Since the initial publication of Jean Stubbs's seminal work on the Cuban tobacco agro-industrial complex by Cambridge University Press in 1985 (the first Spanish edition appearing in 1989 from Editorial de Ciencias Sociales), historical knowledge on Cuban tobacco has been advancing incrementally. There is still much to be learned about this topic, which is of great importance for comprehending not only Cuba's past, but also the functioning of colonial domination mechanisms, whether within the Iberian empires or in the formation of colonial domination structures that took root in both hemispheres from the late eighteenth century onwards. With different perspectives and methodologies, and with tobacco as a unifying theme, numerous scholars have offered new insights into this subject, including Enrique López Mesa, Charlotte Cosner, Montserrat Gárate, Santiago de Luxán, and William A. Morgan.Footnote ¹

Nevertheless, the decision to republish the work of Jean Stubbs nearly four decades after its initial release is welcome – for several reasons. A fundamental one is that, amidst an upsurge in studies on the configuration of empires in the contemporary world, with the advent of new analytical perspectives from political, social, and cultural history, it is imperative to re-examine the significance of tobacco, which, it bears noting, constituted a substantial portion of the revenue of the colonial powers (and/or companies). Furthermore, it would be beneficial to persist in emphasizing the need to transcend the historiographical clichés surrounding Cuban tobacco that have endured for decades.

Stubbs's work examines the various internal and external factors that contributed to the disarticulation of the tobacco manufacturing industry. Furthermore, his analysis considers the agricultural sector, the harvesters responsible for producing the raw material, as well as the industrial processing and manufacture of cigars and cigarettes. These transformations are situated within a broader global history of colonial societies and are connected to an explanation of the concept of “dependent economies”. In the opening chapter, the author underlines the significance of tobacco in the Cuban economy. While the production of sugar has been the primary focus of historical research, Stubbs underscores the pivotal role of tobacco in the late colonial era, beginning with the decree of disestablishment in 1817, and particularly in the 1840s, when the first machinery was installed for the production of cigars. The tobacco industry was subject to constant challenges due to the shifting political landscape of the colony during the nineteenth century. The growers, who were the primary actors in this industry, found themselves caught between two opposing forces: on the one hand, they sought to protect their interests by aligning themselves with the Spanish political system; on the other, they sought economic stability by aligning themselves with the American economic system, which was a significant source of their profits. This initial period, which the author identifies as spanning 1817 to 1888, was a prolonged phase during which the significance of tobacco in Cuban society underwent a significant transformation. This transformation was prompted by the reorganization of tobacco control systems and productive structures, both in agriculture and manufacturing, as a consequence of the introduction of a new legal framework that permitted the cultivation and production of tobacco. Initially characterised by a multitude of small-scale tobacco companies, the industry witnessed a notable shift towards the consolidation of capital and the emergence of larger, more prominent companies.

From 1888 onwards, a number of prominent Cuban cigar manufacturers, including Partagás and H. Clay, were acquired by British investors. The second stage, which lasted until 1902, was largely shaped by the protectionist American legislation of the McKinley Tariff of 1890. This increased the number of Cuban manufacturers who emigrated to North America in order to avoid the tariff and offset the progressive decline in exports that had been taking place since the 1850s. Additionally, the conflict between Spain and the United States had an impact on the harvests and the volume of tobacco manufactured. In 1902, the American Tobacco Company (ATC), under the leadership of James B. Duke, acquired control of ninety per cent of the tobacco market through its subsidiary Havana Tobacco. This marked the beginning of a period of intense rivalry between Duke's company and the independent tobacco growers who still controlled a significant portion of the production. Concurrently, upon the loss of its colony Spain designated Cuban cigars as foreign imports, thereby raising import duties. These persisted until the signing of the Trade Reciprocity Treaty with the United States. The conflicts over the machining process intensified throughout the 1920s, resulting in a decline in the workforce and wages, as well as an increase in strikes. Few of the remaining independent companies, among them Por Larrañaga, were sufficiently robust to challenge the ATC tobacco trust and able to withstand the process of globalized delocalization that had been occurring in the tobacco industry for years.

The context of the 1930s and 1940s, which were characterized by the Spanish Civil War and World War II, had a significant impact on Cuban tobacco production. This included a decline in consumption, a reduction in exports of manufactured cigars, and the introduction of new machinery, particularly in the rolling of cigars. By the time of the revolution eighty per cent of the raw tobacco was destined for export.

