Imperialism In Cuba Term paper
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In the early nineteenth century, Cuba took its place as one of the leading sugar producers in the world. The population on the island soared, and a new class of rich plantation owners came into existence. However, the people weren't happy with the way their country was running. They grew unsatisfied with their colonial status to Spain and their want of independence was strengthened by the harsh Spanish rule that they were living under. The government was corrupt, there were unfair taxes, there wasn't universal suffrage, and slavery remained legal despite the objections from the majority of the Cubans. Through all of this, the US held an active interest in having Cuba under their own rule. Not only did Cuba have the valuable sugar industry, it was also in a very strategic position in the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico. The first US action to secure Cuba on its own was to support General L pez's plan to bring US troops into Cuba, rally the supports of the "poor, oppressed Cubans", and defeat the Spanish. According to this plan, the Cubans would then be more than happy to turn their country over to the good old US of A. His plan didn't quite work out as he had hoped since the Cubans were less than excited about his ideas. Eventually he was executed by the Spanish along with fifty of his companions (Bailey, 289). A few years later the idea of three US diplomats to either purchase Cuba from Spain or, if necessary, to officially join with Cuba against Spain (called the Ostend Manifesto) was rejected by Secretary Marcy (Bailey, 295-6). From this point on, the US interest in Cuba remained ambiguous. After the Ostend Manifesto, Cuba had to overcome many difficulties with Spanish rule and securing American aid before their eventual independence in 1902. The Ostend Manifesto came about because of renewed American interest in buying Cuba, although its purpose was never achieved. Another reason for the Manifesto was a very real fear of a slave uprising in Cuba (one had occurred in Cuba) that could potentially trigger a similar situation in the southern United States (EB, b). Under the Pierce Administration, Secretary Marcy was very interested in opening negotiations for the island. In 1954 he sent a memo to the US Minister to Spain of the time, Pierre Soul . His instructions were simple -- he wanted to buy Cuba from Spain for under $130 million (Bailey, 294). If Spain refused to sell, he told Soul to then, "direct your efforts to the next most desirable object which is to detach that island from the Spanish dominion and from all dependence on any European power," (quoted by Bailey, 294). By detaching Cuba Marcy meant that he wanted to assist Cuba in securing its independence. he further suggested that Soul meet with James Buchanan and John Mason (the US ministers to London and Paris respectively) in order to talk over his plan. He then wanted them to write down their thoughts and conclusions in a dispatch to him (Bailey, 295). In the dispatch they wrote that the US should pay no more than $120 million ($10 million less than Marcy had allowed for) and to then take action since Spain's occupation of Cuba could then be considered dangerous to the United States (Bailey, 295). At this point the press was already starting to print twisted versions of their opinions and to speculate wildly about the Manifesto. The Manifesto ended up being rejected by the Cabinet. Soul , not Marcy, took the fall for the ideas within the document and he resigned soon after. Even though the plan never became a reality, "it marked the high point of the US expansionist drive in the Caribbean in the 1850s" (EB, b). The Cubans had many problems with the Spanish rule with the years before the Ten Years' War, and there were many different groups of thought concerning what should be done about it. Although Cuba was thought of by Spain as being "la isla siempre leal" or the ever faithful island (Bailey, 285), it was actually far from faithful when the Spanish were concerned. There were many rebel groups and revolutionaries who wanted nothing more than to do away with the Spanish Rule once and for all. Three groups of thought emerged from Cuba. One group wanted only social and government reforms. They saw major flaws in their rights and the way they were being ruled, but they had no immediate plans for doing away with Spanish rule altogether or declaring independence. Another plan was to have Cuba be annexed into the United States. The third group wanted nothing less than complete independence. This group was led by C spedes and eventually he led the country into a full guerrilla campaign (Encarta, b). Meanwhile, Spain continued to refrain from giving the Cubans a political voice despite raising their taxes (EB, a). The Cubans also wanted the prohibition of slavery very much, but that didn't come to pass for another twenty years. These anti-Spanish sentiments grew until the Ten Years' War began in October of 1868.C spedes led the country into the Ten Years' War after declaring a Cuban revolt with the support of many revolutionaries. Carlos Manuel de C spedes was a Cuban-born planter who had become very wealthy over the years and wanted Cuban independence. He arranged a Republic, co-wrote the Cuban declaration of independence (Compton's), and continued to rally support for his cause. Although no decisive battles were ever fought, when the Spanish army finally arrived in 1876 the Cubans were ready and they fought back (Grolier). They used extensive guerrilla warfare in Eastern Cuba to combat the Spanish soldiers. The warfare that they used was brutal, but the Spanish had more man-power. The Cubans continuously looked to the US for help and intervention, but the US refused to get involved. One of their main reasons was simply that they didn't have any extra money in the government budget -- the Civil War had only recently ended and Reconstruction was sucking up all extra funds (EB, c). Because of the inner turmoil between the North and the South, the US quest for imperialism was put on hold as they concentrated on keeping their own country united. The revolt ended in February of 1878 with the Treaty of El Zanj n, but the Spanish made very few concessions to the initial wants of the Cubans. The war had lasted exactly ten years, and it caused the deaths of 200,000 people. It also caused $700,000,000 in damaged property (EB, c). According to this treaty, the Spanish would give amnesty to all political prisoners, end slavery, and carry out many other reforms. Of these reforms, the only ones that were actually carried out were the eventual abolishment of slavery and Cuban representation in the Cortes (Parliament) (EB, c). All of the other promised reforms never quite became reality, and Spain's failure to honor the treaty (along with other factors) triggered with Cuban War of Independence. After the Ten Years War the Spanish continued to repress the Cubans which caused the Cuban War of Independence to begin in 1894. The revolt was led this time by Jos Mart , Antonio Maceo, and Maximo G mez. The catalyst for the start of the war was the cancellation of a Cuban-US trade pact that caused a depression in Cuba along with added taxes and trade restrictions (EB, c). This time the US couldn t avoid the Cuban revolt from becoming an issue in their own country. Although they didn t actually join in the fight until 1898, the American people joined with the Cubans in repeating their rallying cry -- Cuba Libre! (free Cuba!) in response to the tales of cruelty by the Spanish that were turning up all over the United States. Spain...
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