EMILIO BACARDI Y MOREAU - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 218043

EMILIO BACARDI Y MOREAU
The Cuban business-man pens a receipt to some clients of his rum company.
Autograph Letter Signed: "Bacardi Y." in iron gall ink. 8¼x5¼. Fully Translated in English: "We received from The Bravet and Company the amount of ninety nine pesos fifty eight cents which we have considered to them. Cuba, February 21, 1881. Bacardi Y. Receipt $99.58 Cuba, February 19, 1881." Emilio Bacardi Y Moreau (1844-1922) was a Cuban industrialist, politician and writer who managed the Bacardi Rum Company that his father had founded in 1862. Trying to escape from the cholera epidemic in Cuba he moved to Spain, where he received instruction in literacy and political topics and grew to appreciate the arts and liberal politics of the day, such as abolition of slavery, criticism of organized religion, nationalism and democracy so when he returned to Cuba at the age of 17 his main interests were political and poetic activism and not business. However, as the first-born son of his father, he was given a growing and important role in the fledging company and during the 1870s, 80's and 90's his dual identity as a business magnate and subversive political activist grew and was named president of the rum company by his father in 1877. At the same time, Emilio became more and more involved in Cuba's nationalist resistant to the Spanish Empire and as a consequence, he was repeatedly arrested and imprisoned as a suspect of helping the rebels. The suspicious were well founded, as Emilio used his respectable business activities and connections as a cover for developing a financial network which channeled resources to the rebel guerilla army. Later, the political fortunes of Emilio and his country were extremely altered by the Spanish American War, in which the conquering American army took over administration of the island. General Leonard Wood, who was the American military governor of Santiago, appointed Emilio Bacardi as mayor of that city and in that position he worked extensively with the American military administration and his relationship with General Wood warmed to the level of friendship, tempered by their complicated political relationship. As mayor, he was generally recognized as a competent and effective manager, succeeding on extending services and practicing good government under the military administration and later the new Cuban Republic. His honesty and public service reputation distinguished him from many of the would-be leaders who arose in the post-independence political scramble. Bacardi also ran for and won a seat in the National Senate in 1906. Sealed. Toned and soiled. Multiple mailing folds. Fragile. 1½ and 1¼-inch separations at center fold. Otherwise, fine condition.