Cuba Part 3

From all these countries, swarms of Spanish loyalists made their way to Cuba, and were ordered to be maintained at the expense of the island.

Spain also desired to make of Cuba a military station, whence she could direct operations in her efforts to reconquer the new republic. This plan was vehemently opposed by the Cubans.

Discontent rapidly fomented and increased throughout the island.

Numerous secret political societies were formed, and there arose two great opposing factions, the one insisting that the liberal const.i.tution granted by the Provisional Government of Seville at the time the Bourbon king was deposed should be the fundamental law of Cuba, while the other proclaimed its partisanship of rigid colonial control.

In 1821, Hayti declared its independence of Spain, and in the same year Florida pa.s.sed into the possession of the United States.

Both these events increased the feeling of unrest and discontent in Cuba, and this was further augmented by the establishment of a permanent military commission, which took cognizance of even ordinary offenses, but particularly of all offenses against disloyalty.

An attempt at revolution, the purpose being the establishment of a republic, was made in 1823 by the "Soles de Bolivar" a.s.sociation. It was arranged that uprisings should take place simultaneously in several of the Cuban cities, but the plans became known to the government and the intended revolution was nipped in the bud, all the leaders being arrested and imprisoned the very day on which it had been arranged to declare independence.

In 1826 Cuban refugees in Mexico and in some of the South American republics planned an invasion of Cuba to be led by Simon Bolivar, the great liberator of Colombia, but it came to nothing, owing to the impossibility of securing adequate support both of men and money.

A year or two later these same men attempted another uprising in the interests of greater privileges and freedom. A secret society, known as the "Black Eagle" was organized, with headquarters at Mexico, but with a branch office and recruiting stations in the United States.

This invasion, however, also proved abortive, owing chiefly to the determined opposition displayed by the slave-holders both in the United States and Cuba. The ringleaders were captured and severely punished by the Spanish authorities.

The struggles for freedom had attracted the attention of the people of the United States and were viewed by them with ever-increasing interest and sympathy.

After the acquisition of Florida, the future of the island of Cuba became of more or less importance to the people of the United States and has remained so to the present day. As President Cleveland said in his message of December, 1896: "It is so near to us as to be hardly separated from our own territory." The truth of this is apparent when it is remembered that the straits of Florida can be crossed by steamer in five hours.

It began to be feared that Cuba might fall into the hands of England or France and the governments of those countries as well as that of Spain were informed that such a disposition of it would never be consented to.

Its position at the entrance of the gulf of Mexico could not be disregarded. The American government declared its willingness that it should remain a Spanish colony, but stated it would never permit it to become the colony of another country.

In 1825 Spain made a proposition that, in consideration of certain commercial concessions the United States should guarantee to her the possession of Cuba; but this proposition was declined on the ground that such a thing would be contrary to the established policy of the United States.

One of the most important consequences of Spain's efforts to regain possession of the South American republics, the independence of which had been recognized by the United States, was the formulation of what has since been known as the "Monroe Doctrine." In his message of December 2, 1823, President Monroe promulgated the policy of neither entangling ourselves in the broils of Europe, nor suffering the powers of the old world to interfere with the affairs of the new. He further declared that any attempt on the part of the European powers "to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere" would be regarded by the United States as "dangerous to our peace and safety," and would accordingly be opposed.

Although since then there has been more or less friction with England over the Monroe doctrine, at that time she greatly aided in its becoming established as a feature of international law, and strengthened the position of the United States, by her recognition of the South American republics.

The Spanish slave code, by which the slave trade, which had formerly been a monopoly, was made free, had given a great stimulus to the importation of slaves. It was almost brought to an end, however, by the energetic efforts of Captain-General Valdez. But the increased consumption of sugar in Great Britain, owing to reduction of duty and the placing of foreign and British sugars on the same basis gave a new stimulus to the traffic; and, in their own pecuniary interest, ever more prominent with them than any question of humanity, the Spanish relaxed their efforts, and the slave trade attained greater dimensions than ever before.

In 1844 there occurred an uprising which was more serious than any which had preceded it. The slaves on the sugar plantations in the neighborhood of Matanzas were suspected of being about to revolt. There was no real proof of this, and in order to obtain evidence a large number of slaves were tortured. It was evident that Spain was still ready, if in her opinion occasion required it, to have recourse to the barbarities of the old Inquisitorial days. By evidence manufactured by such outrageous methods, one thousand three hundred and forty-six persons were tried and convicted, of whom seventy-eight were shot, and the others punished with more or less severity. Of those declared guilty, fourteen were white, one thousand two hundred and forty-two free colored persons, and fifty-nine slaves.

The project of annexation to the United States was first mooted in 1848, after the proclamation of the French republic. The people of the slave States, in view of the increasing population and the anti-slavery feeling of the North and West were beginning to feel alarmed as to the safety of the "peculiar inst.i.tution," and there was a strong sentiment among them in favor of annexing Cuba and dividing it up into slave states. President Polk, therefore, authorized the American minister at Madrid to offer one hundred million dollars for Cuba; but the proposition was rejected in the most peremptory manner. A similar proposal was made ten years afterward in the Senate, but after a debate it was withdrawn.

