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[Illustration: book's cover]
[Illustration: map of Cuba]
CUBA
ITS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
BY
A. D. HALL
[Illustration: colophon]
NEW YORK
STREET & SMITH, PUBLISHERS
81 FULTON STREET
Copyrighted
1898
By STREET & SMITH.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE.
I.--Discovery and Early History 7
II.--The British Occupation--Spain's Gratitude 19
III.--Cuba's Early Struggles for Liberty 30
IV.--The Ten Years' War 43
V.--The Virginius Embroglio 59
VI.--Again Spain's Perfidy 67
VII.--Some Cuban Heroes 73
VIII.--Cuban Tactics 84
IX.--Weyler the Butcher 92
X.--The Crime of the Century 102
XI.--Two Methods of Warfare; The Spanish and the Cuban 110
XII.--The Butcher's Campaign 122
XIII.--America's Charity and Spain's Diplomacy 132
XIV.--The Last Days of Peace 144
XV.--The Topography and Resources of Cuba 154
XVI.--What Will the Future Be? 170
CUBA ITS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
CHAPTER I.
DISCOVERY AND EARLY HISTORY.
"The goodliest land that eye ever saw, the sweetest thing in the world."
Such was Columbus' opinion of Cuba, just after he first beheld it, and,
after the lapse of four hundred years, the words, making due allowance
for the hyperbole of enthusiasm, still hold good. And this, too, in
spite of all the trials and tribulations which the fair "Pearl of the
Antilles" has been forced to undergo at the hands of her greedy and
inhuman masters.
The eyes of all the world are now upon this indescribably beautiful and
fertile country. Like Andromeda, she has been shuddering and gasping in
the power of a monster, but at last a Perseus has come to her rescue.
Somewhat tardily perhaps the United States, united now in every meaning
of the word, has from pure philanthropy embraced her cause--the United
States whose watchword, with a sturdy hatred of the oppressor, has ever
been and always will be "freedom." The star of hope, symbolized by the
lone star upon the Cuban flag, and so long concealed by gloomy,
threatening clouds, is now shining clear and bright; and all
civilization is waiting with happy confidence for the day, God willing
not far distant, when "Cuba Libre" shall be not only an article of
creed, but an established fact.
The island of Cuba, the largest and richest of the West Indian Islands,
and up to the present the most important of Spain's colonial
possessions, not so vast as they once were but still of no
inconsiderable value, was discovered by Columbus during his first voyage
to the far west.
For many centuries, even back to the time of Solomon, the chief object
of explorers had been a discovery of a passage to India and the fabulous
wealth of the East. In the thirteenth century, Marco Polo, the famous
Venetian explorer, went far beyond any of his predecessors and succeeded
in reaching Pekin. He also heard of another empire which was called
Zipangri, the same that we now know as Japan. When he returned and
published what we are sorry to say was none too veracious an account,
Polo being only too ready to draw upon his imagination, other nations
were fired by emulation.
The Portuguese were the first to achieve any positive result. Early in
the fifteenth century, inspired by an able and enterprising sovereign,
they doubled Cape Non, discovered Madeira, occupied the Azores and
reached the Senegal and the Cape Verde Islands. In 1486, Bartholomew
Diaz sighted the Cape of Good Hope, which some ten years later Vasco da
Gama, the most famous of all Portuguese explorers, rounded, and then
proceeded some distance toward India.
It was after hearing the wonderful tales of these explorers that
Columbus became inspired with the idea of sailing westward on the
unknown waters, expecting thus to reach India. After untold
discouragements, and finally by the generosity of Queen Isabella, who
was brought to believe in his conjectures, he set sail from Palos,
August 3, 1492, with three small vessels manned by about ninety sailors.
The following 12th of October he first sighted the western hemisphere,
which, however, he thought to be Asia, and by the way, lived and died in
that belief. This land was one of the Bahama Islands, called by the
natives Guanahani, but christened by Columbus as San Salvador. It is now
known as Cat Island.
