The constitution of 1812--Revolution of La Granja--Political aspect
of the island--Discontent among the Cubans--The example before
them--Simon Bolivar, the Liberator--Revolutions of 1823 and
1826--General Lorenzo and the constitution--The assumption of
extraordinary power by Tacon--Civil war threatened--Tacon sustained
by royal authority--Despair of the Cubans--Military rule--A foreign
press established--Programme of the liberal party--General
O'Donnell--The spoils--Influence of the climate.
When the French invasion of Spain in 1808 produced the constitution of
1812, Cuba was considered entitled to enjoy its benefits, and the year
1820 taught the Cubans the advantage to be derived by a people from
institutions based on the principle of popular intervention in public
affairs. The condition of the nation on the death of Ferdinand VII.
obliged Queen Christina to rely on the liberal party for a triumph over
the pretensions of the Infante Don Carlos to the crown, and to assure
the throne of Donna Isabella II., and the _Estatuto Real_ (royal
statute) was proclaimed in Spain and Cuba. The Cubans looked forward, as
in 1812 and 1820, to a representation in the national congress, and the
enjoyment of the same liberty conceded to the Peninsula. An institution
was then established in Havana, with branches in the island, called the
Royal Society for Improvement, already alluded to in our brief notice of
Don Francisco Arranjo. The object of this society was to aid and protect
the progress of agriculture and commerce; and it achieved a vast amount
of good. At the same time, the press, within the narrow limits conceded
to it, discussed with intelligence and zeal the interests of the
country, and diffused a knowledge of them.
In 1836 the revolution known as that of La Granja, provoked and
sustained by the progressionists against the moderate party, destroyed
the "Royal Statute," and proclaimed the old constitution of 1812. The
queen-mother, then Regent of Spain, convoked the constituent Cortes, and
summoned deputies from Cuba.
Up to this time, various political events, occurring within a brief
period, had disturbed but slightly and accidentally the tranquillity of
this rich province of Spain. The Cubans, although sensible of the
progress of public intelligence and wealth, under the protection of a
few enlightened governors, and through the influence of distinguished
and patriotic individuals, were aware that these advances were slow,
partial and limited, that there was no regular system, and that the
public interests, confided to officials intrusted with unlimited power,
and liable to the abuses inseparable from absolutism, frequently
languished, or were betrayed by a cupidity which impelled despotic
authorities to enrich themselves in every possible way at the expense of
popular suffering. Added to these sources of discontent was the
powerful influence exerted over the intelligent portion of the people by
the portentous spectacle of the rapidly-increasing greatness of the
United States, where a portion of the Cuban youths were wont to receive
their education, and to learn the value of a national independence based
on democratic principles, principles which they were apt freely to
discuss after returning to the island.
There also were the examples of Mexico and Spanish South America, which
had recently conquered with their blood their glorious emancipation from
monarchy. Liberal ideas were largely diffused by Cubans who had
travelled in Europe, and there imbibed the spirit of modern
civilization. But, with a fatuity and obstinacy which has always
characterized her, the mother country resolved to ignore these causes of
discontent, and, instead of yielding to the popular current, and
introducing a liberal and mild system of government, drew the reins yet
tighter, and even curtailed many of the privileges formerly accorded to
the Cubans. It is a blind persistence in the fated principle of despotic
domination which has relaxed the moral and political bonds uniting the
two countries, instilled gall into the hearts of the governed, and
substituted the dangerous obedience of terror for the secure loyalty of
love. This severity of the home government has given rise to several
attempts to throw off the Spanish yoke.
The first occurred in 1823, when the Liberator, Simon Bolivar, offered
to aid the disaffected party by throwing an invading force into the
island. The conspiracy then formed, by the aid of the proffered
expedition, for which men were regularly enlisted and enrolled, would
undoubtedly have ended in the triumph of the insurrection, had it not
been discovered and suppressed prematurely, and had not the governments
of the United States, Great Britain and France, intervened in favor of
Spain. In 1826 some Cuban emigrants, residing in Caraccas, attempted a
new expedition, which failed, and caused the imprisonment and execution
of two patriotic young men, Don Francisco de Agueero, y Velazco, and Don
Bernabe Sanchez, sent to raise the department of the interior. In 1828
there was a yet more formidable conspiracy, known as _El Aguila Negra_
(the black eagle). The efforts of the patriots proved unavailing, foiled
by the preparation and power of the government, which seems to be
apprised by spies of every intended movement for the cause of liberty in
Cuba.
