\jjx cLeTT© r^wi- L4_ \^ a- CUBA Discovered Degraded Delivered 1911 THE WOMAN S AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETY 2969 Vernon Avenue, : : Chicago, III. CUBA. MARY G. BURDETTE. THE COUNTRY. October 28, 1492, recorded the discovery of Cuba by Chris¬ topher Columbus, who first called the island Juana, in honor of Prince John, son of Eerdinand and Isabella; but after the death of Eerdinand an attempt was made to change Discovery name to Eernandina, and subsequently it was called, successively, Santiago, from the patron saint of Spain (St. James), and Ave Maria, in honor of the Virgin. However, during all these changes the name by which it was known to the natives continued to be used ; and, surviving all the rest, became and is now the recognized name of the country. The archipelago of which Cuba is the largest island was called by Columbus West Indies, as he hoped that through these islands he had discovered a new route to India. It is sometimes called the Antilles, as some thought that in this dis¬ covery Columbus had reached Antilla, a fabled country said to be far west of the Azores. Cuba lies within the tropics, and the climate of the lowlands along the coast is that of the Torrid Zone; but wdth the higher altitude of the interior is found a climate more temperate and healthful. The temperature throughout the year is comparatively even, ranging from eighty-two Climate. degrees during the hottest months—July and August—to sev¬ enty-two degrees during the coldest season, December and Jan¬ uary. The average temperature for the year is seventy-seven degrees. Erom June to October is the rainy season, and from Novem¬ ber to May the dry season, although rain falls every month in Produc¬ tions. the year. The soil is extremely fertile, the lead¬ ing productions l)eing coffee, sugar, rice, cot¬ ton, and tobacco. Tropical fruits and vegetables grow luxuriantly. 2 THE PEOPLE. Aborig¬ ines. Columbus found on the island of Cuba a race of Indians gentle and kind, numbering, as estimated, about one million. About twenty years later Velasquez, with a force of three hun¬ dred Spaniards, sul)jugated these aborigines and reduced them to a pitiless slavery. So cruel was this bondage, that in less than a century after the discovery of Cuba the aboriginal race had practically ceased to exist. Foreseeing the extinction of the native Indians, as early as 1524, negroes, imported for the purpose, were enslaved by the Spaniards in Cuba. Chinese were first brought to the island by the Royal Society of Public Works in 1847, and given out for the proportionate cost of trans¬ portation. Afterward the business of their trans¬ portation was undertaken by individuals and companies, and became a species of slave trade, the coolies, as they were called, being jM'actically held for life to pay the cost of their transfer. Slavery was abolished in 1886; hut there remain in Cuba about 500,000 people of African descent and 30,000 Chinese. The total population of the island is, in a round number, 1,600,000. This includes nearly 1,000,000 white Cubans (Creoles), 235,000 black Cubans, 270,000 colored Cubans (mulattoes), about 15,000 Chi¬ nese, about 130,000 Spaniards, and about 13,000 other for- Negroes and Chinese. Total Population. eigners. The white Cubans, although of Spanish descent, have lony regarded themselves as native Cubans, and the tyranny of Spain in excluding them from official positions, and sub¬ jecting them to extortionate taxation, bore fruit in an intense hatred to Spain and everything Spanish. The white Cubans are the owners of the soil. The black Cubans and mulattoes are the la¬ borers. Since the day of their introduction the ne¬ groes have done the hard work on the sugar and other plantations. Spaniards in Cuba, now that the government officials and army officers are gone, are usually merchants, and other foreigners are engaged in various lines of trade and business venture that promise a fair return in money. White Cubans. Black Cubans and Mulattoes. Spaniards and Foreigners. 3 MORALS, MANNERS, AND EDUCATION. General Wood is quoted as saying that the greatest obstacle in the administration of government in Cuba is the lack of moral integrity. What the people lack most, as their own best leaders admit, is that foundation of moral character which will lead them to be truthful and honest and to live in the fear of God. ‘‘The people,” says Dr. Moseley, “have many good traits of character, and are capable of great development. They are ex¬ ceedingly kind-hearted, and are noted for their family attach¬ ment, hospitality, and politeness of address. As a class, high and low, they are a simple-hearted people. The men of the better classes are well educated and well bred, and even the peasantry have a courtesy of manner which