CHAPTER III.

CUBA'S EARLY STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY.

It was in 1813 that the Bonapartist regime came to an end in Spain, and Ferdinand VII. reascended the throne. In the very beginning he paid no attention to the Constitution; he dissolved the Cortes and did his best to make his monarchy an absolute one.

Again, as has been said, Cuba felt the yoke of his despotism, all previous promises, when the aid of the island was to his advantage, being as completely ignored as if they had never been made.

In Spanish America, revolutionary movements had been begun some three years before, and after stubborn warfare, Buenos Ayres, Venezuela and Peru finally succeeded in obtaining complete independence from Spanish authority.

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 constitution 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 passed 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" association. 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 institution," 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 title 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 God!"

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 passengers, 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.

The principal points of this manifesto were as follows:

"The United States ought if possible to purchase Cuba with as little delay as possible.

"The probability is great that the government and Cortes of Spain will prove willing to sell it because this would essentially promote the highest and best interests of the Spanish people.

"The Union can never enjoy repose nor possess reliable securities as long as Cuba is not embraced within its boundaries.

"The intercourse which its proximity to our coast begets and encourages between them (the inhabitants of Cuba) and the citizens of the United States has, in the progress of time, so united their interests and blended their fortunes that they now look upon each other as if they were one people and had but one destiny.

"The system of immigration and labor lately organized within the limits of the island, and the tyranny and oppression which characterize its immediate rulers, threaten an insurrection at every moment which may result in direful consequences to the American people.

"Cuba has thus become to us an unceasing danger, and a permanent cause for anxiety and alarm.

"Should Spain reject the present golden opportunity for developing her resources and removing her financial embarrassments, it may never come again.

"Extreme oppression, it is now universally admitted, justifies any people in endeavoring to free themselves from the yoke of their oppressors. The sufferings which the corrupt, arbitrary and unrelenting local administration necessarily entails upon the inhabitants of Cuba cannot fail to stimulate and keep alive that spirit of resistance and revolution against Spain which has of late years been so often manifested. In this condition of affairs it is vain to expect that the sympathies of the people of the United States will not be warmly enlisted in favor of their oppressed neighbors.

"The United States has never acquired a foot of territory except by fair purchase, or, as in the case of Texas, upon the free and voluntary application of the people of that independent State, who desired to blend their destinies with our own.

"It is certain that, should the Cubans themselves organize an insurrection against the Spanish government, no human power could, in our opinion, prevent the people and government of the United States from taking part in such a civil war in support of their neighbors and friends."

We have quoted thus largely from the Ostend manifesto, because it seems to us, with one exception, to be so pertinent to the present status of affairs.

The one exception is: We no longer desire the annexation of Cuba. The present war is a holy war. It has been entered into wholly and entirely from motives of philanthropy, to give to a suffering and downtrodden people the blessings of freedom which we ourselves enjoy.

Moreover, the manifesto clearly shows that the causes of Cuban uprising are of no recent date; and that, before the United States rose in its wrath, it was patient and long-suffering.

Although the Senate debated the questions raised by the manifesto for a long time, nothing resulted from the deliberations.

Questions of extraordinary moment were arising in our own country, from which terrible results were to ensue, and for the time being, indeed for years to come, everything else sank into insignificance.

Meantime, the question of independence was still being agitated in Cuba.

General Jose de la Concha, in anticipation of a rising of the Creole population threatened to turn the island into an African dependency. He formed and drilled black troops, armed the native born Spaniards and disarmed the Cubans. Everything was got in readiness for a desperate defense. The Cuban junta in New York had enlisted a large body of men and had made ready for an invasion. Under the circumstances, however, the attempt was postponed. Pinto and Estrames, Cubans taken with arms in their hands, were executed, while a hundred others were either condemned to the galleys or deported. General de la Concha's foresight and vigilance unquestionably prevented a revolution, and for his services he was created Marquis of Havana.

Then ensued a period of comparative quiet, but the party of independence was only awaiting an opportunity to strike.

Long before this, Spain had entered upon the downward path. "A whale stranded upon the coast of Europe," some one designated her. She had been accumulating a debt against her, a debt which can never be repaid.

And she has no one to blame for her wretched feeble, exhausted condition but herself--her own obstinacy, selfishness and perversity.

Truly, Spain has changed but little, and that only in certain outward aspects, since the time of Torquemada and the Inquisition. She is the one nation of Europe that civilization does not seem to have reached.

The magnificent legacy left her by her famous son, Christopher Columbus, has been gradually dissipated; the last beautiful jewel in the crown of her colonial possessions, the "Pearl of the Antilles" is about to be wrested from her.

Her case is indeed a pitiable one, and yet sympathy is arrested when we remember that her reward to Columbus for his magnificent achievements was to cover his reputation with obloquy and load his person with chains.