To Raise a Rebellion in Matanzas

This chapter takes a step back from these rural mobilizations to examine the organization unfolding in the urban centers of Matanzas, and to a lesser extent, Havana. During the early 1840s these urban centers became a crucible for scores of dissident men—rural and urban slaves, free men of color, and white creole patriots—hoping to organize against slavery and colonialism. The chapter explores the political dynamics that were radicalizing urban blacks and mulattos by the middle of the century, and the ways these ruptures brought together groups of privileged free men, a pair of British abolitionists, and a group of anticolonial white creoles who contemplated a rebellion against the Spanish regime.