might put to shame tlie rudeness of some of our young people. “Owing possibly to the influence of the climate, as well as to the peculiarities of their government, the men as a whole are listless and indifferent, and seem lacking in that energy found in inhabitants of colder climates. With the Cuban it is always manana (to-morow), and oftentimes manana never comes. “Cuban women, while largely illiterate, are often very fasci¬ nating. As a rule, they are elegant in their manner, have beau- 'tiful hair and eyes, and fine teeth; and while coquettish as maidens, they are devoted as wives and mothers. Family ties are stronger with them than with us, and no sacrifice is too great for them to help along one of their own blood.” While there have been schools and colleges, these have been inaccessible to the masses. Many children of the upper classes have been educated in Europe and America; but under the regime of Spain, it is estimated than not more than one-tenth of the children of Cuba received any education. The United States inaugurated a plan of education in accordance with American sentiment and custom, equipping hundreds of schools with modern benches, desks, and text-books, but the number of teachers really qualified to instruct is lamentably deficient. ‘ Two facts,” says one who has studied the situation care¬ fully, “sum up the educational problem in Cuba. The one is the wide spread desire for education, and the other the incom¬ petency of native teachers as a class. Together with this is a marked jealousy of American teachers.” This writer urges the need of normal schools in charge of American instructors, for the training of native teachers. 4 MORALS, MANNERS, AND EDUCATION. General Wood is quoted as saying that the greatest obstacle in the administration of government in Cuba is the lack of moral integrity. What the people lack most, as their own best leaders admit, is that foundation of moral character which will lead them to be truthful and honest and to live in the fear of God. “The people,” says Dr. Moseley, “have many good traits of character, and are capable of great development. They are ex¬ ceedingly kind-hearted, and are noted for their family attach¬ ment, hospitality, and politeness of address. As a class, high and low, they are a simple-hearted people. The men of the better classes are well educated and well bred, and even the peasantry have a courtesy of manner which might put to shame tlie rudeness of some of our young people. “Owing possibly to tbe influence of tbe climate, as well as to the peculiarities of their government, the men as a whole are listless and indifferent, and seem lacking in that energy found in inhabitants of colder climates. With the Cuban it is always manana (to-morow), and oftentimes manana never comes. “Cuban women, while largely illiterate, are often very fasci¬ nating. As a rule, they are elegant in their manner, have beau¬ tiful hair and eyes, and fine teeth; and while coquettish as maidens, they are devoted as wives and mothers. Family ties are stronger with them than with us, and no sacrifice is too great for them to help along one of their own blood.” While there have been schools and colleges, these have been inaccessible to the masses. Many children of the upper classes have been educated in Europe and America; but under the regime of Spain, it is estimated than not more than one-tenth of the children of Cuba received any education. The United States inaugurated a plan of education in accordance with American sentiment and custom, equipping hundreds of schools with modern benches, desks, and text-books, but the number of teachers really ciualified to instruct is lamentably deficient. “Two facts,” says one wbo has studied the situation care¬ fully, “sum up the educational problem in Cuba. The one is the wide spread desire for education, and the other the incom¬ petency of native teachers as a class. Together with this is a marked jealousy of American teachers.” This writer urges the need of normal schools in charge of American instructors, for the training of native teachers. 4 _ ’ . iH V f ^C.hcrakx Solin'^ Isaac Rocks ^ '^ffm'nfawan B . * ^ * *lj"_. iii. _..<»/ U lJu»o '\v„iE„j'-,- 3 -°“- ,.G“- Ji •- , CHEAT ■'^Elbow CwL.Hf ^Pilicart Harbor *\LUtlr /larbi'- -» ABACO I 'hcroki Sor.n'i V y , > It oclt -r i --- ^ Cross. llar.^Abavo L. H. , ^ (Jj annsc ,VftI>"“'"“" .a.Ace J'- ■ ■’•V. i. CL'RLKV C L.T/,*, .^-> i’V 6^ yc,' ^ .5.. S>T^ .v’ .r! , i - i Yellow Cav5j^.O b'(:uala CaV^, Ca« ,a, '= Dabby 1. •♦,, O Darraterre 1 .»*(^ “ Great y ■aTatli.'JoI ■Vllbt'l.'^ ft RA\S.^ LVA iVodlD : of < Oi'U .0=./ Lakk'sNe-t # W*'"’ ‘ Conception 1, [jStocking T. ^ ,- ^ i: s IittSe Exl-ma* *” Long L joWsIs.. , eo“ TLAMiNtio Cay. \vater'^^^C^ ^.iSS'^Hv .„..