Hermann Michaelsen

Monument on the promenade of Santiago de Cuba.
Translation of the inscription: "For German Michaelsen y Schroeder, Die dankbare Stadt, 1938"

Hermann Friedrich Wilhelm Michaelsen (also called Germán Michaelsen in Spanish , according to the Spanish naming convention partly with additional mention of his maternal surname Schröder ) (born October 26, 1851 in Varel , Grand Duchy of Oldenburg ; † December 9, 1928 in Santiago de Cuba ) was a native of Northern Germany after Cuba expatriate businessman, philanthropist and patron of the arts in Santiago de Cuba.

Life

In 1873 he joined the trading company of Carl Wilhelm Schumann from Bremen in Santiago, who had been the acting consul of the North German Confederation from 1868 and of the German Empire in the city from 1871 . Michaelsen took over the role of authorized representative of the trading house from Schumann, and later also the office of consul. As an exception among Germans in Cuba of their time, Schumann and Michaelsen achieved social advancement as foreign merchants in the Spanish-Creole-dominated upper class of landowners and sugar manufacturers through credit business: After local planters were unable to repay borrowed money, the two Germans initially took over half of the sugar factory “Montesano” at Guantánamo including all slaves, later they also bought the other half, with Michaelsen acting as a front man for Schumann during the purchase negotiations . In 1887 he was a founding member of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce . He later served as its president for over ten years. He was also chairman of the regional railway company Compañía de Ferrocarril de Sabanillo y Maroto.

As consul, Michaelsen represented Germany and Austria-Hungary , as well as Belgium and Italy , and he spoke eight languages. After the United States of America entered the First World War in 1917, Michaelsen was accused of espionage for the German enemy, arrested and transferred to the prison of La Cabaña fortress in Havana . In 1918 he was released and returned to Santiago, where he subsequently represented Republican Germany as the first consul.

Michaelsen was one of the greatest promoters of cultural and social life in the city of Santiago. In 1885 he was elected to the board of the Philharmonic Society. In his home he founded the cultural society "Sala Haydn", which u. a. dedicated to maintaining and spreading the German musical tradition and played as an accompanying pianist at concerts. He was on friendly terms with the leading representatives of culture, including the legendary popular Trova singer Sindo Garay (1867–1968), who dedicated his song Germania to him in 1888 . The music society of the Oriente province, which covers the entire east of Cuba, elected Michaelsen as its president. In 1889 he was a founding member and later for many years president of the water sports club "Club Náutico", the first sports club in Cuba. On the joint initiative of Hermann Michaelsen and the mayor, Emilio Bacardí, a poor kitchen was set up in the harbor area in 1897. The city council awarded him twice the honorary title of "adoptive son" in recognition of his services to Santiago.

The Alameda de Michaelsen harbor promenade in Santiago has been named after him since 1929 (but mostly just "La Alameda"), in whose original construction he played a major role in 1893, and for whose electrical lighting he provided for the first time in 1908. There is a monument dedicated to him, which consists of a bronze bust on a base. Some objects from his possession, as well as pictures and drawings painted by him, are exhibited in the Museo Emilio Bacardí, the municipal art museum. The painter Eduardo Michaelsen (1920–2010), who was initially successful in Cuba and later in the USA, was his grandson.

Web links

• Raúl Martell: Curiosidades de la presencia alemana en Cuba. In: Cubarte of January 24, 2008, accessed November 1, 2013 (Spanish)
• Rolando Álvarez Estévez: De los vínculos culturates cubano-alemanes. In: Cubarte of September 5, 2009, accessed on November 1, 2013 (Spanish)
• María del Carmen Díaz Díaz: Germán Michaelsen, intelectual destacado y benefactor de la ciudad. In: Iré a Santiago of October 27, 2010, accessed on November 1, 2013 (Spanish)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Michael Zeuske : Christian Wilhelm Jamm and slavery in Cuba (PDF; 344 kB), p. 25, first published in: Geroldsecker Land. Yearbook of a Landscape, Issue 45 (2003), pp. 19–46 (revised 2011)
2. ↑ Oscar Ruiz Miyares: cronologia de Santiago de Cuba. 2010, accessed November 1, 2013 (Spanish)
3. ^ Office of Naval Intelligence: Notes on the Spanish-American War. P. 16, Washington DC, 1900, accessed via the Internet Archive on November 1, 2013 (English)
4. ^ ^{A b} Cuban Painters: Eduardo Michaelsen. ( Memento of the original from November 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Cubanet o. D., accessed on November 1, 2013  
5. ↑ ^{a b} Raúl Martell: Curiosidades de la presencia alemana en Cuba. ( Memento of the original from November 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Cubarte of January 24, 2008, accessed November 1, 2013 (Spanish)  
6. ↑ Sindo Garay ( Memento of the original from November 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the online encyclopedia OnCaribe, accessed on November 1, 2013 (English)  
7. ^ Presenta Miguel Barnet cartografía sobre huella alemana en Cuba. Report from Prensa Latina in: Cubarte Digital of June 22, 2009, accessed on November 1, 2013 (Spanish)
8. ↑ 2 de febrero in the official Cuban online encyclopedia EcuRed (Spanish)
9. ↑ Las fichas comerciales cubanos. ( Memento of the original from November 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: CubaMuseo.com undated , accessed November 1, 2013 (Spanish)
10. ^ ^{A b} María del Carmen Díaz Díaz: Germán Michaelsen, intelectual destacado y benefactor de la ciudad. ( Memento of the original from November 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Iré a Santiago of October 27, 2010, accessed on November 1, 2013 (Spanish)
11. ^ Rolando Álvarez Estévez: De los vínculos culturates cubano-alemanes. ( Memento of the original from November 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Cubarte of September 5, 2009, accessed on November 1, 2013 (Spanish)  
12. ↑ Paseo Alameda en Santiago de Cuba in the official Cuban online encyclopedia EcuRed (Spanish)
13. ^ Joel Nicolas Mourlot Mercaderes: Santiago de Cuba y su monumentalidad (VI). In the blog: Cuba y su historia from July 23, 2012, accessed on November 1, 2013 (Spanish)
14. ↑ Los artistsas de la plástica y la antigua villa de Cuba (1). ( Memento of the original from November 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: CMKW Radio Mambí from May 21, 2013, accessed on November 1, 2013 (Spanish)