The earliest inhabitants of Cuba were the Guanajatabey people, who migrated to the island from the forests of the South American mainland as long ago as 5300 BC. The Guanajatabeyes, who numbered about 100,000, were hunters, gatherers, and farmers. They were to cultivate cohiba (tobacco), a crop upon which the island's economy would one day depend. Spanish conquistador Diego Velˆ°zquez de Cuˆ©llar later observed that the Guanajatabeyes were "without houses or towns and eating only the meat they are able to find in the forests as well as turtles and fish." Though the Guanajatabeyes are now considered to be a distinct population, early anthropologists and historians mistakenly believed that they were the Ciboney people who occupied areas throughout the Antilles islands of the Caribbean. More recently, researchers have speculated that the Guanajatabeyes may have migrated from the south of the United States, evidenced by similarities of artifacts found in both regions. Some studies ascribe a role to these original inhabitants in the extinction of the islands' megafauna, including condors, giant owls, and eventually ground sloths.

Further evidence suggests that the Guanajatabeyes were driven to the west of the island by the arrival of two subsequent waves of migrants, the Taˆ‚no and Ciboney. These groups are sometimes referred to as neo-Taˆ‚no nations. The new arrivals had migrated north along the Caribbean island chain from the Orinoco delta in Venezuela. These two groups were prehistoric cultures in a time period during which humans created tools from stone, yet they were familiar with gold (caona) and copper alloys (guanˆ‚n).

Taˆ‚no and Ciboney Cultures

The Taˆ‚no and Ciboney were part of a cultural group commonly called the Arawak, which extended far into South America. Initially the new arrivals inhabited the eastern area of Baracoa before expanding across the island. Traveling Dominican clergyman and writer Bartolome de las Casas estimated that the Cuban population of the neo-Taˆ‚no people had reached 200,000 by the time of the late fifteenth century. The Taˆ‚no cultivated the yucca root, harvested it and baked it to produce cassava bread. They also grew cotton and tobacco, and ate maize and sweet potatoes. According to Las Casas, they had "everything they needed for living; they had many crops, well arranged".

Early Spanish Colonization

The first sighting of a Spanish boat approaching the island was on October 28, 1492, probably at Baracoa on the eastern point of the island. Christopher Columbus, on his first voyage to the Americas, sailed south from what is now The Bahamas to explore the northeast coast of Cuba and the northern coast of Hispaniola. During a second voyage in 1494, Columbus passed along the south coast of the island, landing at various inlets including what was to become Guantˆ°namo Bay. With the Papal Bull of 1493, Pope Alexander VI commanded Spain to conquer, colonize and convert the Pagans of the New World to Catholicism. On arrival, Columbus observed the Taˆ‚no dwellings, describing them as ’Äúlooking like tents in a camp. All were of palm branches, beautifully constructed’Äù.

The Spanish began to create permanent settlements on the island of Hispaniola, east of Cuba, soon after Columbus's arrival in the Caribbean, but it wasn't until 1509 that the coast of Cuba was fully mapped by Sebastiˆ°n de Ocampo. In 1511, Diego Velˆ°zquez de Cuˆ©llar set out with three ships and an army of 300 men from Hispaniola to form the first Spanish settlement in Cuba, with orders from Spain to conquer the island. The settlement was at Baracoa, but the new settlers were to be greeted with stiff resistance from the local Taˆ‚no population. The Taˆ‚nos were initially organized by cacique (chieftain) Hatuey, who had himself relocated from Hispaniola to escape the brutalities of Spanish rule on that island. After a prolonged guerrilla campaign, Hatuey and successive chieftains were captured and burnt alive, and within three years the Spanish had gained control of the island. In 1514, a settlement was founded in what was to become Havana.

Clergyman Bartolomˆ© de Las Casas observed a number of massacres initiated by the invaders as the Spanish swept over the island, notably the massacre near Manzanillo of the inhabitants of Caonao. According to his account, some three thousand villagers had traveled to Manzanillo to greet the Spanish with loaves, fishes and other foodstuffs and were "without provocation, butchered".The surviving indigenous groups fled to the mountains or the small surrounding islands before being captured and forced into reservations. One such reservation was Guanabacoa, which is today a suburb of Havana.

In 1513, Ferdinand II of Aragon issued a decree establishing the encomienda land settlement system that was to be incorporated throughout the Spanish Americas. Velˆ°zquez, who had become Governor of Cuba relocating from Baracoa to Santiago de Cuba, was given the task of apportioning both the land and the indigenous Cubans to groups throughout the new colony. The scheme was not a success, however, as the Cubans either succumbed to diseases brought from Spain such as measles and smallpox, or simply refused to work preferring to slip away into the mountains. Desperate for labor to toil the new agricultural settlements, the Conquistadors sought slaves from surrounding islands and the continental mainland. But these new arrivals followed the indigenous Cubans by also dispersing into the wilderness or suffering a similar fate at the hands of disease.

