| This thesis explores the historical construction of political and social relations in Cuba from the arrival of Columbus to the 1959 Cuban Revolution. It questions how economic, social and political regional differences politically divided the country, affected race relations, contributed to Cuba's independence from Spain, and were expressed in the 1959 Cuban Revolution. The thesis also examines how these differences shaped Santeria, an African-Cuban religion. Using Antonio Gramsci's notion of hegemony as a theoretical tool for revealing the fundamental historical relationships within and among social groups in Cuba, this project points up the different ways in which the development of Santeria was related to the regionally specific political, economic, and social contexts in which Santeria's practitioners were living. This thesis is also significant in stressing the importance of studying the intersection of both cultural and social processes within a historical frame. |
