How a Cuban Spy Sabotaged New York's Thriving Illicit Slave Trade – Repeating Islands
John Harris ( Smithsonian Magazine) writes about Cuban spy Emilio Sánchez and how, from 1859 to 1862, he helped the British government to fight “the lucrative business [the slave trade] as American authorities looked the other way.” [Many thanks to Odlanyer Hernández de Lara for sharing this item.] The men of the “Portuguese Company,” about a dozen in total, arrived in 1850s Manhattan ready to bring the illegal slave trade to America’s mega-metropolis. Hailing from Brazil, Portugal and Angola, the group earned their moniker from their common tongue. They were attracted by New York...
Source: repeatingislands.com