Spanish Colonial Cuba and Spanish Constitutional Governance Under the Regency of María Cristina, Santiago de Cuba, 27 November 1836

Spanish Colonial Cuba

Periodical

Diario Constitucional de Santiago de Cuba No. 57, November 1836, just months after the restoration of Spain's liberal Constitution of 1812. This newspaper records the transmission of Spanish constitutional government into eastern Cuba in late 1836 through decrees, ministerial correspondence, and public political dispute printed for circulation in Santiago de Cuba. Issued weeks after the political upheavals that restored constitutional rule in Spain, this number shows how the language of the regency government, the suppression and reorganization of state bodies, and local declarations of loyalty to Isabel II reached colonial readers through the newspaper press. In a Cuban setting, where metropolitan policy was filtered through governors, ministries, and municipal elites, an issue such as this preserves the working connection between imperial administration and provincial print.

Diario Constitucional de Santiago de Cuba. No. 57. Santiago de Cuba, 27 November 1836. 4 pages. Folio newspaper issue. The masthead reads “DIARIO CONSTITUCIONAL / DE SANTIAGO DE CUBA,” with the date line “DOMINGO 27 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 1836.” Page 1 opens with “MINISTERIO DE LA GOBERNACION DEL REINO,” followed by a circular and a substantial “EXPOSICION A LA REINA GOBERNADORA,” leading into a “REAL DECRETO” concerning the suppression of the Consejo Real de España e Indias. Interior pages continue the decree and carry translatedly legible sections including “MISCELANEA,” notices on “Las islas turcas libres” and “Noticias sobre Tejas,” and a long exchange under “REMITIDOS” dated “Cuba 25 de Noviembre de 1836,” addressing militia service, volunteers of Isabel II, and the political insult attributed to an earlier subscriber. The issue survives as a complete four page folio with dense double column text throughout and no wrappers, as issued.

Printed in Santiago, the issue shows constitutional and monarchist language being adapted for a colonial audience that was expected to follow ministry decrees, military loyalty, and debates over public honor in the same sheet. Folded as issued with minor edge chipping, small losses at corners and margins, some toning, and closed tears and pinholes; complete and legible. Overall good condition. The juxtaposition of metropolitan government text, Caribbean and Atlantic news, and the local controversy printed in “Remitidos” gives the number a documentary range broader than a routine official gazette, placing state policy beside the contested language of provincial political life.

Item #23149

Price: $450.00