The Yucatan Channel and the limits of “Spain” in the mid-nineteenth century

This chapter discusses the diplomatic engagement with the terms of Spanish sovereignty, neo-imperial fantasies, and maritime claims in the Western Caribbean during the mid-nineteenth century. These years witnessed the seizure, trafficking, and exploitation of Maya from the Yucatan Peninsula to Cuba and Spanish attempts to counter British Atlantic hegemony. Through an analysis of a range of texts, including government documents, maps, and the personal account of the Spanish dramatist José Zorrilla, this chapter argues that the meaning of the terms “Spain” and “the Atlantic” were not only debated in Iberia but also negotiated through discussions of the forced migrations and labor of Maya trafficked across the Yucatan Channel.