We have alluded to the revolution of La Granja, in Spain, and we have
now briefly to consider its effects on the island of Cuba, then under
the sway of General Don Miguel Tacon. We shall have occasion to refer
more than once, in the course of our records of the island, to the
administration of Tacon; for he made his mark upon Cuba, and, though he
governed it with an iron hand and a stern will, as we shall see, yet he
did much to improve its physical condition, even as Louis Napoleon,
despot though he be, has already vastly beautified and improved the
sanitary condition of the city of Paris.
The first place on the island which received intelligence of the
revolution of La Granja, and the oath to the constitution of 1812 by the
Queen-Regent of Spain, was Santiago de Cuba, the capital of the eastern
department. It was then commanded by General Lorenzo, who immediately
assembled the authorities, corporations and functionaries, in pursuance
of the example of his predecessors,--who, without waiting for the orders
of the higher authority of the island, had, under similar circumstances,
prepared to obey the supreme government of the nation,--and proclaimed
through his department the Code of Cadiz, without any opposition, and to
the general joy of Spaniards and Cubans. His first acts were to
reestablish the constitutional _ayuntamiento_, the national militia, the
liberty of the press, and all other institutions, on the same footing as
in 1823, when King Ferdinand recovered absolute authority, and made
arrangements for the election of deputies to the new Cortes.
Tacon, who was not a friend to liberal institutions, and who was fixed
in his idea that the new constitution would convulse the country,
notwithstanding his knowledge of the state of things when this law was
actually in force in Cuba, was quite indignant when he heard what had
transpired. Knowing that he could not compel General Lorenzo to abrogate
the constitution he had proclaimed, he forthwith cut off all
communication with the eastern department, and formed a column to
invade it, and to restore the old order of things by force. This was a
bold, impolitic and dangerous move, because this resolve was contrary to
the wishes of the supreme government and public opinion, which would not
fail to see treason in the act of Gen. Tacon, against the mother
country.
Although the royal proclamation which announced to Tacon the
establishment of the constitution in Spain intimated forthcoming orders
for the election of deputies in Cuba to the general Cortes, still he
considered that his commission as captain-general authorized him, under
the circumstances, to carry out his own will, and suppress at once the
movement set on foot by General Lorenzo, on the ground of its danger to
the peace of the island, and the interests of Spain. The royal order,
which opened the way for his attacks upon the Cuban people, after a
confused preamble, confers on the captain-general all the authority
appertaining in time of war to a Spanish governor of a city in a state
of siege, authorizing him in any circumstances and by his proper will to
suspend any public functionary, whatever his rank, civil, military, or
ecclesiastical; to banish any resident of the island, without preferring
any accusations; to modify any law, or suspend its operations;[5]
disobey with impunity any regulation emanating from the Spanish
government; to dispose of the public revenues at his will; and, finally,
to act according to his pleasure, winding up with recommending a
moderate use of the confidence evinced by the sovereign in according
power so ample.
Although the captains-general of Cuba have always been invested with
extraordinary power, we believe that these items of unlimited authority
were first conferred upon Vivez in 1825, when the island was menaced by
an invasion of the united forces of Mexico and Columbia. In these
circumstances, and emanating from an absolute authority, like that of
Ferdinand VII., a delegation of power which placed the destinies of the
island at the mercy of its chief ruler might have had the color of
necessity; but to continue such a delegation of authority in time of
peace is a most glaring and inexcusable blunder.
Meanwhile Tacon assembled a column of picked companies of the line, the
provincial military and rural cavalry, and placed them, under the orders
of General Gascue, in the town of Guines, hoping by this great parade
and preparation to impose on General Lorenzo, and strike terror into the
inhabitants of the whole island. He also adroitly worked by secret
agents upon the forces at Santiago de Cuba, and thus by cunning and
adroitness brought about quite a reaection in the public sentiment.