The second part of Stubbs's work provides an overview of the evolution of the Cuban workers’ movement associated with the tobacco industry at various stages of processing, from cultivation (characterized by a semi-proletarianized peasantry) to the destemming and rolling of the tobacco leaves. Stubbs's assertion that “tobacco was the one industry in the nineteenth century to have produced a class of industrial wage labourers on anything like a large scale” (p. 90) is largely accurate. The industry was characterized by a high degree of labour intensity, with production processes largely dependent on manual labour due to a general reluctance to mechanize any of its phases. He correctly identifies that these workers were employed in a diverse range of work contexts. The division of labour by gender, race, and trade made it challenging to align the interests of disparate sectors, including pickers, destemmers, cigar makers, and workers in the cigar industry. Stubbs presents an intriguing gender-focused analysis that merits further investigation. Notably, the female labour force, which was becoming increasingly prominent, was resistant to leaving the domestic workplace to carry out the destemming work (ninety per cent of those engaged in this task were women). This reluctance was driven by concerns about potential mistreatment by male employers and colleagues.

The advent of large-scale manufacturing and industry in the 1940s, coupled with the introduction of machinery in various production processes, led to the qualification of machinists, which intensified the internal division among workers and resulted in a significant decline in wages for unskilled tasks, a considerable portion of which were performed by female (forty-four per cent) and black (thirty-five per cent) workers. After this overview, in Chapter Eight the author addresses the question of whether the notion of a “tobacco workers’ aristocracy-elite”, a concept prevalent in narratives and discourses, is more myth than reality.

The first tobacco workers’ association in Havana was established in 1865, marking the beginning of a trend that saw similar organizations emerge in other parts of the island. Despite this growth, the associations retained a high degree of autonomy at the local level, where the “guild spirit” remained a prominent feature. These characteristics persisted until the twentieth century, when, coinciding with the aforementioned process of business concentration, the entry of the ATC tobacco trust and the relocation of production, the first hesitantly coordinated actions began (see the strikes of the periods 1886–1891 and 1902–1908).

The 1920s were distinguished by a process of workers’ radicalization that played a role in the overthrow of the Machado dictatorship. This prominence served as the impetus for the evolution of trade union organizations, which ultimately became an “instrument of state policy” with “a certain embourgeoisement of union structure” (pp. 125–126). Thus, by 1959, the tobacco sector was the largest and most unionized sector.

Another area of focus for Stubbs is the conflict between reformist and more “revolutionary” stances within the Cuban labour movement. It is worth considering the impact of anarchist influences at the end of the nineteenth century on the internal struggle between the “defensive” and “offensive” positions, which pertains to the workers in the different stages of the productive process. The evolution of the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Guild (1880), the Havana Tobacco Manufacturers’ Union (1881), and the Union of Tobacco and Cigar Manufacturers of the Island of Cuba (1884), leading up to the First Workers’ Congress (1887), is examined. The congress resulted in the formation of a “mass” trade union organization linked to “revolutionary nationalism”, which was gaining momentum during the final years of the colony.

Following the emancipation from Spanish rule, the Workers’ Party of the Island of Cuba was established in 1904, and the International Socialist Grouping in 1906. From this point onwards, efforts were made to establish a trade union organization that would encompass the diverse trades and industries associated with tobacco production. Consequently, in 1926, the first national organization was established: the National Federation of Cigar Makers (Federación Nacional de Torcedores). In the 1930s, a new actor emerged on the political scene: the communist leadership, with Inocencia Valdés becoming a prominent figure in this movement. The conclusion of World War II and the advent of the Cold War resulted in the ousting of these communist leaders until the arrival of the Revolution. Subsequently, the nationalization legislation of 1960 and the establishment of Cubatabaco in 1961 (which monopolized exports) represented a significant shift in the prevailing circumstances.

This entire trajectory is encompassed in a reflection on the development of global capitalism and modes of production (see chapter 6 with reference to the “peripheral mode of production”). It also encompasses the role of internal and external capital in the development of capitalism, the conjunction of industrial and commercial capital, and the survival of non-specifically capitalist practices – which contributed to the development of capitalism – such as sharecropping, slave labour (a third of the labour linked to tobacco on the whole island of Cuba), coolies, and domestic work (mainly female).

The republication of Jean Stubbs's work represents a valuable opportunity to revisit and reexamine a number of issues that have been largely overlooked in the historiography of tobacco and empires. The questions initially posed by Jean Stubbs in the 1980s remain pertinent to this day. Furthermore, on re-reading the book, new questions emerge, illuminated by the advances in historiography.