PUBLICATION AND PERPETUITY

The 23^rd February highlights a couple of momentous events.

The 23^rd February 1455 is taken as the traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.

 

On the 23^rd February 1898, Émile Zola was found guilty of libel and sentenced to a term of imprisonment.  Zola’s open letter J’accuse was published on the 13^th January 1898 in the newspaper L’Aurore. It was addressed to the President of France Félix Faure, and accused the government of anti-Semitism and the unlawful gaoling of Alfred Dreyfus, a French Army General Staff officer sentenced to penal servitude for life for espionage. Zola pointed out judicial errors and lack of serious evidence. The letter was printed on the front page of the newspaper, and caused a stir in France and abroad. Zola was quickly prosecuted and found guilty. He fled to England to avoid imprisonment, not returning to France until June 1899. Writing a simple letter can sometimes be very performative.

And another event involved the signing of the Cuban American Treaty by President Theodore Roosevelt on the 23^rd February 1903. The treaty had already been signed by the first President of Cuba, Tomás Estrada Palma on the 17^th February 1903.

Estrada Palma

Roosevelt

The treaty stipulates that Republic of Cuba will perpetually lease to the United States the Guantánamo Bay area (surrounding areas of land and water) for the purpose of coaling and naval stations. The United States will have absolute jurisdiction and control over the area and in return will recognize the Republic of Cuba's ultimate sovereignty over the area. Cuban vessels involved in trade or war will have free passage through the waters. As you can imagine, there is some dispute as to the validity of the treaty. Another bit of rather peculiar performance writing creating some degree of ambiguity, although clearly not to the United States government.