The 28th of the same month Columbus discovered Cuba, entering the mouth
of a river in what he believed to be that "great land," of which he had
heard so much.
From the very beginning, it was as it has existed to the present
day--the Spaniards looked for gold and were determined to exploit their
new possessions to the very last peseta that could be wrung from them.
The island was first called Juana, in honor of Prince John, son of
Ferdinand and Isabella; but, after Ferdinand's death, it received the
name of Fernandina. Subsequently, it was designated, after Spain's
patron saint, Santiago, and still later Ave Maria, in honor of the
Virgin.
Finally it received its present name, the one originally bestowed upon
it by the natives. Cuba means "the place of gold," and Spain has
constantly kept this in mind, both theoretically and practically.
At first, however, the answers received in Cuba in reply to the
questions of her discoverers as to the existence of gold were not
satisfactory. It seemed as if this ne plus ultra to the Spaniards was to
be found in a neighboring and larger island, which has been known by the
various names of Hayti, Hispaniola and Santo Domingo. The prospect of
enrichment here was so inviting that the first settlement of Spain in
the New World was made in Hayti.
The aborigines seem to have made no resistance to the coming among them
of a new race of people. They were apparently peaceful and kindly,
dwelling in a state of happy tranquillity among themselves.
Their character is best demonstrated by an extract from a letter written
by Columbus to their Catholic majesties, Ferdinand and Isabella:
"The king having been informed of our misfortune expressed great grief
for our loss and immediately sent aboard all the people in the place in
many large canoes; we soon unloaded the ship of everything that was upon
deck, as the king gave us great assistance; he himself, with his
brothers and relations, took all possible care that everything should be
properly done, both aboard and on shore. And, from time to time, he sent
some of his relations weeping, to beg of me not to be dejected, for he
would give me all that he had. I can assure your highnesses that so much
care would not have been taken in securing our effects in any part of
Spain, as all our property was put together in one place near his
palace, until the houses which he wanted to prepare for the custody of
it were emptied. He immediately placed a guard of armed men, who watched
during the whole night, and those on shore lamented as if they had been
much interested in our loss. The people are so affectionate, so
tractable and so peaceable, that I swear to your highnesses that there
is not a better race of men nor a better country in the world. They love
their neighbor as themselves, their conversation is the sweetest and
mildest in the world, cheerful and always accompanied by a smile. And
although it is true that they go naked, yet your highnesses may be
assured that they have many very commendable customs; the king is served
with great state, and his behavior is so decent that it is pleasant to
see him, as it is likewise the wonderful memory which these people have,
and their desire of knowing everything which leads them to inquire into
its causes and effects."
Strange and far from pleasant reading this in the light of future
events. By so-called savages the invading Spaniards were treated with
the utmost kindness and courtesy, while many generations later the
descendants of these same Spaniards, on this same island, visited
nothing but cruelty and oppression upon those unfortunates who after all
were of their own flesh and blood.
As has been said, the first settlement of the Spaniards was made on the
island of Hayti. But the dreams of enormous revenue were not realized,
in spite of the fact that the natives were men, women and children
reduced to slavery, and all the work that was possible, without regard
to any of the dictates of humanity, was exacted from them. In spite of
the fact, did we say? No, rather because of it. For, owing to the
hardships inflicted upon them, the native population, which originally
was considerably over a million, was reduced to some fifty thousand, and
it was therefore impossible to extract from the earth the riches it
contained. Thus, does unbridled greed ever overleap itself.
After its discovery, Cuba was twice visited by Columbus, in April, 1494,
and again in 1502, but these visits do not seem to have been productive
of any particular results.
It was not until 1511 that the Spaniards thought it worth while to
colonize Cuba, and only then because they believed that they had
exhausted the resources of Hayti, in other words, that that particular
orange had been sucked dry.
