Cuban War of Independence: Causes and Consequences (1868-1898)
Nineteenth-Century History: The Cuban War of Independence (1868-1898)
Causes of the Cuban War of Independence
Political and Ideological Factors
The ideological currents present in Europe at the time were well-known in the Americas, where they became the seeds of independence ideas. The ideals of the Enlightenment, combined with the *Independence of the American Colonies* (1775-1783) and the *French Revolution* (1789-1799), fostered a craving for autonomy in the early nineteenth century. The events in Spain during the nineteenth century provided new ideological arguments and, above all, the right time to implement them. Thus, the rejection of Spanish heritage became more apparent after the restoration of absolutism under Fernando VII.
Social Factors
The Creoles, descendants of Spaniards born in America, were a leading group in the independence process. They were excluded from senior officer positions, which were reserved for Spaniards from the mainland. The Creoles occupied an important social and economic position and aspired to achieve the political power denied to them by Spanish centralism.
Economic Factors
The Creoles also coveted an independent economic life. The Spanish Bourbons, with their centralism and taxation, provoked growing trouble in the American colonies, who felt that their interests and needs were not sufficiently taken into account. The commercial monopoly enjoyed by Spain meant the ruin of the native bourgeoisie, who supported commercial independence and freedom of trade, even if it required achieving political independence.
The Long War (1868-1878)
In 1868, an insurrection occurred in Cuba. The Spanish government prepared an army to suppress the uprising, initiated by the Creole landowner Carlos Manuel Céspedes, who called for autonomy for Cubans. This event is known as the “Grito de Yara,” demanding an independent and free Cuba.
In 1874, the unitary republic of Castelar decided to grant autonomy to Cuba. However, it was not until 1877 that Cánovas sent an army commanded by Martínez Campos. This army signed the Convention of Zanjón in 1878, which granted autonomy to the island, controlled the sale of tobacco, reduced sugar tariffs, and allowed Cubans to participate in the Spanish Parliament with a voice but no vote.
Between 1878 and 1895, a period of peace existed in theory, but in practice, guerrilla warfare persisted throughout the island. During this time, 700,000 migrants, mostly from Galicia, were sent to Cuba.
In 1893, a meeting took place in Santo Domingo. José Martí, as a political leader, along with military leaders Máximo Gómez and Antonio Maceo, signed a document known as the Montecristi Manifesto, establishing the Cuban Revolutionary Party.
The Little War (1895-1898)
In 1895, José Martí, Máximo Gómez, and Antonio Maceo initiated the Little War. Cánovas sent an army led by General Valeriano Weyler. The Cuban guerrillas, mostly composed of slaves, peasants, and supported by Creole planters, were led by José Martí and Máximo Gómez, who died in 1897. Antonio Maceo then assumed leadership.
In February 1898, the United States submitted a letter to the Sagasta government, offering to buy the island. Spain refused, stating that the island was not for sale.
In March, the sinking of the battleship USS Maine in Havana Bay occurred. The crew perished in the fire, and Spain was blamed for the attack. The U.S. President and Congress sent an ultimatum to Spain, giving them three days to leave the island.
From April to December, the Spanish-American War took place. The naval battle of Santiago de Cuba resulted in the destruction of the Spanish fleet under Admiral Cervera. Simultaneously, the U.S. invaded the Philippines, where Filipino General Aguinaldo supported the American Rangers. The Spanish army, under General Polavieja, was defeated by U.S. forces at the Bay of Cavite in the Philippines and on the island of Guam in the Marianas.
In Cuba, a group called the Cuban Volunteers remained loyal to Spain. The U.S. declared that it would never occupy the island territorially.
Treaty of Paris (December 10, 1898)
Spain lost Cuba and the Philippines and ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States. The remaining Marianas, Carolines, and Palau were sold to Germany for 25 million marks.
The U.S. compensated Spain with $20 million for war expenses and granted a one-year period to settle the colonial empire. The U.S. also agreed to pacify the island and refrain from territorial occupation, except for the military base at Guantánamo Bay.
Consequences of the War
- The loss of the colonies, known as “The Disaster,” reduced Spain to a second-rate power.
- Economic losses resulted from the loss of sugar and tobacco, the two most profitable colonial products, leading to bankruptcy. Strikes followed the arrival of settlers.
- The revolutionary workers’ movement protested against the system and the reduction of conscription.
- The Generation of ’98 blamed the political system of the Restoration, specifically patronage and the পালা system, for the disaster. The system entered a crisis, aggravated by the deaths of its most important figures, Cánovas in 1897 and Sagasta in 1903, leading to a party crisis.
- The period after the loss of the colonies was known in Spain as “Spain without a pulse.” A movement called Regenerationism emerged to end the apathy.
- Spain lost all its warships and weaponry and was left with a depleted army of 80,000 troops, 500 generals, and 2,400 officers.