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José Martí: Apostle of Cuban Independence
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At the end of 19th century, with thoughts of alcoholic beverages pushed to the back of his head, Jose Marti, like my Venezuelan bartender friend, did not think Cuba was free either. In fact, he was just about sick of Spain's colonial rule over his land, and was ready to fight for his freedom and become a martyr for independence and leadership throughout the Americas.
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To galvanize support for his plans for a Cuban revolution, Marti traveled throughout the Cuban exile communities in South Florida. When he was in Tampa, he gave a speech to a crowd of Cuban exiles and compared them (i.e. Cuban nationals living abroad) to the baby pine forests he had seen on his travels through South Florida. Actually, his speech went a little something like this:
Following Jose Marti's inspiring revolutionary campaigns, Cubans were in support of independence from Spain, but their struggle wasn't as immediately successful as they had planned. As it became clear that Cuban revolutionaries were not going to defeat the Spanish military alone, Cubans began to consider the possibility of accepting foreign support for their cause. The Teller Amendment, adopted by the US Congress, pledged that the US would not annex the island nation and convinced Cubans that accepting assistance from the nearby nation in their war against Spain would not threaten their future sovereignty as an independent republic.
Enter the United States.
As Cuba was struggling for independence, the US was laying the foundation for becoming a world power. Do you remember the Monroe Doctrine? If not, here's a refresher: It was President Monroe's foreign policy plan that implicated the US as the protector of the independent nations of the Americas against the encroachment of any European power. At this point in history, the Monroe Doctrine had already become a political manifesto that the US used to pave the way to a hemispheric empire.
The imperialist motives of American businessmen supported the logic of politicians like Presidents Cleveland and McKinley who favored intervention as the only means to prevent the development of a Black republic! Both presidents actually wrote speeches explaining their fear that if Cuba were to defeat Spain without US assistance, Cuba's ethnic population would become the leaders of the new nation.
And so, the Spanish American War began.
The US enters the war on Cuba's behalf, defeats Spain in three months, and hooray (!), everybody is happy, sovereign, and free. Right? WRONG! Cuba wasn't free and neither were Puerto Rico, Guam, or the Philippines--three Spanish colonies shuffled over to the US as part of the Treaty of Paris.
After the armistice, the US military pretended that the Cuban revolutionary movement did not even exist. When Spain surrendered, for example, Cuban officials were not allowed to confer on the surrender or to sign it. Rebels were not even allowed into the capital of Santiago, and the old Spanish authorities appointed by the Queen were left in charge of their respective municipalities. Defeating the Spanish, then, brought little change to Cuba beyond the massive and constant influx of American enterprises ripe with desire to exploit Cuba's raw capital. By the end of US military occupation, almost 80% of Cuba's mineral exports were in US hands.
It seems obvious now that the Spanish American war was fought over Cuba and not for it. The US entered the war under the guise of securing Cuban independence. Instead however, the country was only securing access to foreign markets and resources, while maintaining a racist foreign policy. After hearing that riddle from the Venezuelan bartender, is it really any surprise that I've never been able to enjoy another Cuba Libre?
Stephen
Please email me at:
stephen@ustrek.org
Stephanie - Sure, Puerto Ricans want a state. Of independence |
