A Spanish colony since the 15th century, following Christopher Columbus’s conquest of America, Cuba has always aspired to gain independence and take control of its destiny. In the early 19th century, the Haitian people, guided by the example of Toussaint Louverture, broke the chains of slavery and defeated Napoleon’s army on the battlefield, delivering France’s first colonial defeat. This victory led to the establishment of Latin America’s first independent republic on January 1, 1804. Inspired Haiti’s success, the entire continent took up arms against Spain in its own fight for freedom.
Only Cuba and Puerto Rico remained under Spanish rule, and the largest island in the Caribbean soon became the object of U.S. interest due to its strategic position in the Gulf of Mexico. As early as 1805, Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, spoke of the need to annex Cuba. In 1823, John Quincy Adams, then Secretary of State and future President, developed the “ripe fruit” theory, asserting that, sooner or later –willingly or unwillingly – the island would inevitabley become part of the American Union. Indeed, when Colombia and Mexico considered launching an expedition to liberate Cuba in the 1820s, they faced strong opposition from Washington.
In 1868, under the leadership of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, the Cuban people, following Haiti’s example, proclaimed the abolition of slavery and took up arms to fight for their sovereignty. Throughout the decade-long conflict, the United States provided political and military support to Spain and strongly opposed any effort toward Cuban emancipation. Weakened by internal divisions within the independence movement, the Grito de Yara uprising was ultimately forced to accept the Pact of Zanjón in 1878 – an armistice that granted neither freedom nor sovereignty.
José Marti, born in 1853 and a devoted follower of the 1868 struggle, recognized the primary reason for the failure of the First War of Independence: the lack of patriotic unity. In 1892, he sought to overcome this division by creating a unifying organization – the Cuban Revolutionary Party – intended to bring together all Cubans committed to their homeland’s destiny. His goal was to prepare for what he called “the necessary war” against Spanish rule.
To lead the Liberation Army, Martí enlisted the help of Máximo Gómez, the Dominican internationalist general and veteran of the Ten Years’ War. In his plea to Gómez, Martí made a solemn appeal “I have no remuneration to offer you other than the pleasure of sacrifice and the probable ingratitude of men. I have come to ask you to abandon your children and your wife to help Cuba conquer its freedom, at the risk of death”.
On January 29, 1895, Martí and Gómez signed the order for a general uprising against Spain, setting February 24 as the date for the insurrection. Three armed expeditions set sail for Cuba: José Martí from New York, Máximo Gómez from the Dominican Republic, and Antonio Maceo from Costa Rica. A man of ideas, Martí believed he could not call for the ultimate sacrifice from his people without taking up arms himself. In April 1895, he landed on the island as Major General of the Liberation Army.
On May 18, 1895, Martí wrote his final letter to his Mexican friend Manuel Mercado, in which he denounced Washington’s imperial ambitions. He emphasized the urgent need to prevent “the annexation of Cuba to the United States”. The following day, May 19, Martí was killed in action at the age of 42 during a confrontation with Spanish troops at Dos Rios. Refusing to stay behind the lines, he broke away from his unit and charged the enemy, only to be fatally wounded.
Galvanized by the sacrifice of their moral leader, Cuban patriots intensified their struggle, delivering defeat after defeat on the Spanish army. By 1898, after three years of relentless fighting, Spain was on the brink of surrender, and the Cuban revolutionaries were finally on the verge of achieving the independence they had fought for since 1868. However, just as victory seemed imminent, the United States intervened militarily, determined to prevent Cuba from securing its rightful emancipation. Later that year, the Treaty of Paris was signed between Madrid and Washington – without any Cuban representation – sidelining those who had shed their blood for freedom.
After three years of military occupation, Washington forced Cuba to incorporate the Platt Amendment into the new Constitution, effectively denying the island true independence. This amendment granted the United State the right to intervene militarily in Cuba at any time to protect its interests and required the Cuban authorities to seek U.S. approval before entering into agreements with foreign powers. As a result, Cuba transitioned from a Spanish colony to an American protectorate, shattering the long-held dream of sovereignty.
It was not until January 1, 1959, with the triumph of the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro, that the Cuban people finally achieved true independence.
Salim Lamrani holds a PhD in Iberian and Latin American Studies from Sorbonne University, and is Professor of Latin American History at the Université de La Réunion, specializing in relations between Cuba and the United States. His latest book in English is Cuba, the Media and the Challenge of Impartiality.
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