^.AA,A,eA^^AA., ',-DosooisT Cav 3l,s„ Caa"*. ^Dacoon Cav Sj,) SDaCGepT®. , \ 3 IiRAPun\’ 0 B*-ft:- 5 .Y’»A;T • Cavs p ^ isi Channel CaVO \ ERDE ^'»as j'*g»XA M^oV-y,o'!‘fAW'''* 3105 ^ .Smt^iAi^/i/A (U Ovet Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Columbia University Libraries https://archive.org/details/cubadiscovereddeOOburd RELIGION. The aboriginal inhabitants of Cuba, like onr own Indians, recognized the existence of a Great and Good Spirit, and be¬ lieved in the immortality of the soul. Their religion was with¬ out rites and ceremonies. With Spain came Rome. Spirit Such were the laws of the State, and such the teachings and practices of the representative lead- Romanism. Roman Catholic Church, that under their combined influences, from childhood the people were trained in deception, dishonesty, and immorality. The priests have been, and still are, with very few exceptions, Spaniards, corrupt and greedy, indifferent to the welfare of the people, and oppressive in their charges for religious services, such as baptisms (so called), marriages, and burials. As a result of this immorality and oppression, there has been for years a widespread and growing dissatisfaction with the priests and the Church of whose doctrines they claim to be exponents, and whose affairs they direct; and among the men large numbers have utterly repudiated the Roman Catholic religion, while many who have not boldness to take this step are Catholic only in name. While the repudiation of Romanism must not be mistaken as the acceptance of Christianity, there is encouragement in the fact that among these apostates to Rome are many who turn a ft iendly ear to the preacher of truth. GOSPEL WORK. The name of Alberto J. Diaz will ever stand first in the list of those whom God has chosen to bear tbe name of Christ before the powers that be and tbe Rome-blinded people of Cuba. It is not necessary here to repeat the well-known story of his plunge into the sea to escape capture by the Spaniards, of his rescue from the deep, of his experience as a refugee in New York, his conversion and baptism, and return to Cuba that he might tell those of his own household and his countrymen of the way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Nor is it necessary to rehearse the story of his early trials and triumphs, of the disappointment when father, mother, brothers, and sis¬ ters refused to hear him, and his joy when others listened and some were converted. We may refer, merely in a word, to the wrath of the priests, and how they cut off his means of support by warning the people that if they employed him as a physician they would bring upon their souls the anathemas of the Church. 5 With great sorrow of heart we see him again leaving Cuba for New York, hoping that there, where he had found Christ, he might find some means l)y which he could return, and preach Him in Cuba. And just here note how God has honored women in the evangelization of Cuba. It was a woman who directed the attention of Diaz to the Scriptures, able to make him wise unto salvation, and now it was the "Ladies’ Bible So¬ ciety” of Philadelphia who sent him back to Cuba as a col- porter. Back he went, and God so prospered his work that 1886 records the organization of the First Baptist Church of Cuba. The work was, during this same year, taken under the fostering care of the Southern Baptist Convention and be¬ lievers were multiplied and added to the Church. At the time of the breaking out of the recent war with Spain, the Baptist Mission in Cuba included seven churches, located in six cities and towns. Twenty-one missionaries were laboring at twen¬ ty-seven stations. The churches enrolled about eighteen hun¬ dred members, and the Sunday Schools thousands of pupils. Several day schools were maintained, with an enrollment of 750 students. But "scattered and peeled” was the flock during the horrors of war—their pastor, first imprisoned, then exiled, all their able-bodied men in the field fighting for libertv, civil and re¬ ligious, while large numbers of men, women and children per¬ ished from privation, exposure, starvation, disease, and the sword. No sooner did the way open for his return than Diaz was again in Havana, gathering what remained of the scattered churches, and preaching the Word with such effect that within a few weeks after his arrival nearly one hundred converts were received into the fellowship of the churches. Rev. J. O. O’Halloran was sent to Santiago as soon as the American flag waved over that city over which Roman Cathol¬ icism had brooded for centuries; where no Protestantism had ever existed, and no effort had ever before been made to preach the Gospel, crowds of men, women, and children listened ea¬ gerly to the strange story of a Saviour’s love, and scores ac¬ cepted the offered salvation. In a little more than two months two Baptist churches were organized, and nearly two hundred converts added to their membership upon confession of their faith and after baptism. 