Each Sheep with Its Mate: Marking Race and Legitimacy in Cuban Catholic Parish Archives, 1890-1940

Abstract

Examines the politics of racialization in Cuba from the period after full emancipation to the restrictive immigration policy of the 1930s, through an analysis of the record-keeping practices of the Cuban Catholic Church. The study uses baptismal and marital records to record information on the intimate, racialized, and gendered domains of Cuban social life. Author points out that certain policies adopted by religious authoritites gestured towards inclusivism and egalitarianism, others served to reinforce hierarchies based upon race and rank.