La Junta de Información en Madrid para las reformas en Las Antillas, 1866

Abstract

The Junta de Information organised in 1866 by the Spanish authorities brought together in Madrid official representatives and people from the Antilles to discuss an essential topic: the situation of Cuba and Puerto Rico. Their complaints and petitions were specific, leaving no doubt as to what Cubans and Puerto Ricans desired. They wished for, on the one hand, the abolition of slavery, and on the other, greater political freedom: in sum, a series of social, economic and political reforms. In reponse, the Spanish authorities displayed an inflexible and intransigent disposition, which did not help the understanding between Antillas and the Spanish. The Spanish authorities responded by increasing direct taxes and rejecting the abolition of customs. On the political front, Spain maintained its extreme defense of the «statu quo». The commissioners from the Antilles found confirmed in Madrid the metropolis's lack of interest towards Cuban and Puerto Rican problems. The situation became irreversible once the independence movement had begun, wiht the objective of achieving freedom from Spanish colonialism.