Metamorfosis de una institución financiera: el Banco Español de la Isla de Cuba

During the colonial period, Spain had at its disposition a remarkable administrative and political machine with which to wield authority and to defend its fiscal and commercial interests in Cuba. During the nineteenth century, there were also other institutions created in parallel. Settled on the territory of the Cuban Isle and favoured by their official - private or semi-official - status, they also served as instruments for carrying out different functions in the economic, political, ideological or military spheres. Some institutions, such as the Banco Español, even survived to the end of the colonial domination in 1898.
The present paper studies the evolution of this institution since 1881 - when the bank was created - until 1986, when it closed.