Pact of Zanjon Aftermath

Carrying on immediately where we left off, the negotiations for peace were not successful in placating the desires that brought about the 10 year war in the first place. Despite the cited “mutual exhaustion” both parties felt, some rebels like Lt. General Antonio Maceo Grajales continued to fight because of the pacts inability to abolish slavery immediately and continued Spanish rule. It is worth noting that the pact did set a time to deal with the issue of slavery, eventually accomplished in October of 1886 by royal decree. Even with better parliamentary representation, some within Cuba felt that the influence of the Spanish was enough to continue the rebellion. This would lead to a reversion of certain liberties granted by the pact, eventually feeding into a final war for independence.


The Little War

Despite the adorable name, The Little War was a brutal skirmish that affirmed to the Spanish that Cuba had become a place of Cubans, not just Spaniards. The Leader on the side of the Cubans this time around was Calixto Garcia. Garcia himself had apparently come from a line of strong willed men, his grandfather having fought in the Venezuelan war for independence. He carried that spirit, fighting in The Ten Years War, The Little War, and The Cuban War For Independence. It is little surprise that this man was amongst a handful of revolutionary leaders who never signed the Pact of Zanjon. However, this handful was not enough to raise a massive resistance, and The Little War ended in a little over a year by 1880 with no major successes for the rebels. This show of force caused the Spanish to revoke some of the liberties within the Pact of Zanjon.

The Cuban War For Independence

One could say that most of a century had been building up to this final war between Cubans and Spaniards. It shook world politics, as by the end of it all the Americans had launched an assault on the Spanish on multiple fronts, aiding the Cubans in their most intense struggle yet.
By the time of this war, slavery had ended in Cuba. The economy was so centered on this practice that it fundamentally had to shift, leaving some of the wealthy in the middle class. The freedmen themselves also generally joined the urban middle class populations. Here in this new world, the Cubans found a leader in Jose Marti (mentioned before in our section about the Ten Year War). Marti had developed a disdain for Spanish colonists very early, running in with their authorities while attending school. Marti also wrote in support of the Ten Year War as it occurred, through poems and essays. For this, he was imprisoned and then exiled to Spain.
This exile did not dissuade Marti, and he continued to affirm Cuban independence. Upon completing his studies in Spain, he came back to the New World and lived in Mexico City. Here he met his future wife and engaged in debate about Cuban independence within local publications. He remained in Mexico until Porfirio Diaz took up arms against then president Tejada in 1876. From here he would bounce around Latin America, sometimes back and forth, going from the Caribbean islands to Guatemala to Mexico again. Eventually his travels led him to New York, where he joined Calixto Garcia’s Cuban Revolutionary Committee in 1881. Marti grew cautious of when to make his move, believing if the revolution happened too soon it would lead to either failure or the establishment of military rule. Until the time was right, Marti would continue to travel and find more bodies and funds for his great effort, his apparent status as a highly intelligent and principled man being the cornerstone of his appeal wherever he went.
It is here I wish to say that I do not mean to downplay the role other Cuban leaders played. The names of Juan Guaberto Gomez, Maximo Gomez, and Antonio Maceo Grajales should be remembered alongside Marti, but brevity demands focusing on the principle figure of the revolution.
In January of 1895, Marti drew up his orders for revolution, with the uprising beginning on February 24th of the same year. Marti himself would go into battle in an attempt to prove his fervor, but died during a courageous but foolhardy charge on May 19th. The war itself is mired in conflicting reports from both sides of the struggle and the international community. What can be gathered to have occurred is rebel victories, and the loss of territory prompting the Spanish to utilize heavy retaliation. The extent of their brutality is debated, but some say the strategy of concentration camps was used again by General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau. To what extent is difficult to say. One of the most important news cycles came not from within Cuba itself, but from the United States. The use of these camps was fuel to the fire of yellow journalism prevalent at this time, and incited a call against Spanish influence in Cuba. This all reached a boiling point with the infamous USS Maine Incident in February 1898, spurring the powerful neighbor into war
One can argue against the supposed humanitarian intent of the USA, having financial interests in Cuba and new naval equipment to showcase to the world, but hardly any could argue the sudden “turning of tables” that occurred thanks to their intervention. This was not merely an intervention in Cuba, but rather the intervention of the USA in multiple Spanish colonies including the Philippines and Guam. Fans of American History know this as the war with the deployment of Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders” cementing the future president’s charismatic appeal. Avoiding too much talk of military stratagems, American troops would work with Cuban rebels utilizing forward assaults and technology such as the Gatling gun. Through slow and bloody sieges, the rebel forces eventually took Santiago by July, causing panic amongst the Spanish. Naval battles were fought mainly amongst the two larger powers; decisive victories for the USA crippled the military presence of the Spanish. Though they provided needed aid against the Spanish, the Americans withdrew from the Cuban front thanks to a bout of Yellow Fever. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris, Spain demoralized with the loss of many colonies. Cuban independence had been won.