Despite the difficult relations between the local Cubans and the new Europeans, some cooperation was in evidence. The Spanish were shown by the Native Cubans how to nurture tobacco and consume it in the form of cigars. There were also many unions between the largely male Spanish colonists and indigenous women. Their children were called mestizos, but the Native Cubans called them Guajiro, which translates as "one of us". Although modern day studies have revealed traces of Taˆ‚no DNA in individuals throughout Cuba, the population was effectively destroyed as a culture and civilization after 1515. The local Indian population left their mark on the language and placenames of the island, however. The name of Cuba itself and Havana were derived from neo-Taino dialect, and Indian words such as Tobacco, Hurricane and Canoe continue to be used today.

Arrival of African Slaves

The Spanish established sugar and tobacco as Cuba's primary products, and the island soon supplanted Hispaniola as the prime Spanish base in the Caribbean. The expansion of agriculture tempered by the rapid erosion of the native populations[citation needed] meant that further field labor was required. African slaves were then imported to work the plantations as field labor. However, restrictive Spanish trade laws made it difficult for Cubans to keep up with the 17th and 18th century advances in processing sugar cane pioneered in British Barbados and French Saint Domingue (Haiti). Spain also restricted Cuba's access to the slave trade, which was dominated by the British, French, and Dutch. One important turning point came in the Seven Years' War, when the British conquered the port of Havana and introduced thousands of slaves in a ten month period. Another key event was the Haitian Revolution in nearby Saint-Domingue, from 1791 to 1804. Thousands of French refugees, fleeing the slave rebellion in Saint Domingue, brought slaves and expertise in sugar refining and coffee growing into eastern Cuba in the 1790 and early 1800s.

In the 1800s, Cuban sugar plantations became the most important world producer of sugar, thanks to the expansion of slavery and a relentless focus on improving the island's sugar technology. Use of modern refining techniques was especially important because the British abolished the slave trade in 1807 and, after 1815, began forcing other countries to follow suit. Cubans were torn between the profits generated by sugar and a repugnance for slavery, which they saw as morally, politically, and racially dangerous to their society. By the end of the nineteenth century, slavery was abolished.

However, leading up to the abolition of slavery, Cuba gained great prosperity from its sugar trade. Originally, the Spanish had ordered regulations on trade with Cuba, which kept the island from becoming a dominant sugar producer. The Spanish were interested in keeping their trade routes and slave trade routes protected. Nevertheless, Cuba's vast size and abundance of natural resources made it an ideal place for becoming a booming sugar producer. When Spain opened the Cuban trade ports, it quickly became a popular place. New technology allowed a much more effective and efficient means of producing sugar. They began to use water mills, enclosed furnaces, and steam engines to produce a higher quality of sugar at a much more efficient pace than elsewhere in the Caribbean.

The boom in Cuba's sugar industry in the nineteenth century made it necessary for Cuba to improve its means of transportation. Planters needed safe and efficient ways to transport the sugar from the plantations to the ports, in order to maximize their returns. Many new roads were built, and old roads were quickly repaired. Railroads were built early and changed the way that perishable sugar cane (within one or two days after the cane is cut easily crystalizable sucrose sugar has "inverted" to turn into far less recoverable glucose and fructose sugars) is collected and allowing more rapid and effective sugar transportation. It was now possible for plantations all over this large island to have their sugar shipped quickly and easily. The prosperity seen from the boom in sugar production is a major reason that Cuban ethnicity became further enriched by new influx of Spanish migrants. Many Spaniards immigrated to Cuba, calling it a place of refuge.

Sugar Plantations

Cuba failed to prosper before the 1760s due to Spanish trade regulations. Spain had set up a monopoly in the Caribbean and their primary objective was to protect this. They did not allow the islands to trade with any foreign ships. Spain was primarily interested in the Caribbean for its gold. The Spanish crown thought that if the colonies traded with other countries it would not itself benefit from it. This slowed the growth of the Spanish Caribbean. This effect was particularly bad in Cuba because Spain kept a tight grasp on it. It held great strategic importance in the Caribbean. As soon as Spain opened Cuba's ports up to foreign ships, a great sugar boom began that lasted until the 1880s. The Island was perfect for growing sugar. It is dominated by rolling plains, with rich soil, and adequate rainfall. It is the largest island in the Caribbean, its relatively low mountains and large plains are suitable for roads, and railroads, and it has the best ports in the area. By 1860, Cuba was devoted to growing sugar. The country had to import all other necessary goods. They were dependent on the United States who bought 82 percent of the sugar. Cubans resented the economic policy Spain implemented in Cuba, which was to help Spain and hurt Cuba. In 1820, Spain abolished the slave trade, hurting the Cuban economy even more and forcing planters to buy more expensive, illegal, and troublesome slaves (as demonstrated by the events surrounding the ship Amistad).

