The Beginning of the Ten Years’ War – October 10, 2024

History of The Beginning of the Ten Years’ War

The Republic of Cuba is an archipelago country made up of the main island of Cuba, Isla de la Juventud, and over a thousand minor islets. It is located east of the Yucatán Peninsula in the southern end of Mexico, right where the northern Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean converge. Although the country is autonomous now, this wasn’t always the case.

The Peninsular Wars in Europe during the late 1800s resulted in Napoleon’s brother, Joseph, becoming King of Spain. With no loyalty to the new regime, many Spanish colonies in South and Central America sparked independence movements. Cuba stayed faithful to Spain, but as the century progressed, so did the desire for independence, as well as growing resentment of the Spanish administration, which was perceived to be corrupt and repressive.

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, a rich and powerful sugar mill owner, along with his followers, declared independence on October 10, 1868. The ‘Grito de Yara’ signaled the beginning of the Ten Years’ War, the first of three armed conflicts towards independence. Though it ended in surrender to the Spanish in May 1878, the Ten Years’ War was a watershed moment in Cuba’s fight for independence from Spain, which was finally achieved in December 1898. The events of October 1868 are also seen as directly leading to Cuba’s abolition of slavery in 1886. Spain’s withdrawal from Cuba in 1898 was a direct result of the American victory in the Spanish–American War. The U.S. military ruled for almost four years before Cuba finally got its formal independence on May 20, 1902.