Post 1880s: Linguistic effects of Cuba becoming an American state.

So, if Cuba became a state in the 20th century , what would be the language situation? Would it be like Puerto Rico, but bigger( size and population wise) , or would it be like Quebec, but hotter and smaller( size wise)? Let's say that by the time Cuba becomes a state, Puerto Rico also becomes one at the same time.
 
This would be ASB as the USA most assuredly did not want a whole bunch of dark/brown Catholic citizens who would be voting. Having said that I expect Cuba and Puerto Rico would transition over time linguistically. Like Louisiana you may start out with the language of government being in both English and Spanish, all proceedings, acts, and laws in both. With time this shifts to English only, and instruction in English becoming more and more the language of school - first with post high school then high school and so on. Eventually Spanish is primarily a rural and home language, and many folks bith "immigrant" Anglos and locals are fluent in English and not so much Spanish.
 
Louisiana attracted a large number of English speaking settlers after 1803 as the state was settled by an influx of English speakers grabbing up land free land so that by the 1830s French speakers were the minority. Once the land had been claimed, the state attracted few immigrants or migrants from other states, so that by 1910 around 95% of the population living in Louisiana had been born there. Despite this, a considerable minority continued to speak French as their primary language for over the next century.

By the late 19th century both Cuba and Puerto Rico were largely settled with little land available to attract a huge influx of settlers. Additionally, what few immigrants that did arrive in both islands, even after 1898 were largely from Spain, though there were Haitian labourers and Chinese were brought to Cuba during the early 20th century, both of which did not use English as a primary language. The industrial northeast and Midwest would continue to have more pull to migrants, at least until the 1960s.

Additionally, with little industry there would be few English speakers settling in the islands, or even huge numbers of foreign immigrants. For nearly a century after the Civil War, the ex-Confederacy attracted few immigrants and few migrants from other states. People tended to live and die there or leave for greener pastures. In 1910, upwards of 90% of the inhabitants of the ex-Confederacy were born in their respective states. I imagine that Cuba and Puerto Rico would be the same. The lack of air-conditioning would make the islands about as attractive as the British West Indies were to people from Britain or Canada to settle in (not very attractive at all). As a result, a small number of Americans would settle in the island to engage in business, but many would have to learn at least some Spanish. I imagine that bilingualism would become important in Cuba though, as the more educated classes would want to do business with U.S. companies. This might make Cubans in the U.S. more dispersed, instead of settling mostly in Miami and the New York area.

To get an English-speaking island, have the British conquer Cuba in 1762 and refuse to return Havana to Spain. The island did have some 140,000 inhabitants at the time of the British conquest, and Puerto Rico had some 40,000 at the time. This was the peak of the British slave-importing period, and extended rule by Britain might make the demographics of the islands look more like Trinidad or Guyana.
 
Louisiana attracted a large number of English speaking settlers after 1803 as the state was settled by an influx of English speakers grabbing up land free land so that by the 1830s French speakers were the minority. Once the land had been claimed, the state attracted few immigrants or migrants from other states, so that by 1910 around 95% of the population living in Louisiana had been born there. Despite this, a considerable minority continued to speak French as their primary language for over the next century.

By the late 19th century both Cuba and Puerto Rico were largely settled with little land available to attract a huge influx of settlers. Additionally, what few immigrants that did arrive in both islands, even after 1898 were largely from Spain, though there were Haitian labourers and Chinese were brought to Cuba during the early 20th century, both of which did not use English as a primary language. The industrial northeast and Midwest would continue to have more pull to migrants, at least until the 1960s.

Additionally, with little industry there would be few English speakers settling in the islands, or even huge numbers of foreign immigrants. For nearly a century after the Civil War, the ex-Confederacy attracted few immigrants and few migrants from other states. People tended to live and die there or leave for greener pastures. In 1910, upwards of 90% of the inhabitants of the ex-Confederacy were born in their respective states. I imagine that Cuba and Puerto Rico would be the same. The lack of air-conditioning would make the islands about as attractive as the British West Indies were to people from Britain or Canada to settle in (not very attractive at all). As a result, a small number of Americans would settle in the island to engage in business, but many would have to learn at least some Spanish. I imagine that bilingualism would become important in Cuba though, as the more educated classes would want to do business with U.S. companies. This might make Cubans in the U.S. more dispersed, instead of settling mostly in Miami and the New York area.

To get an English-speaking island, have the British conquer Cuba in 1762 and refuse to return Havana to Spain. The island did have some 140,000 inhabitants at the time of the British conquest, and Puerto Rico had some 40,000 at the time. This was the peak of the British slave-importing period, and extended rule by Britain might make the demographics of the islands look more like Trinidad or Guyana.
The point isn't to get the island English speaking, that's why I put it post 1890s. I would have put it in another forum, but I hear their was some sort of document that prevented the US from annexing Cuba after the Spanish American war,so I needed to get around that.
 
Your original post is a bit vague in the question. In what way would Cuba be like Quebec? Quebec (Lower Canada) was the foundation of modern Canada, and the French referred to the inhabitants as Canadiens, the English speakers came later and eventually became the majority of the country's population. Also, French was enshrined and protected by the British Crown as early as 1774 with the Quebec Act. So the situations are very different as Cuba is not an essential and core region of the United States.

If Cuba were to be annexed in the 1890s, it would likely remain Spanish speaking much like Puerto Rico today, particularly as it was the spoken language of the vast majority. However, the majority of Cubans would probably become bilingual, during the second half of the 20th century, as this would be beneficial for anyone wanting a job with an American corporation. English might be seen as being useful for social advancement, though that does not mean a replacement of Spanish. This is what largely happened in the Philippines after American rule. Miami-Dade where I live is a majority Spanish speaking region, but most people are able to communicate in both English and Spanish, and the city largely serves as a hub for U.S. companies wanting to do business with Latin America. I imagine that an "American Cuba" might fill that role, particularly if the island remains American.
 
So, if Cuba became a state in the 20th century , what would be the language situation? Would it be like Puerto Rico, but bigger( size and population wise) , or would it be like Quebec, but hotter and smaller( size wise)? Let's say that by the time Cuba becomes a state, Puerto Rico also becomes one at the same time.

Well, I can say that although Spanish probably wouldn't remain the primary language for all that long, it might also linger as a predominant secondary language for quite some time.....which could have some interesting knock-off effects in regards to bilingualization(@Viriato had some very interesting points to make there, I would add.), etc.
 
Your original post is a bit vague in the question. In what way would Cuba be like Quebec? Quebec (Lower Canada) was the foundation of modern Canada, and the French referred to the inhabitants as Canadiens, the English speakers came later and eventually became the majority of the country's population. Also, French was enshrined and protected by the British Crown as early as 1774 with the Quebec Act. So the situations are very different as Cuba is not an essential and core region of the United States.

Another point about Quebec that bears remembering is that the Canadiens, for generations, fought their anglophone neighbors. As early as 1629 the colony was invaded by the English and from 1689-1763, the two sides were at war repeatedly. So there was an antagonistic relationship between francophones and anglophones in Canada really from the start, which complicated attempts to assimilate the population into British society following the conquest. The Canadiens/Québécois could be compared to the Irish or Afrikaners in this regard.
 
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