Cuba Under Attack

Cuba had long been a target of buccaneers, pirates and French corsairs seeking Spain's new world riches. Repeated raids meant that defences were bolstered throughout the island during the 16th century and Havana was furnished with the Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro (El Morro fortress) to deter potential invaders which included English privateer Francis Drake, who sailed within sight of Havana harbour but did not disembark on the island. Havana's inability to resist invaders was dramatically exposed in 1628, when a Dutch fleet led by Piet Heyn plundered the Spanish fleet in the city's harbor.In 1662, on the eastern part of the island, English admiral and pirate Christopher Myngs captured and briefly occupied Santiago de Cuba in an effort to open up Cuba's protected trade with neighbouring Jamaica.

Nearly a century later, English were to invade in earnest taking Guantˆ°namo Bay during the War of Jenkins' Ear with Spain. Edward Vernon, the British Admiral who devised the scheme, saw his 4,000 occupying troops capitulate to local guerilla resistance, and more critically, debilitating disease, forcing him to withdraw his fleet to British owned Jamaica. Seven years later, in 1748, tensions between the three dominant colonial powers; Britain, France and Spain, were transported to the Caribbean. A skirmish between a British squadron and a Spanish squadron off the coast of Cuba became known as the Battle of Havana.

The Seven Years' War, which erupted in 1754 in three continents, eventually arrived at the Spanish Caribbean. Spain's alliance with the French pitched them in direct conflict with the British, and in 1762 an expedition set out from Portsmouth of 5 warships and 4000 troops to capture Cuba. The English arrived on June 6, and by August had Havana under siege. When Havana surrendered, British Admiral of the fleet George Keppel, the 3rd Earl of Albemarle, entered the city as conquering new governor, taking control of the whole western part of the island. The arrival of the British immediately opened up trade with their North American and Caribbean colonies, causing a rapid transformation of Cuban society. Food, horses and other goods flooded into the city, and thousands of slaves from West Africa were transported to the island to work on the under manned sugar plantations. Though Havana, which had become the third largest city in the new world, was to enter an era of sustained development and closening ties with North America, the British occupation was not to last. Pressure from London by sugar merchants fearing a decline in sugar prices forced a series of negotiations with the Spanish over colonial territories. Less than a year after Havana was seized, the Peace of Paris was signed by the three warring powers thus ending the Seven Years' War. The treaty gave Britain Florida in exchange for Cuba on the recommendation of the French, who advised that declining the offer could result in Spain losing Mexico and much of the South American mainland to the British.

Antislavery, Reform, Separatist (Independence) and Annexation Movements

In the early 19th century three different currents characterizing the political struggles of that century took shape: reformism, annexation and independence. In addition to that there were spontaneous and isolated actions carried out from time to time and growing in organization, adding a current of social character: abolitionism. The declaration of independence by the 13 British colonies of North America and the victory of the French Revolution of 1789 as well as the revolt of black slaves in Haiti influenced early Cuban liberation movements. One of the first, headed by the free Black, Nicolˆ°s Morales, and aimed at the equality between "mulattos and whites" and the abolition of sales taxes and other burdens that oppress the poor, was discovered in 1795 in Bayamo and the conspirators were jailed.

The first separatist rebellion emerged among the Creole aristocracy in 1809 and 1810. One of its leaders, Joaquˆ‚n Infante drafted Cuba's first constitution considering the island a sovereign state, presuming the rule of the countries' wealthy, maintaining slavery as long as it was necessary for agriculture, establishing a social classification based on skin colour and declaring Catholicism the official religion. This conspiracy also failed and the main leaders were sentenced to prison and deported to Spain. In 1812, a mixed race abolitionist conspiracy arose, organized by Josˆ© Antonio Aponte, a free black carpenter in Havana. He and others were executed. The main reason for the lack of support was that the vast majority of Creoles, especially the plantation owners, rejected any kind of separatism, considering Spain's power essential to maintain a slavery system and to prevent a Black revolt. They were interested in reforms to guarantee the country's progress which entailed the maintenance of slavery, the end to a commercial monopoly imposed by Madrid and granting Cuba the same rights enjoyed by other Spanish colonies. The establishment of the Spanish Constitution of 1812 curtailed a number of previous liberal political and commercial liberties. Inspired by the successes of Simˆ„n Bolˆ‚var, numerous secret societies emerged, of which the most important was the so-called "Soles y Rayos Bolˆ‚var", founded in 1821 and led by Josˆ© Francisco Lemus. Its aim was to establish the free Republic of Cubanacˆ°n and the organization had branches in 5 provinces. In 1823 the leaders were arrested and condemned to exile. In the same year in Spain constitutional rule was lifted and absolutism re-established. As a result, in Cuba the national militia was dissolved, a permanent executive military commission under the orders of the governor was created, newspapers were closed, provincial representatives were removed and other liberties suppressed.

