• Series 7: Cuba and the American Sugar Trade, 1897-1920: Braga Brothers Collection

• Published by Primary Source Microfilm

From the holdings of the Department of Special and Area Studies Collections at George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida

The Braga Brothers Collection documents the history of the sugar industry in Cuba and the raw sugar commodity trade in the United States. One of the richest extant archival sources on the modernization of the Cuban sugar industry from the late 19th century to the rise of Fidel Castro, this is an important resource for studying the rise of modern multinational business in the United States.

The principal holdings in the collection are the records of the Czarnikow-Rionda Company, one of North America's largest importers of sugar and molasses. Through their correspondence with each other, the officers of this family-owned company give personal commentary on many of the major political and economic events affecting Cuba and its trading relations with the United States from the latter part of the 19th century through the 20th century. Family and business letters describe the effects of the Cuban war for independence from Spain, recount the activities of guerrillas camping nearby, the arrival of General Weyler and his attempts to defeat the rebels, and the damage done to the sugar industry and Cuba. Correspondence related to the creation and early development of the Francisco Sugar Company detail daily management of problems, including acts of sabotage, deliberate fires, attempts by the workers to unionize and the response by managers, and the roles of the Cuban and U.S. governments in maintaining order on the island. The correspondence is rich in commentary, gossip and opinions on political and economic conditions in the early years of the Cuban Republic and also includes some discussion of the sugar industry in Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the Caribbean.

The collection offers unique insights into the contributions of private interests in public policy and acts as a counterpart to official records contained in national archives. The Braga Brothers Collection has a broad scholarly appeal in the areas of Latin American studies, Caribbean studies, U.S. diplomatic history, business history, political economic history; history of finance and commerce, and the history of agriculture and technology.

100 Reels in 8 parts

• Product number: 225122
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