Conflicting agencies in the “Juntas”:  “patronas”and“patrocinadas” in Cuba (1880-1886)

Barattini, Elena

Conflicting agencies in the “Juntas”: “patronas”and“patrocinadas” in Cuba (1880-1886)

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Barattini, E. Conflicting agencies in the “Juntas”: “patronas”and“patrocinadas” in Cuba (1880-1886). 2022. url: http://www.raco.cat/index.php/Entremons/article/view/405524

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Abstract

The gendered aspects of slavery in Cuba were key in the anticipated dismissal of the forced apprenticeship (the patronato) implemented to orchestrate the transition from slavery to coexisting forms of dependencies. This article explores the role that petitions brought forward by formerly enslaved women (patrocinadas) against their former female slave owners (patronas) had in this process. On the one hand, the characteristics of their enslavement in urban and domestic settings gave patrocinadas relative room for manoeuvre to acquire the social and material resources needed to file a lawsuit. On the other hand, patronas were resolute in trying to maintain control over their prerogatives, and privileges, which patrocinadas were an integral part of. Nonetheless, “property” in enslaved people by well-off and non-affluent women still needs to be thoroughly examined by the historiography on slavery in Cuba. This contribution highlights how the legal quarrels between patrocinadas and patronas could represent a significant primary source for studying this relevant occurrence. Moreover, the same sources might point to the pivotal role these conflicting demonstrations of agencies had in the gradual chipping of the patronato system.