The suppression and the development in other former Spanish colonies lead to a rise of Cuban nationalism and a number of independence conspiracies took place during the 1820s and 1830s, but all failed. By 1825, most of Spain’Äôs colonies in the new world had achieved their independence, and only Cuba and Puerto Rico remained. In 1826, on occasion of Panama's Congress, the US (with the backing of England) prevented Mexico and Colombia from joining to support Cuba's independence, threatening that the U.S. would ’Äúnot remain indifferent’Äù to the freeing of Cuba. The US diplomat who delivered the threats wrote a revealing letter to his superior, Secretary of State Henry Clay, stating, ’ÄúWhat I most dread is that that blacks may be armed and used as auxiliaries’Ķ This country prefers that Cuba and Porto Rico should remain dependent on Spain. This Government desires no political change of that condition.’Äù The Mexican-Colombian expedition was stopped before it began. Simˆ„n Bolˆ‚var told a delegation of Cuban revolutionaries: ’ÄúWe cannot set at defiance the American Government, in conjunction with that of England, determined on maintaining the authority of Spain over the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico’Ķ’Äù The US also opposed possible agreements between Spain and England.

In 1826, the first armed uprising for independence took place in Puerto Prˆ‚ncipe (Camagˆºey Province), led by Francisco de Agˆºero and Andrˆ©s Manuel Sˆ°nchez. Agˆºero (white) and Sˆ°nchez (mulato, of mixed African and European ancestry) were executed, becoming the first martyrs of Cuban independence. Among others there were the "Expediciˆ„n de los Trece" (Expedition of the Thirteen) in 1826, the "Gran Legiˆ„n del Aguila Negra" (Great Legion of the Black Eagle) in 1829, the "Cadena Triangular" (Triangular Chain) and "Soles de la Libertad" (Suns of Liberty) in 1837. Leading national figures in these years were Fˆ©lix Varela and Cuba's first revolutionary poet, Josˆ© Marˆ‚a Heredia. The 1830s saw a surge of the reformist movement, whose main leader was Josˆ© Antonio Saco, standing out for his criticism of Spanish despotism and slave trade. Nevertheless, this surge brought no fruit; instead, Cubans remained deprived of the right to send representatives to the Spanish parliament and Madrid stepped up repression.

Spain had been under pressure to end trade of slaves. In 1817 it signed a first treaty to which it did not adhere. With the abolishment of slavery altogether in their colonies the British forced Spain to sign another treaty in 1835. With this background Black revolts in Cuba increased and were put down with massive killings and executions. One of the most significant was the Conspiraciˆ„n de La Escalera (Ladder Conspiracy), which started March 1843 and continued to 1844. The conspiracy took its name from a torture method, Black being tied to a ladder and whipped until they confessed or died. It included free Blacks and slaves as well as white intellectuals and professionals. It is estimated that 300 Blacks and mulattos died from torture, 78 were executed, over 600 were imprisoned and over 400 expelled from the island. (See comments in new translation of Villaverde's "Cecilia Valdˆ©s.") Among the executed was one of Cuba's greatest poets, Gabriel de la Concepciˆ„n Valdˆ©s, now commonly as "Placido". Josˆ© Antonio Saco one of Cuba's foremost thinkers was expelled from Cuba.

Black unrest and British pressure to abolish slavery motivated many Creols to advocate Cuba's annexation to the United States, where slavery was still legal. Other Cubans supported the idea because they longed for the higher development and democratic freedom. Annexation of Cuba was repeatedly supported by the US. In 1805 President Thomas Jefferson considered possessing Cuba for strategic reasons, sending secret agents to the island to negotiate with Governor Someruelos.

In April 1823 US Secretary of State John Quincy Adams discussed the rules of political gravitation, in a theory often referred to as the "ripe fruit theory." Adams wrote, ’ÄúThere are laws of political as well as physical gravitation; and if an apple severed by its native tree cannot choose but fall to the ground, Cuba, forcibly disjoined from its own unnatural connection with Spain, and incapable of self-support, can gravitate only towards the North American Union which by the same law of nature, cannot cast her off its bosom.’Äù Adams described Cuba as ’Äúincapable’Äù and described its separation from Spain as inevitable. He specified the islands gravitation towards the North American Union rather than Europe. As he explained that, ’Äúthe transfer of Cuba to Great Britain would be an event unpropitious to the interest of this Union.’Äù Adams voiced concern that a country outside of the North American Union would attempt to occupy the Cuba upon its separation from Spain. He wrote, ’ÄúThe question both of our right and our power to prevent it, if necessary, by force, already obtrudes itself upon our councils, and the administration is called upon, in the performance of its duties to the nation, at least to use all the means with the competency to guard against and forefend it.’Äù

On December second of that year US president James Monroe specifically addressed Cuba and other European colonies in his proclamation of the Monroe Doctrine. Cuba located in the Western Hemisphere just 94 miles from the US city Key West was of interest to the doctrine’Äôs founders as they warned European forces to leave ’ÄúAmerica for the Americans."

