nt of the Cuban Republic-in-arms. This resulted in a prolonged conflict known as the Ten Years' War between pro-independence forces and the Spanish army, allied with local supporters. There was much sympathy in the U.S. for the independence cause, but the U.S. declined to intervene militarily or to recognize the legitimacy of the Cuban government in arms, even though many European and Latin American nations had done so.[17] In 1878, the Pact of Zanjón ended the conflict, with Spain promising greater autonomy to Cuba. The island was exhausted after this long conflict and pro-independence agitation temporarily died down. There was also a prevalent fear that if the Spanish withdrew or if there were further civil strife, the increasingly expansionist U.S. would step in and annex the island. In 1879-1880, Cuban patriot Calixto Garcia attempted to start another war, known in Cuban history as the Little War, but received little support.[18] Partly in response to U.S. pressure, slavery was abolished in 1886, although the African-descended minority remained socially and economically oppressed, despite formal civic equality granted in 1893. During this period, rural poverty in Spain provoked by the Spanish Revolution of 1868 and its aftermath led to even greater Spanish emigration to Cuba. During the 1890s, pro-independence agitation revived, fueled by resentment of the restrictions imposed on Cuban trade by Spain and hostility to Spain's increasingly oppressive and incompetent administration of Cuba. Few of the promises for economic reform made by the Spanish government in the Pact of Zanjon were kept. In April 1895, a new war was declared, led by the writer and poet José Martí who had organized the war over 10 years while in exile in the U.S. and proclaimed Cuba an independent republic — Martí was killed at Dos Rios shortly after landing in Cuba with the eastern expeditionary force. His death immortalized him and he has become Cuba's national hero. The Spanish armed forces totaled about 200,000 troops against a much smaller rebel army which relied mostly on guerilla and sabotage tactics to fight battles, and the Spaniards retaliated with a campaign of suppression. General Valeriano Weyler was appointed military governor of Cuba, and as a repressive measure he herded the rural population into what he called reconcentrados, described by international observers as "fortified towns." These reconcentrados are often considered the prototype for the 20th century concentration camps.[19] Between 200,000 and 400,000 Cuban civilians died from starvation and disease during this period in the camps. These numbers were verified by the Red Cross and U.S. Senator (and former Secretary of War) Redfield Proctor. U.S. and European protests against Spanish conduct on the island followed.[20] Military events of consequence include the breakout to the western provinces "La Invasion", and the taking of the fort complexes at Tunas and Guisa. In 1897, fearing U.S. intervention, Spain moved to a more conciliatory policy, promising home rule with an elected legislature. The rebels rejected this offer and the war for independence continued. The Maine incident Main article: USS Maine (ACR-1) The U.S. battleship Maine, the largest Navy ship built in an American shipyard, arrived in Havana on January 25, 1898. The Spanish and their Cuban supporters saw the uninvited arrival as intimidation, though McKinley claimed it was to offer protection to the 8,000 American residents in the island. On 15 February the Maine blew up in Havana harbour, killing 266 men. Forces in the U.S. blamed the Spanish for blowing up the Maine. Those skeptical of the U.S. accusations were suspicious because the most important officers were at a party on shore. There were 81 foreigners and 82 black seamen among the 25 officers and 318 enlisted killed. An investigative commission arrived in Havana on February 21 aboard USS Mangrove where Judge Advocate of the Navy Adolf Marix reported the ship had been sunk by a mine placed under the ship by a diver named Pepe "Taco" Barquin. Marix reported Barquin had been offered $6,000 and was killed the day after. Another diver was killed by guards and another wounded and jailed on the night of the explosion. The one in jail (his arrest was recorded in Regla's official documents), Marix reported, was being poisoned by the Spanish authorities.[21] A naval court of inquiry found on March 22, 1898, after examination of the ship, "In the opinion of the court, the Maine was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward magazines."[22] Although the court also concluded, "The court has been unable to obtain evidence fixing the responsibility for the destruction of the Maine upon any person or persons",[22] the inference was widely drawn that if there was a submarine mine, the Spanish government had probably caused that mine to be laid. Swept on a wave of nationalist sentiment, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution calling for intervention[23] and President William McKinley was quick to comply. According to a letter from Brigadier Freyre de Andrade, the chief planners were Garcia Corujedo, Villasuso, Maribona and other Freemason businessmen, associated with gun runner Maximo Gomez and New York politician William Astor Chanler, a friend of Theodore Roosevelt.