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5 Nations That Imported Europeans to Whiten The Population

Posted byBy A Moore | Published on: | Updated on February 23, 2019 CommentsComments (254)

cuba

Cuba

At the dawn of the 20th century, Afro-Cubans enthusiastically joined the struggle for independence against Spain in hopes of building a nation based on racial democracy. However, the U.S. military presence in Cuba from 1898 to 1902 and again from 1906 to 1908 propped up and defended a racist ruling class, who pursued policies that actively sought the “whitening” or Blanqueamiento of the nation.

The power elites promoted interracial marriage, and the Cuban government created immigration laws that invested more than $1 million into recruiting Europeans, mostly from Spain, into Cuba in order to whiten the state, all while excluding Blacks from every aspect of national life. A ban on “nonwhite” immigration was also implemented.

Despite the massive investment in European DNA, many of the immigrants did not stay in Cuba and came solely for the sugar harvest, returning to their homes during the off seasons. Although some 780,000 Spaniards migrated between 1902 to 1931, only 250,000 stayed.

By the end of the 1920s, Blanqueamiento as a national policy had effectively failed. It did, however, cause lasting damage by shifting the demographics of Cuba and solidifying the social and economic marginalization of Afro-Cubans.

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