The most outstanding attempts in support of annexation were made by Spanish Army General Narciso Lˆ„pez, who prepared four expeditions to Cuba in the US. The first two in 1848 and 1849 already failed before departure due to US-opposition. The third one, made up of some 600 men, managed to land on Cuba and take the central city of Cˆ°rdenas. Lacking popular support, this expedition failed. His fourth expedition landed in Pinar del Rˆ‚o province with around 400 men in August 1851; the invaders were defeated by Spanish troops and Lˆ„pez was executed.

In the 1860s Cuba had two more liberal minded governors, Serrano and Dulce, who even encouraged the creation of a Reformist Party, despite the fact that political parties were forbidden. But a reactionary governor, Francisco Lersundi, followed, who suppressed all liberties granted by the previous ones and maintaining a pro-slavery regime with all its rigour.

On 10 October 1868, landowner Carlos Manuel de Cˆ©spedes made the "Grito de Yara", the "Cry of Yara", declaring Cuban independence and freedom for his slaves. This began the "Ten Years' War".

The War of 1895

Changes
In the years of the so-called ’ÄúRewarding Truce’Äù, lasting for 17 years from the end of the Ten Years War in 1878 there were fundamental social changes in Cuban society. With the abolition of slavery in October 1886 former slaves joined the ranks of farmers and urban working class. Most wealthy Cubans lost their properties and many of them joined the urban middle class. The number of sugar mills dropped and efficiency increased with only companies and the most powerful plantation owners owning them. The numbers of campesinos and tenant farmers rose considerably. It is the period when US capital began flowing into Cuba, mostly into the sugar and tobacco business and mining. By 1895 investments reached 50 million US dollars. Although Cuba remained Spanish politically, economically it started to depend on the United States.

Although the conditions were very difficult, these changes entailed the rise of labour movements, the first organisation created in 1878 being the Cigar Makers Guild, followed by the Central Board of Artisans in 1879 and many more across the island.[36] After his second deportation to Spain in 1878, Josˆ© Martˆ‚ moved to the United States in 1881 were he took up mobilizing the support of the Cuban exile community, especially in Ybor City (Tampa area) and Key West, Florida, for a revolution and independence from Spain, but also lobbying to oppose U.S. annexation of Cuba, which some American and Cuban politicians desired. After deliberations with patriotic clubs across the US, the Antilles and Latin America "El Partido Revolucionario Cubano" (The Cuban Revolutionary Party) with the purpose of gaining independence for both Cuba and Puerto Rico was officially proclaimed on April 10, 1892. Martˆ‚ was elected Delegate, the highest party position. By the end of 1894 the basic conditions for launching the revolution were set.

’ÄúMartˆ‚’Äôs impatience to start the revolution for independence was affected by his growing fear that the imperialist forces in the United States would succeed in annexing Cuba before the revolution could liberate the island from Spain.’Äù A new trend of aggressive US ’Äúinfluence,’Äù evident by Secretary of State James G. Blaine’Äôs expressed ideals that all of Central and South America would some day fall to the U.S. ’ÄúThat rich island,’Äù Blaine wrote on December 1, 1881, ’Äúthe key to the Gulf of Mexico, is, though in the hands of Spain, a part of the American commercial system’Ķ If ever ceasing to be Spanish, Cuba must necessarily become American and not fall under any other European domination.’Äù Blaine’Äôs vision did not allow the existence of an independent Cuba. ’ÄúMartˆ‚ noticed with alarm the movement to annex Hawaii, viewing it as establishing a pattern for Cuba’Ķ’Äù

On December 25, 1895 three ships loaded with fighters and weapons, the Lagonda, the Almadis and the Baracoa set sail for Cuba from Fernandina Beach, Florida, loaded with weapons and supplies that had been difficult and costly to obtain. Two of the ships were seized by US authorities in early January, who also alerted the Spanish government, but the proceedings went ahead. Not to be dissuaded, on March 25 Martˆ‚ presented the Proclamation of Montecristi (Manifesto de Montecristi) which outlined the policy for Cuba’Äôs war of independence:

’Ä¢ the war was to be waged by blacks and whites alike;
’Ä¢ participation of all blacks was crucial for victory;
’Ä¢ Spaniards who did not object to the war effort should be spared,
’Ä¢ private rural properties should not be damaged; and
’Ä¢ the revolution should bring new economic life to Cuba.

