Jiguaní: an Indian town sues the Crown for its land, four times (Jiguaní, eastern Cuba, 1700–1806)
Record: the document says itPattern: documents line upLens: our readingOpen: not yet proven
Year: 1700 · Places: Caribbean, Europe
SUMMARYJiguaní: an Indian town sues the Crown for its land, four times (Jiguaní, eastern Cuba, 1700–1806) [Connections: Latin America & Caribbean, Nov 5, 2026]
RECORDYaremko reports Jiguaní was founded in 1700 on the initiative of "el Indio" Miguel Rodríguez to gather "all of the Indians of the Bayamo region," with an Indigenous cabildo. When Bayamo-district vecinos encroached on its land, Jiguaní sent representatives to litigate in 1702, 1727, 1782 and 1784–85, and took claims to the audiencia of Santo Domingo at least three times. Archive files: "Testimonio del expediente promovido por los indios naturales del Pueblo de Xiguaní sobre vejaciones y usurpación..." (14 Oct 1785), AGI Santo Domingo leg. 1618; "Indios del pueblo de Jiguaní," AGI Santo Domingo legs. 1617–1622. By 1844, Spanish vecinos claimed little Indigenous population remained; Yaremko disputes this
PATTERNOrganized Indigenous towns with legal standing existed in Cuba into the 1800s, long after the "extinction" date, and lost standing when the pueblos indios were abolished
LENS (WW9)They were filing lawsuits as Indians three centuries after they were declared gone
OPENThe AGI legajos are named and can be requested; read them directly