6 DIVISION OF TERRITORY. By mutual and cordial ag'reement between the American Baptist Home Mission Society and the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, at a conference held Novem¬ ber 23, 1898, the former is to establish missions and prose¬ cute its work in the two eastern provinces of Cuba, and the latter in the remaining’ provinces forming the western portion of the island. In consequence of this agreement Rev. O’Hal- loran was transferred to the province of Santa Clara, and Rev. H. R. Moseley sent liy the .Vinerican Baptist Home Mission Society to Santiago, in January, 1899. The northern Baptists have established work at several centers, from which the workers go to a large number of out- stations, 29 being reported in the report for 1908. Rev. H. R. Moseley is employed by the American Baptist Home Mis¬ sion Society as superintendent of the work, and is assisted by a number of able American associates and native helpers. The Woman’s American Baptist Home Mission Society supports six young women for the prosecution of their specific lines of work (for interesting details send for Sketch of Work in the West Indies, 10c, or La Senorita de Cuba, loc), and four teachers in Ciego de Avila Cristo, Santiago and Guantanamo. A WORD ABOUT WOMEN. It bas been said, "The Women of Cuba are Roman Catb- olics from babit.” Be that as it may, the habit is firmly fixed in a multitude of cases. And remember it is the Catholic mother who, in her blindness, teaches her children to reverence the priest, and to worship the creature rather than the Creator, saints and the \drgin rather than the Son of God. When, however, the eyes of these women are opened to the truth, they become a power in the church of Christ. While Diaz was an exile from Cuba, and tbe men were afield fight¬ ing for deliverance from Spanish oppression, the interests of the churches in Havana were cared for, mainly, by women, who saw that the prayer-meetings were sustained and the Sunday School kept up. AND CHILDREN. ‘‘Early in his work, Diaz became convinced,” writes Dr. Bar¬ ron. ‘‘that we mu.'t seek to save not onlv the grown people but the children of Cuba, and that special efforts should be made to save the girls.” ‘‘The women of Cuba,” he says, “must be saved from Romanism, and the proper course is to begin with the girls.” 7 It is not surprising that Diaz should feel an interest in the children of Cuba. The first fruit of his labor there was the confession of a child. On his return to Cuba, after his con¬ version in New York, he was full of enthusiasm, and began to talk to his own family and friends about Jesus. His mother, at that time a bigoted Catholic, became angry, denounced him as a heretic, and said, ‘T want to hear no more about this new religion.” Diaz was deeply pained and disappointed. Not one of his family would listen to him, and for six weeks his mother would not even wish him good morning. A little four-year-old sister, however, listened eagerly to his words, and when the older members of the family spurned him, she crept to his side, and looking up into his face said, ‘T like that man you talk about so much; I will give Jesus my heart.” But the time came when Diaz led his mother into the bap¬ tismal waters ; and in his joy, forgetting the customary formula, looked upward and said, with touching tenderness, “Lord Jesus, this is my mother.” And what a helper in the Gospel has this noble mother proved! Christian women and girls, there can be no sweeter service, and no richer reward, than in gathering in for Jesus Cuba’s children, and in winning for Christ Cuba’s mothers. By a cordial agreement between the Women’s Baptist Home Mission Society and the American Baptist Home Mission So¬ ciety, women missionaries sent to assist the missionaries of the General Society and bearing its commission, will be supported by the Women’s Society, so that the money needed for their transportation and salary must be raised by our constituency and paid from our treasury. If you want the Society repre¬ sented in the evangelization of Cuba, remember that this in¬ volves an increase in contributions as well as willing-hearted and well-qualified women who offer themselves for this service. Who will go? And who will give that these may go? DELIVERANCE. Cuba has been freed from the civil domination of Spain and from the ecclesiastical domination of Rome, hut she will he truly free onlv when delivered from the thraldom of sin, and this can be effected onlv through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If the Son shall make her people free, they shall be free indeed. 8