The insurrection began on 24 February 1895 with uprisings all across the island. In Oriente the most important ones took place in Santiago, Guantˆ°namo, Jiguanˆ‚, San Luis, El Cobre, El Caney, Alto Songo, Bayate and Baire. The uprisings in the central part of the island, such as Ibarra, Jagˆºey Grande and Aguada suffered from poor co-ordination and failed; the leaders were captured, some of them deported and some executed. In the province of Havana the insurrection was discovered before it got off and the leaders detained. Thus, the insurgents further west in Pinar del Rˆ‚o were ordered to wait. Martˆ‚, on his way to Cuba, proclaimed the ’Äò’Äô’ÄôManifesto de Montecristi’Äô’Äô’Äô in Santo Domingo, outlining the policy for Cuba’Äôs war of independence: the war was to be waged by blacks and whites alike; participation of all blacks was crucial for victory; Spaniards who did not object to the war effort should be spared, private rural properties should not be damaged; and the revolution should bring new economic life to Cuba.

On April 1 and 11, 1895, the main Mambi leaders landed on two expeditions in Oriente: Major Antonio Maceo and 22 members near Baracoa and Martˆ‚, Mˆ°ximo Gomez and 4 other members in Playitas. Around that time, Spanish forces in Cuba numbered about 80,000,of which, 20,000 were regular troops, and 60,000 were Spanish and Cuban volunteers. The latter were a locally enlisted force that took care of most of the ’Äúguard and police’Äù duties on the island. Wealthy landowners would ’Äúvolunteer’Äù a number of their slaves to serve in this force, which was under local control and not under official military command. By December, 98,412 regular troops had been sent to the island, and the number of volunteers increased to 63,000 men. By the end of 1897, there were 240,000 regulars and 60,000 irregulars on the island. The revolutionaries were far outnumbered.

The Mambises were named after the Negro Spanish officer, Juan Ethninius Mamby who joined the Dominicans in the fight for independence in 1846. The Spanish soldiers referred to the insurgents as ’Äúthe men of Mamby,’Äù and ’ÄúMambies.’Äù When Cuba’Äôs first war of independence (known as the Ten Year War) broke out in 1868, some of the same soldiers were assigned to the island, importing what had, by then, become a derogatory Spanish slur. The Cubans adopted the name with pride. After the Ten-Year War, possession of weapons by private individuals had been prohibited. Thus, from the very beginning of the war, one of the most serious problems for the rebels was the acquisition of suitable weapons. This lack of arms led to the guerrilla-style war using the environment, the element of surprise, a fast horse and a machete. Most of the weapons were acquired in raids on the Spaniards. Between June 11, 1895 and November 30, 1897, out of sixty attempts to bring weapons and supplies to the rebels from outside the country, only one succeeded through the protection of the British. Twenty-eight were prevented already within US-territory; 5 were intercepted by the US Navy, 4 by the Spanish Navy; 2 were wrecked; one was driven back to port by storm; the fate of another is unknown.
Martˆ‚ was killed only shortly after his landing on May 19, 1895, at Dos Rios, but Mˆ°ximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo fought on, taking the war to all parts of Oriente. By the end of June all of Camagˆºey was at war. Continuing west, they were met by 1868 war veterans, Polish internationalist, General Carlos Roloff and Serafˆ‚n Sˆ°nchez in Las Villas, adding weapons, men and experience.

In mid-September representatives of the five Liberation Army Corps assembled in Jimaguayˆ†, Camagˆºey to approve the ’ÄúJimaguayˆ† Constitution’Äù, establishing a central government, which grouped the executive and legislative powers into one entity named ’ÄúGovernment Council’Äù, headed by Salvador Cisneros and Bartolomˆ© Masˆ„. After some time of consolidation in the three eastern provinces the liberation armies headed for Camagˆºey and then Matanzas, outmanoeuvring and deceiving the Spanish Army several times, defeating the Spanish General Arsenio Martˆ‚nez Campos, himself the victor of the Ten Year War, and killing his most trusted general at Peralejo. Campos tried the same strategy he had employed in the Ten Year War, constructing a broad belt across the island, called the ’Äútrocha’Äù, about 80km long and 200m wide. This defence line was to limit rebel activities to the eastern provinces. The belt consisted of a railroad, from Jucaro in the south to Moron in the north, on which to move armoured cars. Along this railroad, at various points there were fortifications, and at intervals 12m of posts and 400m of barbed wire. In addition, booby traps were placed at locations most likely to be attacked. For the rebels it was essential bring the war to the western provinces (Matanzas, Havana and Pinar del Rio) where the island's government and wealth was located. The Ten Year War failed because it had not managed to proceed beyond the eastern provinces.

