Pedro F. Bonó and Nineteenth-Century Santo Domingo
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Contrapunteo Dominicano: Pedro F. Bonó and Nineteenth-Century Santo Domingo A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Literature by Diego Ubiera Committee in charge: Professor Sara Johnson, Co-Chair Professor Misha Kokotovic, Co-Chair Professor Jaime Concha Professor Robin Derby Professor Luis Martín-Cabrera Professor Nancy Postero 2015 Copyright Diego Ubiera, 2015 All rights reserved. The Dissertation of Diego Ubiera is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair ________________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair University of California, San Diego 2015 iii DEDICATION For my parents iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page……………………………………………………………………………iii Dedication…………………………………………………………………………….......iv Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………….v List of Figures………………………………………………………………………….....vi Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………vii Vita………………………………………………………………………………………..ix Abstract of the Dissertation………………….……………………………………………x Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………….1 Chapter One……………………………………………………………………………...50 El Montero: Popular History and Memory in Santo Domingo Chapter Two……………………………………………………………………………...80 Bonó and Dominican Independence, 1822-1865 Chapter Three…………………………………………………………………………...106 Bonó and Capitalist Transformation in the Dominican Republic, 1880-1895 Chapter Four………………………………………………………………………........153 Contrapunteo del tabaco y el cacao: Bonó and Antillanismo, 1895-1906 Epilogue………………………………………………………………………………...172 Bonó and the Counterplantation Works Consulted……………………………………………………………………......175 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Photograph of Pedro Francisco Bonó……………………………………xii vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people at UC-San Diego contributed to this project. I would first like to thank my dissertation advisers Sara Johnson and Misha Kokotovic who supported it from the beginning and provided invaluable insight and feedback throughout. Robin Derby’s excitement for the project was critical at all stages of the dissertation. Jaime Concha, Luis-Martín Cabrera and Nancy Postero’s inspiring graduate seminars and feedback kept me engaged with this project. I would also like to thank all of the professors and staff in the Department of Literature who helped me along the way, especially Robert Cancel, Ana Minvielle, Kristin Carnohan, Thom Hill and Patrick Mallon. A special thanks to Beatrice Pita for her guidance throughout my development as an instructor. My UCSD graduate student colleagues also provided much needed intellectual engagement and support. UCSD’s Department of Literature and the Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies provided financial assistance at important stages of the project. Thank you to my professors at North Carolina State University who inspired me to pursue graduate work, especially Greg Dawes, David B. Greene, Hans Kellner, Chimalum Nwankwo, Michael Carter, Nick Halpern and Allen Stein. Professor Dawes’ mentorship was critical both during my undergraduate and graduate studies. Scholars, colleagues and friends provided critical guidance during the final stages of this project, especially Brendan Thornton. I would also like to thank Anne Eller for access to sources and thoughts on the larger questions of this project. My friends, colleagues and students at Fort Lewis College supported me during the final stages of this project. I would especially like to thank Catalina Aguilar, Amy vii Sellin, María Spero, Dennis Ekins, Ellen Hartsfield, Joel Kirkpatrick, John Baranski, Michael Fry, Michael Martin, Erik Juergensmeyer and Yohannes Woldermariam. A special thanks to Stephanie Honchell. In the Dominican Republic, Raymundo González offered much support at Santo Domingo’s Archivo General de la Nación. Thank you for our many conversations on Bonó and Dominican history. Thanks to the staff at the archivo as well for their help and access to sources. Finally, I would like to thank my family. My brothers Marcos, Antonio and Rubio as well as my nieces and nephews, Nico, Lucas, Antonio, William and Gabriela provided much needed laughter. And my parents, for all of their love. viii VITA EDUCATION 2015 Ph.D. Literature, University of California, San Diego 2009 M.A. Literatures in Spanish, University of California, San Diego 2006 B.A. English (World Literature), North Carolina State University 2006 B.A. Arts Studies (Music), North Carolina State University RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS Caribbean Literature and History, Latin American Literature, Comparative American Slavery, US Latina/o Literature, Cultural Studies of the African Diaspora, Latin American intellectual history and political economy. AWARDS UCSD Department of Literature Dissertation Writing Fellowship, 2011-2012. UCSD Center of Iberian and Latin American Studies, Tinker Pre-Dissertation Field Research Travel Grant, 2009). UCSD Center of Iberian and Latin American Studies, S-FLAS grant (Haitian Creole, 2009). ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT ____________ Assistant Professor of Spanish, Fort Lewis College (2015- present). Visiting Instructor of Spanish, Fort Lewis College (2013-2015). Director of Fort Lewis College’s Modern Language Lab (2014-present). Teaching Assistant, UCSD Department of Literature, (2006-2013). Research Assistant, UCSD Center for Comparative Immigration Studies. LANGUAGES Spanish (Native Fluency) English (Native Fluency) French (Basic Fluency) Haitian Creole (Basic Proficiency) ix ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Contrapunteo Dominicano: Pedro F. Bonó and Nineteenth-Century Santo Domingo by Diego Ubiera Doctor of Philosophy in Literature University of California, San Diego, 2015 Professor Sara Johnson, Co-Chair Professor Misha Kokotovic, Co-Chair This dissertation explores the understudied Dominican intellectual Pedro Francisco Bonó (1828-1906). I argue that his texts are critical for studying the moment of capitalist transformation in the Dominican Republic between 1870 and 1930 and also for examining key questions in nineteenth-century Dominican historiography. Examining the historical roots of his works, the dissertation explores the ways his essays x relate capitalism, race and Dominican history in his defense of the peasantry and the “democratic” effects of tobacco production. It argues that his essays draw from the anti- colonial legacy of mid-nineteenth century revolutionary movements in the wider Caribbean and the resilient counter-plantation legacy of the Dominican peasantry. His texts are read as an elite adaptation of popular sentiment during Santo Domingo’s labored independence from the 1820s through the 1870s. In addition, his essays are read as part of an intellectual tradition of Dominican anti-imperialism and anti-slavery, challenging approaches that see him as standing completely apart from other nineteenth-century Dominican writers. Chapter 1, “El Montero: Popular History and Memory in Santo Domingo” sets up the historical context for understanding Bonó’s writings and the historical roots of his political critique. Primary documents that deal with black popular struggle in Santo Domingo and figures like Antonio Sánchez Valverde and Moreau de Saint-Méry are studied to narrate Santo Domingo’s remarkable agrarian history. Chapter 2, “Pedro Francisco Bonó and Dominican Independence” is an exploration of Bonó’s earliest writings within the frame of the Haitian period and the first republic (1822-1865). It argues that his later radicalization is informed by the anti-imperial legacy of this mid- century period. Chapter 3, “Bonó and Capitalist Transformation, 1880-1895”, focuses on close readings of his texts during the development of the sugar industry. Chapter 4, “Contrapunteo del Tabaco y el Cacao: Bonó and Antillanismo, 1895-1906”, reads his proto-ortizian contrapunteo of “democratic” Dominican tobacco and “oligarchic” cacao. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the relevance of Bonó for the current neoliberal moment in the Caribbean. xi Introduction That foreign capitalists come here and establish four to six sugar mills on top of fertile lands that were given almost freely or very cheaply on the shores of the sea or on navigable rivers – bravo – that they introduce the machinery, housing, and transportation without paying a cent – bravo, bravo – that the masters see themselves surrounded by a population that before were owners of the land and are now their serfs, that this same population who not only have been converted into serfs, also have to defend the farms with guns that they have to purchase at their own expense – and let the bravos continue. Well, general [Luperón], defend the worker who is the nation, and the nation encompasses all. Since I live in a very isolated area of the country I have savage opinions, but general, the more I see the government protect the sugar industry, the poorer I see the blacks of Sabana Grande and Monte Adentro, and if this continues, all of the small farmers that have been citizens until today will become peons and serfs, and Santo Domingo will become a mini Cuba, Puerto Rico or Louisiana. But the issue