - Measurement:
- 38 x 58 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This otherwise unremarkable map has the unusual distinction of serving as a persuasive icon on two separate occasions, more than 60 years apart - on opposite sides of the same issue!
It was first published by J.L. Smith of Philadelphia in 1898, at the height of American enthusiasm for the territorial gains of the Spanish-American War. (For other maps of the period, see Subject > Spanish-American War.) The sheet is dominated by a large map of Cuba, with two related inset maps: the City of Habana and the Province of Havana. Two additional inset maps show the other principal American conquests, Porto Rico and the Phillipine Islands (with its own inset map of Manila Bay). And two further inset maps - one of the world, the other of the Eastern Caribbean - place the American territorial gains in a wider context.
There are two long blocks of text regarding Cuba. The smaller one on the left complains about "the American capital invested in plantations, mines, railroads, etc., in Cuba . . . which is crippled by the existing war" as well as the "extensive and lucrative trade" that "has been ruinously reduced or . . . virtually destroyed." The larger text on the bottom right sounds a very different note, extolling the riches of Cuba's climate and resources: "The soil is incredibly fertile, and it covers vast metallic and mineral treasures, Her tobacco alone has made her famous. With proper development, her sugar alone would make her rich, and there are fortunes in her very forests of rosewood, mahogany, ebony and other woods." This is followed by a history of the Spanish "oppression often as barbarous as it was despotic," leading to the revolutionary spirit of the Cubans and their desire for liberty.
In many ways, this set of maps is typical of those at the time in celebrating American expansionism. But it is unusual in the prominent title reference to "Our New Colonies." The notion of the United States acquiring "colonies" was generally avoided in maps of the time, perhaps in deference to our own revolutionary history. Instead, most maps referred to the new American "possessions" or "territories." See, e.g., ID ##2062, 2110. The combination of the bold title and the exploitive text makes the map a paradigm of contemporary American colonial ambitions.
This map was published in 1898, separately, in a large format (some 58 x 88 cm), and I've been able to locate records of only two surviving copies, at the Library of Congress and the BNF. But it found new life some 60 years later and 1200 miles away when it was deployed by Cuban propagandists. In 1961, during increasing tensions with the new Kennedy Administration, the Cubans published a short pamphlet based on Smith's map, "Nuestras Nuevas Colonias: Un Mapa Revelador" (Our New Colonies: A Revealing Map).
The pamphlet skillfully uses the imperialist overtones of 1898 to critique the contemporary United States. It begins with a full translation of the two text blocks on the map, followed by a short history of early American initiatives toward Cuba. The pamphlet's central focus, "evidence of greater importance . . . as proof of the colonialist mentality with which the United States government always judged Cuba, is the map that we reproduce in this brochure. The original, very beautiful - a true museum piece - has a height of sixty centimeters and a width of ninety. . . . It must be known by our people, so they see that, under the hypocritical pretext of liberating us from Spain, they had decided to make Cuba . . . a colony." The original 1898 map is photo reproduced at about two-thirds of original size and folded into the back of the brochure.
The brochure ends by tying the map once again to Cuban independence: "Our people and the Cuban revolution came to say that we are very far from those days, that this map is no longer in force among us, and President Kennedy like it or not like it, we will never be 'colonies' of anyone again. . . . Cuba can never be printed again."
The copy of the map in the Collection is from this later brochure. The brochure is undated, but because it mentions "President Kennedy" and does not mention the Bay of Pigs Invasion, it was apparently published between Kennedy's inauguration in January 1961 and the invasion in April of that year. Because of the poor quality of the paper used for the facsimile map, it has aged enough over the intervening years to resemble a map published in 1898.
Cornell University Library is pleased to present this digital collection of Persuasive Maps, the originals of which have been collected and described by the private collector PJ Mode. The descriptive information in the “Collector’s Notes” has been supplied by Mr. Mode and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cornell University. - Source:
- Nuestras nuevas colonias : un mapa revelador. [Our New Colonies: A Revealing Map.] 1961.Havana: Impr. Nacional de Cuba.
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.