Rockefeller Archive Center

Rockefeller Archive Center Research Reports are created by recipients of research travel stipends and by many others who have conducted research at the RAC. The reports demonstrate the breadth of the RAC's archival holdings, particularly in the study of philanthropy and its effects. Read more about the history of philanthropy at resource.rockarch.org. Also, see the RAC Bibliography of Scholarship, a comprehensive online database of publications citing RAC archival collections.

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Agents of Change: the International Health Division in Cuba, 1935-1942

January 1, 2014

In 1935, after years of unofficial visits and discussions, the Rockefeller Foundation's International Health Division (IHD) was at last formally invited by the Cuban government to participate in a cooperative project on the island. The IHD anticipated a fruitful endeavor based on their optimistic interpretations of the changes taking place in the Cuban political landscape and in the official sanitation branch: "We believe that a real renaissance in public health work generally is taking place in Cuba, manifested by the real interest shown by public health officials in improving and enlargening [sic] their Services and by the active desire of the public generally for health work." Seven years later, despite the success of its two cooperative projects (of all the IHD's local health units, the one launched in Cuba was deemed "the best in the Americas"), the IHD saw no hope for future effective ventures and transferred their local representative from Cuba to another post in Latin America. On his departure, he commented that working in Cuba was "the hardest job [he] ever had."

Transnational Medicine: The Rockefeller Foundation and Cuba, 1913-1950

January 1, 2010

Incorporated in 1913, the Rockefeller Foundation (RF) was established to address the biological threat posed by tropical diseases to developing regions throughout the world. The RF participated in efforts to promote public health, scientific discovery and research. They established various commissions aimed at addressing issues of science, modernity, and development. At the end of the nineteenth century, Cuba was under military occupation by the United States immediately following the conclusion of Spanish-American war. U.S. participation in Cuba continued past the period of formal occupation in the form of non-profit organizations. Initially working on yellow fever research, scientists from the United States and Cuba collaborated on eradication efforts. Decades later, Cuba was again the site of tropical disease research on malaria. These groups, including the RF and its subsidiary, the International Health Commission (IHC), established programs to advance technology, while dealing with public health and scientific education within Cuba.

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