Draft:Bayamo Smuggling

• Comment: Please add more inline citations from reliable sources to this draft. ~delta ^{(talk • cont)} 02:05, 27 September 2025 (UTC)

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Havana at the beginning of the XVIII century

Bayamo smuggling is a historical phenomenon that occurred on the island of Cuba in the period from the 17th to the 19th century.^[1][2] Residents of Bayamo, as well as other nearby villas and towns, survived through the smuggling trade. This was possible thanks to the Spanish policy, which monopolized trade in both imports and exports.

The Spanish metropolis strictly controlled trade in the ports of its colonies. On the island of Cuba, where the single port policy was introduced, only Havana and Santiago de Cuba received the right to receive commercial vessels and conduct trade operations.^[3]

History of smuggling

Smuggling or ransom, as the Bayam people called it, in order not to attract the attention of the Spaniards, was actively carried out from the beginning of the 17th century to the end of the 18th century. At this time, various goods were traded, including spices, leather, salted meat, and indigo, with Dutch, English, and French ships. This practice originated as a way of survival for residents of Bayamo and other villas and towns, as the Single Port policy pursued by the Spanish Empire on the island of Cuba did not allow for sufficient livelihoods for most people, especially in the Bayamo region.

In exchange for their contraband goods, the smugglers' villas received a variety of goods: textiles, metal products, firearms, earthenware, wheat flour, wine and, most importantly, slaves brought from Africa. In those days, there was a concept of "pirate", which was used to refer to English, Dutch and French sailors who traded with the Creoles. The smuggling activities are reflected in the only known poem by the writer Silvestre de Balboa called "Mirror of Patience". This work also describes the kidnapping and ransom of an important figure of the island: Bishop Juan de las Cabezas Altamirano of Cuba by the French privateer Gilberto Chiron.

Pirates of the Caribbean, illustrated by Howard Pyle

In the case of Bayamo, the smuggling was carried out through the Cauto River and Guacanayabo Bay. This type of trade developed rapidly, and soon the Bayamo region became one of the most important places for smuggling on the island. Many families moved to the banks of the Kauto River, founding villages such as Kauto Embarcadero, Guamo and Kayama. Goods delivered on Dutch, English and French ships were unloaded and exchanged for local products: fish, leather, salted meat and indigo. This exchange of goods contributed to the development and prosperity of the residents, who considered the problem of food supply solved. A distinctive feature of the process of buying and selling goods was the direct connection of the population with the smugglers, which developed like real fairs.

The townspeople brought hides, lard, sugar and other goods to the fairs, which were in great demand among the smugglers.^[4] In response, the smugglers supplied black slaves, fine fabrics, a lot of linen and goods, soap, wax, whips (mercury) and everything necessary for everyday life. The only difference between the two fairs was that the Manzanillo fair was probably more significant because it attracted goods from a much larger area and constantly catered to foreign merchants based on land.^[5]

In the Cauto Valley, there was a gradual transition from subsistence farming to commodity production. Demographic growth in the region was negligible, and the individual work of tenants on small plots was widespread. The Bayam people's economic life was based on risky and unstable smuggling trade, which prevented them from accumulating capital and material assets such as land, houses and livestock.

After the liberalization of trade by the Spanish metropolis in 1789, commercial enterprises and trading societies began to appear in Bayamo, which became the driving force behind the developing trade in the city. These institutions have witnessed how the trading economy has surpassed its previous boundaries.

A characteristic feature of these enterprises and societies was the desire of their owners to avoid intermediaries in the city. They themselves purchased goods from other cities on the island, delivered them to Bayamo and sold them, often using their own homes as warehouses and retail outlets. The studied documentation indicates that both commercial enterprises and commercial societies in the city had one thing in common: they were personally engaged in the transportation, storage and sale of goods.

In 1868, the Ten Years' War began, and in 1869 the city was burned down. Spain pursued a policy of total destruction, which led to a decrease in the number of commercial enterprises. In 1868 there were 45 of them, and in 1878 there were only 4 left.

Reflist

1. "Contrabando, piratería y pedagogía: El Espejo de Paciencia (1608) de Silvestre de Balboa, primer poema escrito en la isla de Cuba". www.cyberhumanitatis.uchile.cl. Archived from the original on 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
2.  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bayamo". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 553–554.
3. "Cuba — Fraunces Tavern® Museum". Fraunces Tavern® Museum. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
4. "The Economic History and Economy of Cuba". www.sjsu.edu. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
5. "Bayamo, Eastern Cuba - Cuba Travel Guide | Anywhere". www.anywhere.com. Retrieved 2025-09-27.

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