This new understanding between Marjory and Don Bernardino could easily be a reflection of the political atmosphere of the time. While American forces had been wary of the Spanish during the initial period of the war, there were high levels of "fraternisation between the Spanish and their captors [the Americans] during the occupation of Cuba because the Americans had noticed the "heroism and honor" of the Spaniards. Political differences also decrease in importance as the characters come to appreciate each other as individuals. The main English character, Archibald Hunter, is not as overtly tied to his national identity as the Spanish and American characters and is for most of the novel a passive observer of national traits in others. However, he does sometimes make statements regarding what it is to be English, often in contrast to the characteristics of Americans. Race in a broader context is also addressed in "The Mystery of the Sea," but to a much lesser extent than nationality. Smith connects the theme of race to the political context of the Spanish–American War, arguing that Americans constructed "fantasies of conflict" in order to transform the war into a "moral crusade against the Spanish". In the popular imagination, Cubans were presented as white, while the Spanish were imagined as "swarthy", adding a racial dimension to the fighting. This ideological (and inaccurate) racial construction was largely unsuccessful after American forces had actually gone into Cuba, but these ideas, namely judgment based on skin color, are important in "The Mystery of the Sea". Stoker paints the character of the "negro" kidnapper as inherently depraved and inferior to the white men (Archibald even goes so far as to declare that he is "the active principle of whatever evil might be"), and Archibald fears that this dark-skinned man is going to rape Marjory. Smith sees this man as a representation of the Cubans, a "common enemy" of both Catholic and Protestant forces as the Spanish–American War progressed. Archibald eventually murders this man while saving Marjory, exulting in the murder and soliloquizing at length about how a justified murder is an exhilarating deed. It is unclear whether this apparent justification stems from the fact that the potential assailant was black or from the crime he was about to commit, but Stoker nonetheless presents only a negative picture of people of African descent, and one that is in accord with the tensions of the time period. British colonial and Imperial actions in Africa could also be seen as contributing to this negative portrayal of African heritage; indeed, the passages describing the "negro" bear some similarities to the heavily racist language in famous works associated with imperialism, such as Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" (which predates "The Mystery of the Sea" by only three years).