Ever Faithful Chapter 1 Summary

In the book, Ever Faithful: Race, Loyalty, and the Ends of Empire in Spanish Cuba, author David Sartorius focuses on the connections between race and political loyalty in Cuba, during the 1800s. He looks at the ways that many Afro-Cubans support Spanish colonialism, because of appealing bargaining tactics of Spanish leaders. The Spaniards only used this tactic, when they needed support of the African community in Cuba. Many even use loyalty to try to obtain more rights and inclusion in Cuban society and in politics. Sartorius also includes mention of several key events that also took place within the 19th century that directly affected Cuba and the independence movement. The author calls for new insight on the history of racial ideologies, and politics in the African Diaspora, which have not received enough attention.
In Chapters 1 and 2, the author examines the history of the Spanish Empire during the 1800s, and the relationship with Cuba. After the military conflicts with Napoleon, Spain questions who could be a Spaniard, how to maintain their empire, and rights of the people, especially in regards to the rights of Africans in Cuba. This leads to the adoption of a document known as The Constitution of 1812, which “limited the power of the Crown and traced its authority to popular sovereignty; it established civil right and free trade”(Sartorius, 24). However, the universal law only leads to exclusion of African populations in …show more content…
The author does a great job explaining the history of race and loyalty within Cuba, and its effects on the Spanish colony itself. I liked the fact that Sartorius used and discussed the important key events and documents that were apart of the overall discussion. Also, it was interesting to see the author use several personal statements made by actual people involved within the history. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is willing to learn more about this particular