Under these circumstances, if General Lorenzo, master of the eastern
department, with two regiments of regular troops, all the national
militia, all devoted to the new order of things and ready to obey his
will, had marched upon Puerto Principe, the capital of the centre, where
the garrison was not strong enough to oppose him, and had there
proclaimed the constitutional code through the authority of the royal
_Audiencia_, Gen. Tacon would unquestionably have desisted from his
opposition, and relinquished the command of the island. Cuba would then
have enjoyed the same political rights as the rest of Spain, and have
escaped the horrors of tyranny which have since weighed her down. But
Gen. Lorenzo proved weak, let slip the golden opportunity of triumphing
over Tacon, and returned to Spain in the vain hope that the supreme
government would sustain him. In the mean time, Tacon sent his body of
soldiery to Santiago, their arrival being signalized by the
establishment of a military commission to try and punish all who had
been engaged innocently in establishing the fallen constitution. The
commandant Moya presided, and the advocate Miret was held as counsel.
No sooner had this barbarous tribunal commenced its proceedings, than no
Creole belonging to families of influence could look upon himself as
safe from persecution, since nearly all of them had hastened to obey the
orders of General Lorenzo, and, like him, taken oath to the
constitution. Many men of rank, reputation and education, including
several respectable clergymen, fell under the ban of the military
commission. Some were thrown into the prisons of Santiago de Cuba, some
banished for a given period, and many emigrated to avoid the horrors of
a Spanish dungeon, and the greater part in one way or another were torn
from the bosoms of their families. Of the soldiers who faithfully obeyed
their officers, about five hundred were condemned to work in the streets
of Havana, with their feet shackled. Such are the measures meted out by
despotism to those who have the misfortune to live under its iron yoke.
Tacon triumphed, yet the Cubans did not utterly despair. They cherished
the hope that the Spanish government would recognize the legality of
their proceedings in the eastern department; but they were doomed to
disappointment. The Cuban deputies presented themselves in the Spanish
capital, and offered their credentials. But they were referred to a
committee of men profoundly ignorant of the feelings, opinions and
condition, of the Cuban people, or deriving what few notions they
possessed from those interested on the side of Tacon. The deputies were
not allowed a seat in the Cortes, and the government decided that the
provisions of the constitution should not apply to Cuba, but that it
should be governed by special laws. Since then, the island has been
ruled by the arbitrary will of the captains-general, without
intervention of the Spanish Cortes, without the intervention of the
island, and, what is almost inconceivable, at first thought, without the
direct action even of the sovereign authority.
Tacon, now that the royal authority had sustained his action, was more
despotic than ever. It is true that he introduced some legal and
municipal reforms; that he embellished the capital, and improved its
health; but under him the censorship of the press was almost
prohibitory. The local _ayuntamientos_, which, at the most despotic
epoch, had frequently produced happy effects, by representing to the
sovereign the wants of the country, were shorn of their privileges, and
their attributes confined to the collection and distribution of the
municipal funds. Tacon is also charged with promoting the jealousies
naturally existing between Spaniards and Creoles, and with completely
subjecting the civil courts to military tribunals.
"In a state of agitation in the public mind, and disorder in the
government," says the author of an able pamphlet entitled "_Cuba y su
Gobierno_," to whom we are indebted for invaluable information that
could only be imparted by a Creole, "with the political passions of
Spaniards and Cubans excited; the island reduced from an integral part
of the monarchy to the condition of a colony, and with no other
political code than the royal order, conferring unlimited power upon the
chief authority; the country bowed down under the weighty tyranny of two
military commissions established in the capitals of the eastern and
western departments; with the prisons filled with distinguished
patriots; deprived of representation in the Cortes; the _ayuntamientos_
prohibited the right of petition; the press forbidden to enunciate the
state of public opinion, closed the administration of General Don Miguel
Tacon in the island of Cuba, the most calamitous, beyond a question,
that this country has suffered since its discovery by the Spaniards."
The liberal party of Cuba, denied the expression of their views in the
local prints, and anxious to present their wants and their grievances
before the home government, conceived the ingenious idea of establishing
organs abroad. Two papers were accordingly published; one at Paris,
called "_El Correo de Ultramar_" and one at Madrid, entitled "_El
Observador_," edited by distinguished Cubans.[6] It is scarcely
necessary to say that these produced no favorable result, and the people
of the island became convinced that the mother country was resolved to
persevere in the plan of ruling Cuba with a rod of iron, indifferent
alike to her tears and her remonstrances.