The next conspiracy, rebellion or revolution (it has been called by all these names according to the point of view and the sympathies of those speaking or writing of it) broke out in 1848. It was headed by Narciso Lopez, who was a native of Venezuela, but who had served in the Spanish army, and had attained therein the rank of major-general.

This was of considerable more importance than any of the outbreaks that had preceded it.

The first attempt of Lopez at an insurrectionary movement was made in the centre of the island. It proved to be unsuccessful, but Lopez, with many of his adherents, managed to escape and reached New York, where there were a large number of his sympathizers.

Lopez represented the majority of the Cuban population as dissatisfied with Spanish rule, and eager for revolt and annexation to the United States.

In 1849, with a party small in numbers, he attempted to return to Cuba, but the United States authorities prevented him accomplishing his purpose.

He was undaunted by failure, however, and the following year, he succeeded in effecting another organization and sailed from New Orleans on the steamer Pampero, with a force which has been variously estimated at from three to six hundred men, the latter probably being nearer the truth.

The second in command was W. S. Crittenden, a gallant young Kentuckian, who was a graduate of West Point, and who had earned his t.i.tle of colonel in the Mexican war.

They landed at Morillo in the Vuelta Abajo. Here the forces were divided; one hundred and thirty under Crittenden remained to guard the supplies, while Lopez with the rest pushed on into the interior.

There had been no disguise in the United States as to the object of this expedition. Details in regard to it had been freely and recklessly published, and there is a lesson to be learned even from this comparatively trivial attempt to obtain freedom as to a proper censorship of the press in time of warfare.

The Spanish government was fully informed beforehand as to all the little army's probable movements. The consequence was that Lopez was surrounded and his whole force captured by the Spanish.

The expected uprising of the Cuban people, by the way, had not taken place.

Hearing no news of his superior officer, Crittenden at first made a desperate attempt to escape by sea, but, being frustrated in this, he took refuge in the woods.

At last he and his little force, now reduced to fifty men, were forced to capitulate.

The United States Consul was asked to interfere in the case of Crittenden, but refused to do so. It was said at the time that there were two reasons for this: First, there was no doubt whatever as to the nature of the expedition, and secondly, the consul, who does not appear to have been particularly brave, was alarmed for his personal safety.

The trial, if trial it can be called, and condemnation followed with the utmost, almost criminal, celerity.

In batches of six, Crittenden and his fifty brave surviving comrades were shot beneath the walls of the fortress of Alara.

When the Spaniards ordered Crittenden, as was the custom, to kneel with his back to the firing party, the heroic young Kentuckian responded:

"No! I will stand facing them! I kneel only to my G.o.d!"

It is stated that the bodies of the victims were mutilated in a horrible manner.

There was no inconsiderable number of Cubans who sympathized with Lopez, but, held as they were under a stern leash, they did not dare to intercede for him.

He was garroted at Havana, being refused the honorable death of a soldier. Some others of his comrades were shot, but most of them were transported for life.

The sad fate of Crittenden aroused the greatest indignation and bitterness in the United States, but the tenets of international law forbade anything to be done in the case.

During the administration of President Pierce, there occurred an incident which threatened at one time to lead to hostilities, and which was one of the first of the many incidents that have embittered the United States against Spain as regards its administration of Cuba.

This was the firing on the American steamer, Black Warrior, by a Spanish man-of-war.

The Black Warrior was a steamer owned in New York, and plying regularly between that city and Mobile. It was her custom both on her outward and homeward bound trips to touch always at Havana. The custom laws were then very stringent, and she ought each time to have exhibited a manifest of her cargo. But still this was totally unnecessary, as no portion of her cargo was ever put off at Havana.

She was therefore entered and cleared under the technical term of "in ballast." This was done nearly thirty times with full knowledge and consent of the Spanish revenue officers; and, moreover the proceeding was in accordance with a general order of the Cuban authorities.

But in February, 1850, the steamer was stopped and fired upon in the harbor of Havana. The charge brought against her was that she had an undeclared cargo on board. This cargo was confiscated, and a fine of twice its value imposed. The commander of the vessel, Captain Bullock, refused to pay the fine, and declared that the whole proceeding was "violent, wrongful and in bad faith."

But, obtaining no redress, he hauled down his colors, and, carrying them away with him, left the vessel as a Spanish capture. With his crew and pa.s.sengers, he made his way to New York, and reported the facts to the owners.

The latter preferred a claim for indemnity of three hundred thousand dollars. After a tedious delay of five years, this sum was paid, and so the matter ended.

The affair of the Black Warrior was one of the cases that led to the celebrated Ostend Conference.

This conference was held in 1854 at Ostend and Aix-la-Chapelle by Messrs. Buchanan, Mason and Soule, United States ministers at London, Paris and Madrid, and resulted in what is known as the Ostend manifesto.