(Jamaica / Cuba). Manuscript testimonial to Altamont de Cordova in gratitude for his assistance to Cuban exiles in Jamaica.

(AMERICAN JUDAICA)

25th November

Kingston, Jamaica

1874

Text in English amidst pen-and-ink border, with 30 autograph signatures below. Presented to de Cordova on the day of the birth of his son, Varona Agramonte DeCordova.

Full text of testimonial available upon request.

Fine testimonial presented to Altamont de Cordova by Cuban refugees resident in Kingston, Jamaica. Conveys the gratitude the Cubans had towards de Cordova for the hospitality he had bestowed on them and the support he provided in the cause of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. Also noted is the honor and gratitude that de Cordova chose to name his newly born son “Varona Agramonte,” after the two illustrious Cuban Generals. Son of Jamaican-Jews Judith and Aaron Raphael de Cordova, Altamont de Cordova (1837-1900) was a prominent Kingston citizen and successful merchant. In his New York Times obituary (6th April, 1900) he was noted to have been of great importance during the Virginius Affair, in support of the Cuban rebellion against Spanish rule. The listed consignee of the Virginius steamship at the time of its capture, de Cordova was pivotal in sending dispatches to the appropriate government channels in order to dispel the incident. The Virginius Affair was a diplomatic dispute that occurred from October 1873 to February 1875 between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain (then in control of Cuba), during the Ten Years' War. Virginius was a fast American ship hired by Cuban insurrectionists to land men and munitions in Cuba to attack the Spanish regime there. It was captured by the Spanish, who wanted to try the men onboard (many of whom were American and British citizens) as pirates and execute them. The Spanish executed 53 of the men but stopped when the British government intervened (Wiki). See Rudolph de Cordova, The "Virginius" Incident and Cuba, in: The Nineteenth Century LX (1906) p. 976-85 (esp. p. 985). R.H. Bradford, The Virginius Affair (1980) pp. 48-9. https://www.geni.com/people/Altamont-de-Cordova/6000000076191345836.