Rethinking Slave Rebellion in Cuba

“Innovative in its discussion of historiography and rebel representation, and in its disclosure of the roles of women and of the rural-urban networks coordinating with the insurgency.” — CHOICE

“A detailed and revealing study of rural western Cuba’s social and political landscapes. . . . An important study for scholars and students interested in gaining fresh insights into the making of slave insurgency in Cuba, the Caribbean, and the Americas.” — American Historical Review

“Challenges some of the hitherto dominant interpretations and offers some new and provocative possibilities based on her own research. . . . Finch has written an important study, pointing the way to more inclusive examinations of slave rebellions in Cuba and elsewhere.” — The Historian

“An innovative and pioneering study of Cuban slave rebellions in the 1840s written with passion and insight. Aisha Finch makes important contributions to nineteenth-century Cuban historiography yet at the same time allows the historical actors themselves to take center stage and tell their story in a dramatic fashion. Finch’s groundbreaking analysis of the neglected and crucial role of women in the rebellion has wide-reaching implications for reframing the study of slave revolts throughout the Atlantic World.” — Matt D. Childs, University of South Carolina

“Intellectually ambitious and impressively executed, this study offers compelling reading that simultaneously navigates the complex terrain of historiography and historical reconceptualization. By gendering slavery, Finch offers a major corrective to our understanding of insurgencies: scholars of La Escalera can never again imagine nor narrate that story without acknowledging the role of women and centrality of gender.” — Herman Bennett, The Graduate Center, CUNY