Beschreibung:

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR-CUBA] Archive of nine documents relating to Cuba and the American Civil War , all dated between June and December of 1861. Most 12 x 8 1/4 inches, some multiple-page, with the letterhead of the Cuban Legation in Washington, the Cuban Secretary of State, etc. Some bleed-through of ink, in general in very good condition. Cuba remained neutral during the Civil War, but occasional controversies arose. The diplomatic flap in question began when New York newspapers erroneously reported that the Cuba had officially recognized the Confederacy. This correspondence includes fair copies of letters to the Spanish Ministers in Washington and New York (as Spain governed Cuba), decrying the defamation of the Spanish and Cuban governments that this represented, and asking that they address the issue. Ultimately, William H. Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State, issued reassurances and apologies to his counterpart, and the kerfuffle was settled, but this correspondence demonstrates how exceptionally difficult the Civil War was diplomatically to other nations, both in the region and in Europe, and how cautiously they approached the issue. One document is signed by Gabriel Garcia y Tassara, and two by Calderon Collantes. The issue of Spanish-American relations during the Civil War, and the involvement in these of Tassara, is the subject of an interesting 1975 paper by Kinley J. Brauer in Civil War History Volume 21, Number 1, March 1975, Gabriel García y Tassara and the American Civil War: A Spanish Perspective. C