> In the 1930s, the United States wrapped up its semiformal empire on the island and what do you know? The economy collapsed, and hadn’t really recovered by the 1950s
Another effect of the 1930s depression in Cuba was the loss of recent Spanish immigrants, who left the island en masse (most were recent arrivals, attracted by the WWI sugar boom and the 1920s). Also mirrors the departure of Spaniards after the first decolonization.
I hear you, but I wouldn’t call it en masse. After all, most of the Spanish-born population consisted of migrant laborers. They simply stopped returning when the bottom fell out of the Cuban sugar economy. That’s obviously an emigration — the total number of Spanish-born fell from 258,000 to 158,000 in 1930-43 — but it’s not the kind of exodus the words evoke.
I’ve attached the immigration statistics from Alonso-Sánchez for Cuba, and an overall series for Spanish migration to the Americas. In the latter, you can see the continuous return migration. (Latter from “El pasado vuelve a marcar el presente: la emigración española.”)
Maybe "en masse" were not the right words. I meant to convey that a large share of the Spaniards who had arrived in Cuba in the years before the depression (1914-1929?) left the country. Maybe a majority, though I'm not quite sure.
"Data from the Ministry of Labor on repatriations from Cuba, both with subsidized and free passage, between the beginning of January and the end of September 1930, indicates that 12,606 individuals benefited... In those days, tensions were mounting among the human tide that continued to arrive in Havana from the interior of the island hoping to be repatriated... Even in 1934, applying to the 5,100 Spaniards repatriated by the Government up to mid-August" (Spanish original:
"Datos del Ministerio de Trabajo sobre las repatriaciones, tanto con pasajes bonificados como gratuitos, de Cuba entre inicios de enero y finales de septiembre de 1930 hablan de 12.606 individuos beneficiados,... En aquellos días, las tensiones acumuladas entre la riada humana que seguía llegando a La Habana del interior de la isla con el ánimo de conseguir la repatriación,...Todavía en 1934, aplicando a los 5.100 españoles que repatrió el Gobierno hasta mediados de agosto...")
Assuming recent Spanish migrants were around 100,000-150,000 (?), a large share of them clearly went back to Spain.
Until somebody digs deeper, all we really know right now is that the Spanish-born population declined by 100,000!
I think the only thing to bear in mind is that the majority of the male Spanish-born population considered themselves to be migrant workers, not immigrants.
I think your prediction of regime survival is spot on, sadly.
The example of North Korea is instructive. A regime that has truly achieved a monopoly on the use of force can let its population starve and still survive.
Re: Cuban medical aid, when my grandfather was visiting Cuba in the early 2000s, a Cuban citizen told him sardonically, "Yes, Cuban doctors are great but you have to live in Venezuela to see one."
> In the 1930s, the United States wrapped up its semiformal empire on the island and what do you know? The economy collapsed, and hadn’t really recovered by the 1950s
Another effect of the 1930s depression in Cuba was the loss of recent Spanish immigrants, who left the island en masse (most were recent arrivals, attracted by the WWI sugar boom and the 1920s). Also mirrors the departure of Spaniards after the first decolonization.
I hear you, but I wouldn’t call it en masse. After all, most of the Spanish-born population consisted of migrant laborers. They simply stopped returning when the bottom fell out of the Cuban sugar economy. That’s obviously an emigration — the total number of Spanish-born fell from 258,000 to 158,000 in 1930-43 — but it’s not the kind of exodus the words evoke.
I’ve attached the immigration statistics from Alonso-Sánchez for Cuba, and an overall series for Spanish migration to the Americas. In the latter, you can see the continuous return migration. (Latter from “El pasado vuelve a marcar el presente: la emigración española.”)
Maybe "en masse" were not the right words. I meant to convey that a large share of the Spaniards who had arrived in Cuba in the years before the depression (1914-1929?) left the country. Maybe a majority, though I'm not quite sure.
From "La repatriación de los emigrados canarios tras el hundimiento del sector azucarero cubano, 1920-1935", by Julio Yanes Mesa (https://revistas.um.es/analeshc/article/view/71901/69391):
"Data from the Ministry of Labor on repatriations from Cuba, both with subsidized and free passage, between the beginning of January and the end of September 1930, indicates that 12,606 individuals benefited... In those days, tensions were mounting among the human tide that continued to arrive in Havana from the interior of the island hoping to be repatriated... Even in 1934, applying to the 5,100 Spaniards repatriated by the Government up to mid-August" (Spanish original:
"Datos del Ministerio de Trabajo sobre las repatriaciones, tanto con pasajes bonificados como gratuitos, de Cuba entre inicios de enero y finales de septiembre de 1930 hablan de 12.606 individuos beneficiados,... En aquellos días, las tensiones acumuladas entre la riada humana que seguía llegando a La Habana del interior de la isla con el ánimo de conseguir la repatriación,...Todavía en 1934, aplicando a los 5.100 españoles que repatrió el Gobierno hasta mediados de agosto...")
Assuming recent Spanish migrants were around 100,000-150,000 (?), a large share of them clearly went back to Spain.
Until somebody digs deeper, all we really know right now is that the Spanish-born population declined by 100,000!
I think the only thing to bear in mind is that the majority of the male Spanish-born population considered themselves to be migrant workers, not immigrants.
Agreed. More research on this would be nice.
I think your prediction of regime survival is spot on, sadly.
The example of North Korea is instructive. A regime that has truly achieved a monopoly on the use of force can let its population starve and still survive.
Re: Cuban medical aid, when my grandfather was visiting Cuba in the early 2000s, a Cuban citizen told him sardonically, "Yes, Cuban doctors are great but you have to live in Venezuela to see one."