In a successful cavalry campaign, overcoming the trochas they invaded every province. Surrounding all larger cities and well fortified towns they arrived at the westernmost tip of the island on January 22, 1896, exactly 3 months after the invasion near Baraguˆ°.

Campos was replaced by General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau (nicknamed the "butcher") who reacted to these successes by introducing terror methods: periodic executions, mass exile, destruction of farms and crops, reaching their height on October 21, 1896, when he ordered all countryside residents and their livestock to gather in various fortified areas and towns occupied by his troops within 8 days. Hundreds of thousands of people had to leave their homes creating appalling and inhumane conditions in the crowded towns and cities. It is estimated that this measure caused the death of at least one third of Cuba’Äôs rural population.[43] The forced relocation was maintained until March 1898.

Starting in the early 80 Spain had also suppressing an independence movement in the Philippines,, which was intensifying and Spain was now fighting two wars, which were putting a heavy burden on its economy. But it turned down offers in secret negotiations by the US in 1896, which was closely following the war, to buy Cuba from Spain.
Maceo was killed December 7, 1896, in Havana province while returning from the west, As the war went on, the major obstacle to Cuban success was weapons supply. Although weapons and funding came from within the US, the supply operation violated American laws, which were enforced by the US Coast Guard; of 71 re-supply missions only 27 got through, 5 were stopped by the Spanish but 33 by the US Coast Guard.[45] In 1897 the liberation army maintained a privileged position in Camagˆºey and Oriente, where the Spanish only controlled a few cities. Spanish Liberal leader Praxedes Sagasta admitted in May 1897: ’ÄúAfter having sent 200,000 men and shed so much blood, we don’Äôt own more land on the island than what our soldiers are stepping on’Äù. The rebel force of 3,000 defeated the Spanish in various encounters, such as the battle of La Reforma or the surrender of Las Tunas on August 30 and the Spaniards were kept on the defensive. Las Tunas had been guarded by over 1,000 well-armed-and-supplied men.

As stipulated at the Jimaguayˆº Assembly two years earlier, a second Constituent Assembly met in La Yaya, Camagˆºey on October 10, 1897. The newly adopted constitution supplied for a military command subordinated to civilian rule. The government was confirmed, naming Bartolomˆ© Masˆ„ President and Dr. Domingo Mˆ©ndez Capote Vice President.
Madrid decided to change its policy towards Cuba, replaced Weyler, drew up a colonial constitution for Cuba and Puerto Rico and installed a new government in Havana. But with half the country out of its control and the other half in arms it was powerless and rejected by the rebels.

The Maine Incident

The Cuban struggle for independence had captured the American imagination for years and newspapers had been agitating for intervention with sensational stories of Spanish atrocities against the native Cuban population, intentionally sensationalized and exaggerated.

This continued even after Spain replaced Weyler and changed its policies and American public opinion was very much in favour of intervening in favour of the Cubans.

In January 1898, a riot by Cuban Spanish loyalists against the new autonomous government broke out in Havana leading to the destruction of the printing presses of four local newspapers for publishing articles critical of Spanish Army atrocities. The US Consul-General cabled Washington with fears for the lives of Americans living in Havana. In response the battleship USS Maine was sent to Havana in the last week of January. On February 15, 1898, the Maine was rocked by an explosion, killing 268 of the crew and sinking the ship in the harbour. The cause of the explosion has not been clearly established to this day.

In an attempt to appease the US the colonial government took two steps that had been demanded by President William McKinley: it ended the forced relocation and offered negotiations with the independence fighters. But the truce was rejected by the rebels.

The Spanish-American War / The Cuban War Theatre

The explosion of the Maine sparked a wave of indignation in the US. Newspaper owners such as William R. Hearst leapt to the conclusion that Spanish officials in Cuba were to blame, and they widely publicized the conspiracy although Spain could have had no interest in getting the US involved in the conflict. Yellow journalism fuelled American anger by publishing "atrocities" committed by Spain in Cuba. Hearst, when informed by Frederic Remington, whom he had hired to furnish illustrations for his newspaper, that conditions in Cuba were not bad enough to warrant hostilities, allegedly replied, "You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war." Although McKinley, Speaker of the House Thomas Brackett Reed and the business community opposed the growing public demand for war, which was lashed to fury by the yellow journalism. The American cry of the hour became, Remember the Maine, To Hell with Spain!