Therefore they sent a band of three hundred men under Diego Velasquez,
who had accompanied Columbus on his second voyage, to make a settlement
on the island.
Velasquez and his companions found the natives peaceful and happy, ruled
over by nine independent chiefs. They met with but little resistance,
and that little was easily overcome. Soon the weak and guileless Indians
were completely subjugated.
There was one instance which it is well worth while to relate here as
showing the Spanish character, which centuries have not changed, and
which is as cruel and bloodthirsty to-day as it was then.
There was one native chief, a refugee from Hayti, named Hatuey, who had
had previous dealings with the Spaniards, and knew what was to be
expected from them. He had strongly opposed their invasion, was
captured, and sentenced to be burned alive at the stake. As the flames
curled about him, a Franciscan monk held up a crucifix before him,
urging him to abjure the impotent gods of his ancestors and embrace
Christianity.
Hatuey, knowing well that his conversion would not save him from a
horrible death, and remembering all the atrocities he had seen
committed, asked where Heaven was and if there were many Spaniards
there.
"A great many of then," answered the monk.
"Then," cried Hatuey, "I will not go to a place where I may meet one of
that accursed race. I prefer to go elsewhere."
Hatuey's death ended all rebellion, if struggling for one's rights can
be rebellion, and the iron hand of tyranny, whose grasp has never since
been relaxed, closed firmly upon the beautiful island.
Three hundred of the natives were given as slaves to each Spaniard, but,
as in Hayti, it was found that they were not strong enough for the
enormous tasks their masters would have imposed upon them. So negro
slaves were imported from the mother country, and their descendants
remained in the bonds of serfdom for centuries.
The first permanent settlement was made at Santiago de Cuba, on the
Southeastern coast, the scene of Admiral Sampson's recent brilliant
achievements, and this was for a long time the capital of the colony.
Then came Trinidad, and in 1515 a town was started called San Cristoval
de la Habana, which name was transferred four years later to the present
capital, the first named place being rechristened Batabana.
The natives were treated with the utmost cruelty, so cruelly, in fact,
that they were practically exterminated. Only a comparatively few years
after the settlement of the island there were scarcely any of them left.
The result of this short sighted policy on the part of Spain was that
agriculture declined to an enormous extent, and Cuba became virtually a
pastoral country.
In 1537, the king appointed as captain-general Hernando de Soto, the
picturesque adventurer, who was afterwards famous as the discoverer of
the Mississippi and for his romantic search for the fountain of eternal
youth.
All powers, both civil and military, were vested in the captain-general,
the title bestowed upon the governors, although many of them were
civilians.
Shortly after this appointment, Havana was reduced to ashes by a French
privateer, and De Soto built for the city's protection the Castillo de
la Fuerza, a fortress which still exists. But this precaution proved
ineffectual, as in 1554, the city which had gained considerably in
importance, as it had now become the capital, was again attacked and
partially destroyed by the French. Two other fortresses were then
constructed, the Punta and the Morro.
The discovery of Mexico and other countries drew away from the island
the majority of its working population, and the government passed a law
imposing the penalty of death upon all who left it.
Spain also imposed the heaviest trade restrictions upon Cuba. It was
exploited in every direction for the benefit of the mother country and
to the exclusion of every one else. All foreigners, and even Spaniards
not natives of Castile, were prohibited from trading with the island or
settling in it.
The consequence was that the increase of population was slow, the
introduction of negroes, whose labor was most essential for prosperity,
was gradual, and the progress and growth of the island were almost
stopped.
Moreover, Spain was ruler of the greater part of the Atlantic, and a
most despotic ruler she proved herself to be. Numerous tales are told of
the atrocities committed upon navigators, especially those of England.
When Cromwell, who caused many liberal ideas to be introduced into
England, tried to induce Spain to abolish the Inquisition and to allow
the free navigation of the Atlantic, the Spanish ambassador replied:
"For my master to relinquish those prerogatives would be the same as to
put out both his eyes."
