# Cubans — To Cuba and Back character guide > Cubans in To Cuba and Back by Richard Henry Dana Jr.. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** The Cubans, Cubans, the Cubans, Their **First appearance:** 0002-i ## Snapshot Planters, merchants, and physicians who hold Cuba's land and capital yet are barred from every office, jury, and vote by a government run from Old Spain. ## Who they are Dana's Cubans own the plantations and direct the island's agriculture while African and Chinese laborers do the manual work and Spanish officials collect the power. Educated enough to read law and publish books, they cannot become judges, magistrates, or officers, and their journals must answer to a government editor-in-chief. That gap between wealth and voicelessness is the quiet engine of Dana's portrait, explaining why a people so prosperous can seem so absent from their own public life. ## Relationships ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _social_ The narrator observes and interacts with Cubans as part of his travel, noting their culture and social conditions. ### [The Jesuits](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/characters/the_jesuits) _social_ Cubans interact with the Jesuits in religious and educational contexts, reflecting the Church's role in Cuban society. ## In the story ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/i) Shivering Cuban passengers are noted among the motley group on board, heading home to warmer climates. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/ii) Creole children on board are observed, with commentary on the effects of climate and despotic institutions on their character. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/iii) Cuban boys and Creole girls are described among the passengers, noted for their appearance and demeanor. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/v) Cubans are observed in the billiard room, on the Paseo, and in their formal social gatherings, speaking Spanish and maintaining distinct customs. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/vi) Referenced indirectly through the mention of the chain gang and the general populace. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/viii) Cubans are mentioned as part of the population discussing the Thirty Millions Bill. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/ix) Described as having a childish taste for excessive decoration in their altars. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/xiii) Referenced in the context of the effects of foreign education on the youth of Cuba. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/xv) Mentioned in the context of Cuban families' cosmopolitan nature and the Matanzas opera audience. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/xvi) Described as holding land and capital but lacking political rights and self-government. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/xvii) Creoles gather at billiard tables and show deep interest in the Maestri trial as a symbol of centralized power. ### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/xviii) No Cuban women have joined the Sisters of Charity; the order relies on recruits from France and Spain. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/xix) Cuban revenues support the hospital; the prison system is described as a Cuban institution. ### [XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/xx) Part of the crowd at the bullfight; the narrator criticizes their passive acceptance of cruelty and oppression. ### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/xxii) Described as infatuated with the lottery and participating in cockfights. ### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/xxiii) Described as Creoles, mostly disaffected, desiring self-government or annexation to the United States. ### [Political Condition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/political-condition) Cubans are described as disarmed, disfranchised, and subject to arbitrary banishment and exclusion from office under Spanish rule. ### [Religion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/religion) The general populace is described as having practical infidelity, especially among men, with little regard for religious obligations. ### [Slavery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/slavery) Mentioned as providing estimates of slave and Coolie numbers, and as being taxed for their slaves. ### [Material Resources—Education](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/material-resources-education) Discussed as a people with divided races, lack of political experience, and uncertain capacity for self-government. ### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/chapters/xxv) Cuban passengers witness the hackmen fight and view it as an insurrection of the lower orders. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/characters/cubans - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/to_cuba_and_back_se/characters