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In 1866, worn out by fighting in the American Civil War, the writer
Samuel Hazard arrived in Cuba to begin work on a guidebook to the
island. Over a period of several months, as his health recovered,
he travelled throughout what was then still a Spanish colony,
observing and recording daily life. The result is one of the most
complete and evocative portrayals of colonial Cuban life, written
in the decade when the first concerted struggle for independence
was already under way. Hazard's sympathies were clearly with the
pro-independence "patriots", but his main aim was to produce a
complete overview of the island's sights and customs, aimed at
visitors. He is informative on hotels, restaurants, and transport
and sightseeing, but is also intrigued by the people he meets and
the idiosyncrasies of Cuban social life. Illustrated with hundreds
of the author's own sketches, "Cuba with Pen and Pencil" takes the
reader through the historic fortresses and mansions of Havana, the
tropical city of Santiago de Cuba and the plantations and mountains
of the island's countryside. With a keen and often quirky eye for
detail, Hazard explores the sugar industry - still largely powered
by slave labour - and Cuba's other economic activities. He
describes the island's flora and fauna, its varied topography, and
its varied social life, ranging from upper-class balls to slave
compounds. First published in 1871 and now reissued with an
introduction by acclaimed historian Richard Gott, "Cuba with Pen
and Pencil" is a unique portrait of an island and a society on the
eve of fundamental and historic change.
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