The programme of the liberal party was exceedingly moderate, petitioning
only for the following concessions: 1st, That a special ministry,
devoted to Cuban affairs, should be established at Madrid; 2d, That a
legal organ of communication between Spain and Cuba should be
established in the island, to represent the well-defined interests of
the metropolis and the colony; 3d, That some latitude should be given to
the press, now controlled by a triple censorship; 4th, That efficacious
means should be adopted for the complete suppression of the barbarous
traffic in African slaves; 5th, That the government should permit the
establishment of societies for the improvement of the white inhabitants;
6th, That the island should be relieved of the enormous weight of the
contributions now levied upon her. None of these privileges, however,
have been conceded to suffering Cuba by the home government.
The first successor of General Tacon ruled Cuba with a spirit of
moderation and temperance, seeking to conciliate the liberals, and
giving hopes of great reforms, which as yet have never been
accomplished. During the administration of the Prince de Aglona, a
superior tribunal, the Royal Pretorial Audience, was established in
Havana, to take cognizance of civil suits in cases of appeal, and to
resolve the doubts which the confused system of legislation produces at
every step in the inferior tribunals. Gen. Valdes was the first and only
official who granted free papers to the emancipated negroes who had
served out their term of apprenticeship, and who opposed the African
trade. He showed, by his example, that this infamous traffic may be
destroyed in the country without a necessary resort to violent measures,
but by the will of the captain-general.
General O'Donnell, as captain-general,[7] instead of repressing,
encouraged the slave-trade, and a greater number of the unfortunate
victims of human avarice were introduced into the island, during his
administration, than during any like term since the conclusion of the
treaty of 1817. Of course he vacated his post vastly enriched by the
spoils, having doubtless received, as was declared, from one to two
doubloons per head on every slave landed upon the island during his
administration; a sum that would alone amount to a fortune.
Of events which transpired during the administration of Roncali and
Concha we may have occasion to speak hereafter, but with this more
modern chapter in the history of the island the general reader is
already conversant. It appears almost incredible that an intelligent
people, within so short a distance of our southern coast, constantly
visited by the citizens of a free republic, and having the example of
successful revolt set them, by the men of the same race, both in the
north and south, weighed down by oppressions almost without parallel,
should never have aimed an effectual blow at their oppressors. It would
seem that the softness of the unrivalled climate of those skies beneath
which it is luxury only to exist has unnerved them, and that the
effeminate spirit of the original inhabitants has descended in
retribution to the posterity of the _conquistadores_.
FOOTNOTES:
[5] "En su consecuencia da S.M. a V.E. la mas amplia e ilimitada
autorizacion, no tan solo para separar de esa Isla a las personas
empleadas o no empleadas, cualquiera que sea su destino, rango, clase o
condicion, cuya permanencia en ella crea prejudicial, o que le infunda
recelos su conducta publica o privada, reemplazandolas interinamente con
servidores fieles a S.M. y que merezcan a V.E. toda su confianza, sino
tambien para suspender la ejecucion de cualesquiera ordenes o
providencias generales espedidas sobre todos los ramos de la
administracion en aquella parte en que V.E. considere conveniente al
real servicio, debiendo ser en todo caso provisionales estas medidas, y
dar V.E. cuenta a S.M. para su soberana aprobacion."--_From the Royal
Ordinance conferring unlimited powers on the Captains-general of Cuba._
[6] "La Verdad," a paper devoted to Cuban interests, established in New
York in 1848, and conducted with signal ability, is distributed
gratuitously, the expense being defrayed by contributions of Cubans and
the friends of Cuban independence. This is the organ of the annexation
party, organized by exiles in this country.
[7] General Leopold O'Donnell was appointed governor-general in 1843,
continuing a little over four years to fill the lucrative position. His
wife was a singular and most avaricious woman, engaged in many
speculations upon the island, and shamefully abusing her husband's
official influence for the purposes of pecuniary emolument.