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About Cuban Archives & Manuscripts

The Cuban Archives and Manuscripts collection includes archival collections that document the history and culture of Cuba and holdings that relate to Cuba and Cubans since the seventeenth century.

The University of Florida Smathers Libraries Special and Area Studies Collections are home to thirty-five archival collections of Cuban content exclusively. Some parts of them have been digitized and are part of the University of Florida Digital Collections. The following finding aids describe the collections, and these guides are now available in Spanish as well. 

In addition to finding guides for collections with only a few items digitized at this time, there are curated online collections with significant portions of the materials digitized and with information in both English and Spanish. The largest collections in the Cuban Archives and Manuscripts online collection are the Braga Brothers collection (only partially digitized), documenting the history and evolution of the sugar industry in Cuba and the United States from the 1860s to the late twentieth century, and the fully digitized Romero Family Papers collection, with personal records and other material regarding José Martí. To access the PDF of the Spanish Finding Aid of the Romero Family Papers collection, click here. Patrons can access the digitized sections of these collections through the links in the sub-collections section at the bottom of this page.

The Cuban Archives and Manuscripts collection is in development, with contributions to be added from partner institutions in Cuba and other locations that hold archival collections from and about Cuba.  

Fully Digitized Collections

Letter from John Parker to A. C. Johnstone, 3 April 1815 

Letter from John Parker to A. C. Johnstone, 6 August 1815 

Letter from John Parker to A. C. Johnstone, 7 June 1815 

Partially digitized collections

A Guide to the James M. Adams "Pioneering in Cuba" Papers (English Finding Aid) (PDF, Spanish Finding Aid). This collection encompasses the notes and letters of James M. Adams during his time in the American colony of La Gloria, Cuba. There is one item digitized from this collection, the book by James M. Adams Pioneering in Cuba: a narrative of the settlement of La Gloria, the first American colony in Cuba, and the early experiences of the pioneers.

A Guide to the William P. Angrick II Collection of Latin American and Caribbean Stereographs (English Finding Aid) (PDF, Spanish Finding Aid) This collection contains views of South American countries, Cuba, Jamaica, and Florida between 1860 and 1919. The digital surrogates of the stereographs are available here.

A Guide to Taco Bay Commercial Company Records​​​ (English Finding Aid) (PDF to Spanish Finding Aid) The organizational records of this sugar company are open for research. To see some of the business correspondence view the 18 digital items in UFDC.

A Guide to the B. S. Hile Correspondence (English Finding Aid) (PDF, Spanish Finding Aid) The B. S. Hile Correspondence (19 handwritten letters, approximately 40 pages) is dated from August 1861 to July 1862 and they document travel to Cuba.

A Guide to the José Ignacio Rodríguez Papers (English Finding Aid) (PDF, Spanish Finding Aid) There are 64 letters to and from Jose Ignacio Rodriguez spanning almost two decades in the late nineteenth century, from 1873 to 1890.

A Guide to the Military Papers of the Spanish Army in Cuba (English Finding Aid) (PDF, Spanish Finding Aid) Correspondence, financial records, and other documents about the organization and activities of the Spanish military in Cuba from 1869 to 1897.

A Guide to the Business Letters Describing the Financial Market in Cuba (English Finding Aid) (PDF, Spanish Finding Aid) Includes correspondence, dated 1867-1871, from agents in Cuba reporting on business and market conditions to merchants in Portland, Maine.

A Guide to  Paul A. Hughes Collection of Caribbean Stereographs (English Finding Aid) (PDF, Spanish Finding Aid) The collection includes 197 stereograph images showcasing scenes and views of the Greater and Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Also featured prominently are stereographs images from the Spanish American War.

A Guide  Cuban Slave Insurance Collection (English Finding Aid) (PDF, Spanish Finding Aid) Seventeen documents pertaining to insurance for slaves in Cuba.

More Latin American and Cuban collections 

Discover more archival collections in the list of Latin American and Caribbean Collection Finding Aids