[citation needed] Commonly authors find the matter far less definitive and assignment of guilt less clear.[24] McMorrow states: "Thus, the conclusion that the explosion which destroyed the ship was triggered by an external blast, as reached by both the Sampson and Vreeland inquiries, seems to be a valid one. Having reached that same conclusion, we still don't know what actually caused the blast. Was the Maine destroyed by a Spanish mine, as so many believed in 1898, by sabotage, or by some kind of infernal machine?"[25] Independence Theodore Roosevelt, who had fought in the Spanish-American War and had some sympathies with the independence movement, succeeded McKinley as President of the United States in 1901 and abandoned the 20-year treaty proposal. Instead, the Republic of Cuba gained formal independence on 20 May 1902, with the independence leader Tomás Estrada Palma becoming the country's first president. Under the new Cuban constitution, however, the U.S. retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations. Under the Platt Amendment, Cuba also agreed to lease to the U.S. the naval base at Guantánamo Bay. Cuba today does not celebrate May 20 as their date of independence, but instead October 10, as the first declaration of independence, May 1 international (but not US) labor day, and also July 26, the date of Castro's first attack on Moncada Barracks.[26] In 1906, following disputed elections, an armed revolt led by Independence War Veterans broke out and that defeated the meager government forces loyal to Estrada Palma and the U.S. exercised its right of intervention.[27] The country was placed under U.S. occupation and a U.S. governor, Charles Edward Magoon, took charge for three years. Magoon's governorship in Cuba was viewed in a negative light by many Cuban historians for years thereafter, believing that much political corruption was introduced during Magoon's years as governor.[28] In 1908, self-government was restored when José Miguel Gómez was elected President, but the U.S. retained its supervision of Cuban affairs. 1912 Race War In 1912 Partido Independiente de Color attempted to establish a separate black republic in Oriente Province.[29] Perhaps because the group lacked sufficient weaponry the main tactic was to set businesses and private residences on fire.[30] The movement was a failure and General Monteagudo suppressed the rebels with considerable bloodshed. Historians differ on the interpretation of this circumstance. Some view it as suppression of Black rights, others as an attempt at racial cleansing and secession on part of the Black activists.[31] World War I Cuba shipped considerable sugar to Britain, via smuggling which avoided U-boat attack by the subterfuge of shipping sugar to Sweden (this operation was managed by Cuban Ambassador Carlos Garcia Velez, General Calixto Garcia's eldest surviving son). During the unsuccessful revolt against the Menocal government in 1917, the government attributed this in part to pro-German sentiment on part of the "Liberales." However, this was not proven to most historians' satisfaction. The Menocal government declared war on Germany very soon after the U.S. did, and as a result the Mexican government broke off relations with Cuba. After World War I Despite frequent outbreaks of disorder, however, constitutional government was maintained until 1930, when Gerardo Machado y Morales suspended the constitution. Great Theater of Havana, Garcia Lorca Machado's government had considerable local support despite its violent suppression of critics. However, it was during this period that Soviet intrusion into Cuban affairs began with the arrival in Cuba of Fabio Grobart. During Machado's tenure, a nationalistic economic program was pursued with several major national development projects undertaken (see Infrastructure of Cuba. Carretera Central and El Capitolio). Machado's hold on power was weakened following a decline in demand for exported agricultural produce due to the Great Depression, the attacks first by War of Independence veterans, and later by covert terrorist organizations, principally the ABC.