In Bayamo…
Here’s a timeline of Cuban history before 1968
“I was born as a slave, but left the plantation where my master lived. I wanted to fight for Cuba to become a separate country from Spain. I was also fighting to end slavery in Cuba, and for Black people to be treated the same as white people.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
Other people were fighting too. There were some rich white men, who didn’t want to pay lots of money to Spain. There were lots of Black people like me - who wanted to be treated better and to not be slaves anymore. Although some of the white men became the leaders, most of the work and fighting was done by us.
I fought with a group of other escaped Black people - some people called us mambises. I would often fight on a horse, with a machete. But I also set up a hospital to look after wounded soldiers. I used my knowledge of local herbs to get better, because we couldn’t afford to buy medicines.
I fought in two wars actually. First I fought in the 10 Years War, which we lost, then in the Cuban War of Independence - which we won! Cuba became an independent country, separate from Spain in 1897. Unfortunately it didn’t last very long, but that’s another story…”
Activity 4: Help in the archives…
Here’s a little activity, to help you learn more about Cuban history. But first, you need to know some words and what they mean.
Take a look at the vocabulary below…
In the archives a WANTED poster from the time has been found. But the poster has been damaged, and some of the words have been smeared away.
Can you try and work out what the missing words are?
Use the vocabulary above and then fit the right word into the correct gap.
⭐ If you look on page X of the workbook, there’s a black and white version of the poster you can write on. That’s also where you’ll find the star for this activity ⭐