The decisive event was probably the speech of Senator Redfield Proctor delivered on March 17, analyzing the situation and concluding that war was the only answer. The business and religious communities, switched sides, leaving McKinley and Reed almost alone in their opposition to the war. ’ÄúFaced with a revved up, war-ready population, and all the editorial encouragement the two competitors could muster, the U.S. jumped at the opportunity to get involved and showcase its new steam-powered Navy’Äù. On April 11, McKinley asked Congress for authority to send American troops to Cuba for the purpose of ending the civil war there. On April 19, Congress passed joint resolutions (by a vote of 311 to 6 in the House and 42 to 35 in the Senate) supporting Cuban independence and disclaiming any intention to annex Cuba, demanding Spanish withdrawal, and authorizing the president to use as much military force as he thought necessary to help Cuban patriots gain independence from Spain. This was adopted by resolution of Congress and included from Senator Henry Teller the Teller Amendment, which passed unanimously, stipulating that ’Äúthe island of Cuba is, and by right should be, free and independent’Äù. The amendment disclaimed any intention on the part of the U.S. to exercise jurisdiction or control over Cuba for other than pacification reasons, and confirmed that the armed forces would be removed once the war is over. Senate and Congress passed the amendment April 19, McKinley signed the joint resolution on April 20, and the ultimatum was forwarded to Spain. War was declared on April 20/21, 1898.

On April 19 the U.S. Congress (by a vote of 311 to 6 in the House and 42 to 35 in the Senate) adopted the Joint Resolution for War with Spain, which included the Teller Amendment, named after Colorado Senator Henry Moore Teller. The amendment disclaimed any intention on the part of the U.S. to exercise jurisdiction or control over Cuba for other than pacification reasons, and confirmed that the armed forces would be removed once the war is over. The amendment, pushed through at the last minute by anti-imperialists in the Senate, made no mention of the Philippines, Guam, or Puerto Rico. The U.S. congress formally declared war on April 25.

’ÄúIt's been suggested that a major reason for the U.S. war against Spain was the fierce competition emerging between Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal.’Äù Joseph E. Wisan wrote in an essay titled "The Cuban Crisis As Reflected In The New York Press’Äù, published in ’ÄúAmerican Imperialism’Äù in 1898: ’ÄúIn the opinion of the writer, the Spanish-American War would not have occurred had not the appearance of Hearst in New York journalism precipitated a bitter battle for newspaper circulation.’Äù It has also been argued that the main reason the U.S. entered the war was the failed secret attempt, in 1896, to purchase Cuba from a weaker, war-depleted Spain.

Hostilities started hours after the declaration of war when a US contingent under Admiral William T. Sampson blockaded several Cuban ports. The Americans decided to invade Cuba and to start in Oriente where the Cubans had almost absolute control and were able to co-operate, e. g. by establishing a beachhead and protecting the US landing in Daiquiri. The first US objective was to capture the city of Santiago de Cuba in order to destroy Linares' army and Cervera's fleet. To reach Santiago they had to pass through concentrated Spanish defences in the San Juan Hills and a small town in El Caney. Between June 22 and 24, the Americans landed under General William R. Shafter at Daiquirˆ‚ and Siboney, east of Santiago, and established a base. The port of Santiago became the main target of naval operations. The U.S. fleet attacking Santiago needed shelter from the summer hurricane season. Thus nearby Guantˆ°namo Bay with its excellent harbour was chosen for this purpose and attacked on June 6 (1898 invasion of Guantˆ°namo Bay). The Battle of Santiago de Cuba on July 3, 1898, was the largest naval engagement during the Spanish-American War resulting in the destruction of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron (Flota de Ultramar).

Resistance in Santiago consolidated around Fort Canosa, All the while major battles between Spaniards and Americans took place at Las Guasimas (Battle of Las Guasimas) on June 24, El Caney Battle of El Caney and San Juan Hill Battle of San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898, outside of Santiago. after which the American advance ground to a halt. Spanish troops successfully defended Fort Canosa, allowing them to stabilize their line and bar the entry to Santiago. The Americans and Cubans forcibly began a bloody, strangling siege of the city which eventually surrendered on July 16, after the defeat of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron. Thus, Oriente was under control of Americans the Cubans, but US General Nelson A. Miles would not allow Cuban troops to enter Santiago, claiming that he wanted to prevent clashes between Cubans and Spaniards. Thus, Cuban General Calixto Carcˆ‚a, head of the mambi forces in the Eastern department, ordered his troops to hold their respective areas and resigned, writing a letter of protest to General Shafter.

After losing the Philippines and Puerto Rico, which had also been invaded by the US, and with no hope of holding on to Cuba, Spain sued for peace on 17 July, 1898. On August 12 the US and Spain signed a protocol of Peace in which Spain agreed to relinquish all claim of sovereignty over and title of Cuba. On December 10, 1898, the US and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris, recognizing Cuban independence. Although the Cubans had participated in the liberation efforts, the US prevented Cuba from participating in the Paris peace talks and signing the treaty. The treaty set no time limit for US occupation and the Isle of Pines was excluded from Cuba. Although the treaty officially granted Cuba's independence, US General William R. Shafter refused to allow Cuban General Calixto Garcˆ‚a and his rebel forces to participate in the surrender ceremonies in Santiago de Cuba.

INFORMATION TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Cuba)