One instance of Spain's cruelty, for which, however, she suffered a
well-merited retribution, may be related here. In 1564, a party of
French Huguenots settled in Florida near the mouth of the river St.
John. A certain Menendez, who was sailing under orders to "gibbet and
behead all Protestants in those regions," fell upon the colonists and
massacred all he could find. Some of the settlers, who happened to be
away at the time, shortly afterward fell into the hands of Menendez, who
hanged them all, placing this inscription above their heads: "Not as
Frenchmen, but as heretics." In 1567, however, a French expedition
surprised a body of Spaniards who had undertaken to found St. Augustine,
and in their turn hanged these settlers, "Not as Spaniards, but as
murderers."
Hampered and oppressed as they were, deprived of a free and convenient
market for the produce of the soil by reason of the monopolies imposed
by the mother country, it is not strange that the Cubans had recourse to
smuggling, and this was especially the case after the British conquest
of Jamaica in 1655. So universal did the practice become, that when
Captain-General Valdez arrived, he found that nearly all the Havanese
were guilty of the crime of illicit trading, the punishment of which was
death. At the suggestion of Valdez, a ship was freighted with presents
for the king, and sent to Spain with a petition for pardon, which was
finally granted.
But the whole of Europe was against Spain in her arrogant assumption of
the suzerainty of the New World. Especially were her pretensions
condemned and resisted by the English, French, Portuguese and Dutch, all
of whom were engaged in colonizing different portions of America. Then
arose a body of men, who were productive of most important results.
These were known as buccaneers, and were practically a band of piratical
adventurers of different nationalities, united in their opposition to
Spain.
Hayti, as has already been intimated, had been almost depopulated by the
oppressive colonial policy of Spain. The island had become the home of
immense herds of wild cattle, and it was the custom of the smugglers to
stop there to provision their ships.
The natives, which were still left, had learned to be skilled in
preserving the meat by means of fire and smoke, and they called their
kilns "boucans." The smugglers, besides obtaining what they desired for
their own use of this preserved meat, established an extensive illicit
trade in it. Hence, they obtained the name of buccaneers.
Spanish monopolies were the pest of every port in the New World, and
mariners of the western waters were filled with a detestation, quite
natural, of everything Spanish.
Gradually, the ranks of the buccaneers were recruited. They were given
assistance and encouragement, direct and indirect, by other nations,
even in some cases being furnished with letters-of-marque and reprisal
as privateers.
The commerce of Spain had been gradually dwindling since the defeat of
the so-called Invincible Armada, and the buccaneers commenced now to
seize the returning treasure ships and to plunder the seaboard cities of
Cuba and other Spanish possessions.
Even Havana itself was not spared by them.
The buccaneers, indefensible though many of their actions were, had a
great influence upon the power and colonial tactics of Spain.
Beyond this, they opened the eyes of the world to the rottenness of the
whole system of Spanish government and commerce in America, and
undoubtedly did much to build up the West Indian possessions of England,
France and Holland.
It is curious to note here the career of one of their most famous
leaders, an Englishman named Morgan. He was barbarous in the extreme and
returned from many expeditions laden with spoil. But, finally, he went
to Jamaica, turned respectable and was made deputy-governor of the
island. He died, by favor of Charles II., the "gallant" Sir Henry
Morgan.
But in 1697, the European powers generally condemned the buccaneers.
In spite of the lessons they had received, and the universal protest of
other nations, the Spaniards, obstinate then as ever, refused to change
their policy. They persisted in closing the magnificent harbors of Cuba
to the commerce of the rest of the world, and that, too, when Spain
could not begin to use the products of the island. Still she could not
and would not allow one bit of gold to slip from between her fingers.
She has always held on with eager greed to all that she could lay her
hands on. It is certainly food for the unrestrained laughter of gods and
men that she has recently been sneering at the United States as a nation
of traders and money grubbers.