PRESS RELEASE – ON 10th October 1868, the Cuban Revolution begun. On that day, a Cuban slave owner, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, released his slaves, and invited them to join himself and other Cuban patriots in the war against the Spanish colonial government of Cuba.
This war, better known as the 10-year War, was fought from 1868 to 1878. It has been recorded in Cuban history as the first serious war to achieve Cuban independence from the colonial power, Spain, and to liberate all the slaves on the island.
In 1869, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes was named President of the Republic of Cuba in Arms.
The war was fought between two groups. In the East of Cuba, the tobacco planters and farmers, joined by mullatos and some slaves, fought against the West of Cuba, with its sugarcane plantations (which required many slaves) and the forces of the Spanish Governor-General.
Cespedes was deposed in a leadership coup in 1873, and was killed by Spanish soldiers in February 1874.
The 10-year War ended in 1878, with the Pact of Zanjon. The pact secured the liberation of the slaves and Chinese who had fought alongside the rebels, and it was also agreed that no charges would be laid against them for political offenses.
But Cuban independence was not achieved, and not all the slaves were liberated. Cespedes was subsequently named Father of the Cuban Nation (Padre de La Patria).
On 10th October 2018, the Cuban nation will celebrate 150 years of revolutionary action against all forms of colonialism, imperialism and exploitation of man by man, and the Humanistic Solidarity Association (Saint Lucia-Cuba) avails itself of this opportunity to congratulate the Government and People of Cuba on the celebration of that important milestone. (HSA)