[32] During a general strike in which the communist party took the side of Machado[33] the Senior elements of the Cuban army forced Machado into exile and installed Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, son of Cuba's founding father, as President. In September, 4th-5th (1933) however, a second coup (led by sergeants, most notably Fulgencio Batista) overthrew Céspedes leading to the formation of the first Ramón Grau San Martín government. Notable bloody events in this violent period include the separate sieges of Hotel Nacional and Atares Castle (see Blas Hernandez). This government lasted 100 days but engineered radical socialistic changes in Cuban society and a rejection of the Platt amendment. In 1934, Batista and the army, who were the real center of power in Cuba, replaced Grau with Carlos Mendieta y Montefur. In 1940, Batista decided to run for president himself. Because of a split with the leader of the opposition, Ramón Grau San Martín, Batista turned instead to the Communist Party of Cuba, which had grown in size and influence during the 1930s. Batista's control ends with democratic rule With the support of the communist-controlled labor unions, Batista was elected President and his administration carried out major social reforms. Several members of the Communist Party held office under his administration. Batista's administration formally took Cuba into World War II as a U.S. ally, declaring war on Japan on December 9, 1941, then on Germany and Italy on December 11, 1941; Cuba, however, did not significantly participate militarily in World War II hostilities. At the end of his term in 1944, in accordance with the constitution, Batista stepped down and Ramón Grau was elected to succeed him. Grau initiated increased government spending on health, education and housing. Grau's auténticos were bitter enemies of the Communists and Batista, which opposed most of Grau's programs. World War II Cuba, although supplying vast quantities of sugar, and strategic manganese metal, was not greatly involved in combat during World War II; although, U.S. air bases were established, Cuban freighters were sunk, a German spy was discovered and executed, and a German submarine was sunk by the Cuban navy. During World War II the Nazis counterfeited vast sums of U.S. currency which was sent via the Dozenberg group to Cuba and other parts of Latin America; Soviet directions to the Cuban communist party seem to have been sent via radio from Switzerland by the Alexander Foote Network.[34] After World War II Grau completed his presidential term. In 1948, Grau was succeeded by Carlos Prío Socarrás, who had been Grau's minister of labor and was particularly hated by the Communists. Corruption is generally believed to have increased notably under Prío's administration; however not all accusations of corruption were proven, and Eduardo Chibás, leader of the Ortodoxo party to which Fidel Castro belonged, committed suicide when his allegations were not substantiated. Corruption is partially attributed to the influx of gambling money into Havana, which became a safe haven for mafia operations. Prío carried out major reforms such as founding a National Bank and stabilizing the Cuban currency. The influx of investment fueled a boom which did much to raise living standards across the board and create a prosperous middle class in most urban areas, although the gap between rich and poor became wider and more obvious.[35] From Batista to Castro Main article: Cuban Revolution Bullet riddled truck used in the attack on the Presidential Palace in Havana by the Directorio Revolucionario and the Organizacion Autentica in 1957 The 1952 election was a three-way race. Roberto Agramonte of the Ortodoxos party led in all the polls, followed by Dr Aurelio Hevia of the Auténtico party, and running a distant third was Batista, who was seeking a return to office. Both front runners, Agramonte and Hevia in their own camps, had decided to name Col. Ramon Barquin, then a diplomat in Washington, DC to head the Cuban armed forces after the elections. Barquin was a top officer who commanded the respect of the professional army and had promised to eliminate corruption in the ranks. Batista feared that Barquin would oust him and his followers, and when it became apparent that Batista had little chance of winning, he staged a coup on 10 March 1952 and held power with the backing of a nationalist section of the army as a “provisional president” for the next two years. Justo Carrillo told Barquin in Washington in March 1952 that the inner circles knew that Batista had aimed the coup at him; they immediately began to conspire to oust Batista and restore democracy and civilian government in what was later dubbed La Conspiracion de los Puros de 1956 (Agrupacion Montecristi). In 1954 Batista agreed to elections. The Partido Auténtico put forward ex-President Grau as their candidate, but he withdrew amid allegations that Batista was rigging the elections in advance. Batista could then claim to be an elected president. Fidel Castro directed a failed assault on the Moncada Barracks, in Santiago de Cuba, and on the smaller Carlos Manuel de Cespedes Barracks and on the Feast of Saint Ann July 26, 1953.