For the general history of Cuban Migration to the United States, see Cuban immigration to the United States
"In 1870 the number of Cuban immigrants increased to almost 12,000, of which about 4,500 resided in New York City, about 3,000 in New Orleans and 2,000 in Key West. The causes of these movements were both economic and political, which intensified after 1860, when political factors played the predominant role in emigration, as a result of deteriorating relations with the Spanish metropolis."[1]
Philadelphia in the 19th century had one of the lower immigration rates on the east coast when compared to more densely populated cities such as New York or Tampa. "Philadelphia reached its peak of 27 percent foreign born in 1870"[2] and a proportion of this immigrants were Cubans.