Displaced by Revolution: Loyalists in Limbo within the Spanish Empire

Abstract

Thousands of Spanish subjects were displaced by first the Haitian Revolution in the 1790s and then the Spanish American wars of independence from 1810-1825. Some fled to foreign countries, but many prioritized areas still controlled by Spain, particularly Cuba and Puerto Rico. Unlike British loyalists from North America, few received compensation for the losses they had incurred. Displaced imperial administrators did receive pensions valued at two-thirds of their salary until they could return to their former positions. But, with the exception of some in Puerto Rico, civilians, mostly born in the colonies, were not guaranteed assistance. Although Spanish subjects in Spanish territory, they found themselves in limbo, as they were seen as outsiders and expected to return to their places of origin once the Crown had suppressed the revolutions.