[26] In April 1956, Batista had given the orders for Barquin to become General and chief of the army. But it was too late. Even after Barquin was informed, he decided to move forward with the coup to rescue the morale of the armed forces and the Cuban people. On April 4, 1956, a coup by hundreds of career officers led by Col. Barquin (then vice-chairman of the Inter-American Defense Board in Washington and Cuban military attaché of sea, Air and land to the US) was frustrated by Rios Morejon. The coup broke the backbone of the Cuban armed forces. The officers were sentenced to the maximum terms allowed by Cuban Martial Law. Barquin was sentenced to solitary confinement for eight years. La Conspiración de los Puros resulted in the imprisonment of the commanders of the armed forces and the closing of the military academies. Barquin was the founder of La Escuela Superior de Guerra (Cuba's war college) and past director of La Escuela de Cadetes (Cuba's military academy). Without Barquin's officers the army's ability to combat the revolutionary insurgents was severely curtailed. On 2 December 1956 a party of 82 revolutionaries, led by Castro, landed in a yacht named Granma with the intention of establishing an armed resistance movement in the Sierra Maestra. The yacht had come from Mexico, where Castro had been exiled and where his army was strengthened with the help of Ernesto Che Guevara, who became one of the most important people in the Cuban revolution and one of Castro's closest allies. Castro had gone to Mexico after serving two years of a 20-year prison sentence for his part in a 1953 rebel attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba.[36][copyvio source?]. Castro received his pardon from Batista after being requested by the Archbishop of Santiago, Monseñor Enrique Perez Serantes and Senator Rafael Diaz-Balart, at the time Fidel Castro's brother-in-law. After the landing, Batista launched a campaign of repression against the opposition, which only served to increase support for the insurgency. With Barquin's professional officers in La Prison Modelo de Isla de Pinos in the Gulf of Mexico, the army lacked the leadership and will to fight the insurgents. Presidential Palace in Havana, now the Museum of the Revolution Through 1957 and 1958, opposition to Batista grew, especially among the upper and middle classes and the students, among the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and in many rural areas. In response to Batista's plea to purchase better arms from the U.S. to root out insurgents in the mountains, the United States government imposed an arms embargo on the Cuban government on March 14, 1958. By late 1958, the rebels had broken out of the Sierra Maestra and launched a general insurrection, joined by hundreds of students and others fleeing Batista's crackdown on dissent in the cities. When the rebels captured Santa Clara, east of Havana, Batista decided the struggle was futile and fled the country to exile in Portugal and later Spain. Batista named Gen. Eulogio Cantillo chief of the army and gave him instructions not to release Barquin and his officers. Nevertheless, Barquin, who had the backing of the U.S., was rescued from Isla de Pinos in the early hours and taken to Campamento Ciudad Militar Columbia where he relieved Cantillo and assumed the post of chief of Staff (serving as chief of the armed forces and de facto president of Cuba for a short period) in an effort to establish order in the streets and the armed forces. He negotiated the symbolic change of command between Camilo Cienfuegos, Che Guevara, Raul Castro and his brother Fidel Castro, after the Supreme Court decided that the Revolution was the source of law and its representative should assume command. With fewer than 300 men, Camilo assumed the post from Barquin who in Columbia alone commanded 12,000 professional soldiers. Castro's rebel forces entered the capital on January 8, 1959. Shortly afterwards Dr Manuel Lleo Urrutia assumed power. Cuba following revolution Fidel Castro became prime minister of Cuba in February 1959. In its first year, the new revolutionary government carried out measures such as the expropriation of private property with no or minimal compensation(sometimes based on property tax valuations that the owners themselves had kept artificially low),[37] the nationalization of public utilities, and began a campaign to institute tighter controls on the private sector such as the closing down of the gambling industry. The government also evicted many Americans, including mobsters (who, in collaboration with Batista, ran the gambling casinos in Havana)[38][39]) from the island. Some of these measures were undertaken by Fidel Castro's government in the name of the program that he had outlined in the Manifesto of the Sierra Maestra,[40] while in the Sierra Maestra. However, he failed to enact one element of his reform program, which was to call elections under the Electoral Code of 1943 within the first 18 months of his time in power and to restore all of the provisions of the Constitution of 1940 that had been suspended under Batista. Castro flew to Washington, DC in April 1959, but was