Vista de Una Vega de Tabaco

This image depicts a Cuban tobacco plantation in the late 1840s. The artist, Pierre Toussaint Frédéric Miahle, was a French painter who lived in Cuba for almost 20 years, from 1838-1854. This picture comes form the book, Pintoresco de la Isla de Cuba (Picturesque Journey around the Island of Cuba) which displayed customs and the daily life of Cubans and was published in 1847. Miahle’s images are considered some of the best to come form Cuba due to how they captured Cuba’s vibrancy and exoticness (“Miahle View of a Cuban Tobacco Plantation”). This picture also reflects Cuba’s importance in the world economy as a tobacco producer alongside sugar.

During the postcolonial years of 1825-1850, Cuba was actually not a postcolonial country at all; they were still controlled by the Spanish crown. By this time, almost all of the other Latin American countries had declared their independence and abolished slavery besides Cuba and Brazil. Their postcolonial period didn’t come until much later, which meant the feeling in Cuba was different than its fellow Latin American countries. While most countries started to miss the colonial days, Cuba was still right in the thick of its colonial times. Slaves and indigenous peoples were still heavily oppressed and Cuba’s world economic role was just as prominent.

Works Cited:

Pierre Toussaint Frédéric Miahle. “Vista de Una Vega de Tabaco” The Philadelphia Print Shop. “Miahle View of A Cuban Tobacco Plantation”. https://pps-west.com/product/miahle-view-cuban-tobacco-plantation/