This presentation traces how early interisland trade networks expanded over time. The early seventeenth century was an especially pivotal moment as rival colonial powers began to challenge Spain’s dominance in the Caribbean. Colonists in eastern Cuba crafted specific arguments to fit shifting situations on the island and with the metropole itself.

They characterized foreign Europeans as enemies when defenses needed to be built or soldiers paid, but they quickly spoke of shortages of goods when they were caught trading with those very same foreigners. This presentation shows how individuals engaged with the empire, both as loyal subjects and as criminals engaging in an illicit enterprise. The ways they leveraged their position to exact benefits and avoid punishment from the metropole show the malleability of imperial mandates in the face of local realities.