Flashing Forward

Immediately after, the USA had temporary control over the Cuban nation through the governor John R. Brooke. They attempted to structure an effective law enforcement strategy and left some Spaniards in their government seats. Economic policies were one sided, with tariffs which favored the United States over the Cubans and the occupation government granting privileges to American investors. The Cubans were given control of their country in 1902, but the Platt Amendment allowed the USA the ability to use military intervention (and leased the USA the infamous Guantanamo Bay). This power was exercised in 1906 after the election of that year caused civil unrest, with American troops reoccupying the island until 1909. Around this era, the Cuban Communist party was founded
Liberal President Jose Miguel Gomez (1908-1912) suppressed the Partido Independiente de Color, a party for Afro-Cubans, leading to more racial issues. When members of this party fought back, American troops were again brought in to bring the “Negro Rebellion” to a quick conclusion. Another rebellion occurred in 1917, driving the US entry into Cuba to defend financial interests, mostly the vast sugar plantations on the island, which led to the affair being known as the Sugar Intervention. This period shows the willingness of the American government to have as much say as possible in their neighboring country, with the Cuban government complacent in such dealings due to its high returns in profit.
The “Sergeants Revolt” occurred in 1933, empowering an agrarian government that did not answer to a foreign power. The USA responds by supporting a man from the Sergeants Revolt by the name of Fulgencio Batista. Batista worked with the communists to secure his support, even implementing pro-labor policies in his first presidency 1940-1944. Batista was not reelected, giving President Ramon Grau San Martin his turn. An economic boom gives rise to corruption and nepotism among the next couple of presidents. During a moment of opportunity due to a vacancy in the opposition, Batista returns to lead a coup in 1952. Under this dictatorship, wages in Cuba rivaled and surpassed some of those in the European region, though this came from the tyranny of labor unions in bed with Batista.
This constant stream of collusion and intervention gave rise to another revolutionary movement, one found in all corners of the world. A Communist Revolution.

The Communists and Their Possible End

Batista’s dictatorship caused great anger in a young Fidel Castro, seeing corruption in courts that did not dare to challenge his decision to suspend elections. A failed attack led Castro to be captured, but later released and sent to Mexico where he met Ernesto “Che” Guevara in 1955. An abortive invasion plot in 1956 led to Castro and Che on the run in Cuba, forced to use guerilla tactics which are influential to revolt worldwide to this day. This proved effective, forcing Batista to flee the country by 1959 and allowing Castro his own turn at executions and repression.
The United States attempted to keep Cuba in their sphere of influence, but Castro was committed to anti-Americanism and resented them for supporting Batista. The history that follows is well known (Bay of Pigs, Cuban missile Crisis, etc.). It is not difficult to understand why Cubans would wish to remove themselves from the influence of the United States. Since “independence” was achieved, there were reminders of their presence in every era of their new lives. The Soviet Union stepped in to become a new supporter, though this was likely not an issue as their involvement led to Cuba being amongst the best equipped militaries in their region. The fall of the USSR led to an emboldened USA strengthening their embargo, feeding into the idea of being a general pest to Cubans. The Cuban government responded by opening a tourist market and allowing the use of US dollars. The communist government began to show it’s weaknesses, requiring liberalization to curtail it’s famines and shortages of what were then basic utilities. This culminated in the 1994 Maleconazo uprising, which is now echoed in 2021.
Cubans now are once again showing their discontent with the Cuban government. Though not the Castro regime any longer, modern Cuba still tramples on the liberties of its people. Continued embargos, falling imports from allied countries, and COVID all strained Cuba’s fragile economy through all of 2020. Perhaps this has “fallen off the radar” for some people, but know that the protests continue, and there are deaths on the side of civilians. Once more the Cuban people have become angry. Once more the Cuban people want change. And as we can see, they do not stop until it becomes reality.