Ten Years' War - Background

Background

In the 1850s and 1860s, a series of reformers were demanded by local Cubans. Lax enforcement of the slave trade ban led to a dramatic increase in imports, estimated at 90,000 from 1856 to 1860. This occurred despite a strong abolitionist movement and rising costs among the slave-holding planters in the east. New technologies and techniques made large numbers of slaves unnecessary and prohibitively expensive. An economic crisis resulted in 1857, and many businesses failed, including many sugar plantations. The abolitionist cause gained strength, favoring a gradual emancipation of slaves with compensation from Spain as to not lose too much more money. Additionally, indentured Chinese immigrants gained popularity for cheap labor in the absence of slaves. Before the 1870s, more than 125,000 came to Cuba. The creole elites placed four demands upon the Spanish Parliament in May 1865: tariff reform, Cuban representation in Parliament, judicial equality with Spaniards, and full enforcement of the slave trade ban.

As a reaction, conservative, traditional politics were gaining strength and eliminating liberal reforms. Military tribunals saw increased power as well as a six percent tax increase. Additionally, the opposition and press were silenced. In response, dissatisfaction spread as the mechanisms to express it were restricted. This discontent was particularly felt in the ranchers and planters in Eastern Cuba.

The failure of the latest Reformist efforts, the demise of the "Information Board" and an economic crisis in 1866/67 gave way to a new scenario. In spite of the crisis, the colonial administration continued to make huge profits which were not invested on the island but either went into military expenditures (44% of the revenue), paid for the colonial government's expenses (41%), or were sent to Spain and Fernando Po (12%). The Spaniards with 8% of the population appropriated over 90% of the island’s wealth. In addition, the majority of the Cuban population still had no political rights, giving rise to underground movements, especially in the eastern part of the country.

In July 1867, the "Revolutionary Committee of Bayamo" was founded under the leadership of one of Cuba’s wealthiest plantation owners, Francisco Vicente Aguilera. The conspiracy rapidly spread to Oriente’s lager towns, most of all Manzanillo where Carlos Manuel de Céspedes became the main protagonist of the uprising. Originally from Bayamo, Céspedes owned an estate and sugar mill known as La Demajagua. The Spanish, aware of Céspedes’ anti-colonial intransigence, tried to force him into submission by imprisoning his son Oscar. Céspedes refused to negotiate and Oscar was executed.