In the first US invasion of Mexican territory since the mid-19th century, President Wilson ordered the American troops to occupy the port at Veracruz after learning a German ship was en route with arms. This occupation, while unpopular with Mexicans for the blatant breach of soverignty, eventually helped the Constitutionalists launch major attacks on the Huerta government.
Carranza received Diaz's permission to run for governor, and he gained the support of the sitting governor as well as Madero's father, but Don Porfirio's inflence blocked him from winning the election. He supported Francisco I. Madero's challenge to the Díaz regime in the elections and Madero's Plan to nullify the elections and overthrow Díaz by force.
Pascual Orozco led a decisive victory against the federales at the railroad station in Rellano, Chihuahua. This took place 20 days after Orozco declared his rebellion, and two days before denounced the Madero administration in the Orozquista Plan.
Starting in 1880, the Spanish Cortes de Generales, located in the Palacio de las Cortes, passed a law that gradually emancipated slaves. On October 7, 1886, slavery was officially declared abolished. Many whites, across the world, feared that slavery could not end peacefully, however this process disproved that assumption. Following abolition, many former slaves were still economically dependent on their former owners, to whom they owed compensation toward. Emancipation did not bring equality (95).
Following unrest due to the Pact of Zanjon and the subsequent second war that broke out, the region of El Cobre experienced much fighting between the Spanish and slaves that had now rebelled to fight for their independence. This area saw a massive increase in the number of farms abandoned as large numbers of slaves fled to either join the revolution and fight or flee to try and escape slavery as well as battle. Due to the previous "Ten Years War" that had already exhausted the region, it was much safer for slaves to flee then it had been in prior years.
Spanish Colonel leader, Aurelio Aguilera, trying to address the issue of uncooperative slaves. Prior to this Spanish authorities wanted slave owners to give the slaves a wage in fear of a rebellion. At La Esperanza, a sugar estate, with war spreading more and more slaves began to become "troublesome". Ten slaves were arrested and their freedom was demanding causing retaliation. The war was ended within ten minutes but it revealed many things. One being that slavery was becoming a more and more inviable form of labor and that owners had lost authority.
Jose Marti, while in exile in New York, founded the Cuban Revolution Party, which he used to organize people to return with him to Cuba to continue the fight for independence.
Archaeologists in Mexico have identified a ship that carried Mayan people into virtual slavery in the 1850s, the first time such a ship has been found. The wreck of the Cuban-based paddle-wheel steamboat was found in 2017, but wasn’t identified until researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History checked contemporary documents and found evidence it was the ship “La Unión.” The ship had been used to take Mayas captured during an 1847-1901 rebellion known as “The War of the Castes” to work in sugarcane fields in Cuba. Slavery was illegal in Mexico at the time, but operators of similar ships had reportedly bought seized captured combatants, or deceived Mayas left landless by the conflict to “sign on” as contract workers, often in Cuba, where they were treated like slaves.
As the chance of emancipation grew, enslaved people tackled bigger difficulties in the slave system. At La Esperanza, a sugar estate, the enslaved people started speaking out against the harsh leader. Aurelio Aguilera, a Spanish colonel, tried to scare the people into obedience by arresting 10 people seen as "troublesome" hoping that it would subdue the rest. This did not work out as planned as the people continued to fight back trying to get freedom for the 10 arrested earlier. The enslaved people challenged the soldiers which resulted in a 10 minute struggle. An additional two people were arrested and everyone else also received punishment. While this was not successful on the behalf of the enslaved people. It is still an extremely important event because it shows how slaveholders were losing their grip on power since they had to remind people of the social hierarchy, and even with these "reminders", people weren't being obedient.
The treaty of Zanjon freed only those slaves who had rebelled against Spain, leaving those who remained loyal to Spain enslaved. The treaty was created to solve the issues of emancipation but it produced opportunities for slaves to mount acts of open rebellion. The men at Zanjon had struck for peace under Spain over independence and emancipation, so they called for a continuation of war until both independence and full emancipation was secured.
After leaving Pinar del Rio Maceo was ambushed in Havana province. The Spanish did not realize they had killed one of the most famous leaders of the rebellion. Following his death his body was retrieved by the insurgents and later his body was dissected. Scientists theories of racial superiority to explain maceos talents.
Calixto Garcia, the president of the Cuban Revolutionary Committee, left New York to provide support in Cuba. When two prominent Black officers of the new insurrection surrendered to Spain in June of 1880, Spanish officials used this as proof that the insurrection was a race war. Furthermore, they used the surrender to convince Garcia that Blacks would not recognize his leadership or position in their insurgence. On August 3, 1880, Garcia surrendered himself to Spain.
Over 2000 insurgency members deferred to Spanish authorities after running out of resources and losing their homes. The Spanish authorities gave these former members land to build new houses and grow crops to survive on
A brief war caused by a separatist insurrection. The revolt was highly organized and over 400 mounted soldiers swept into the eastern and middle provinces. The main conflict of this war was the status of slaves and former slaves in the new Cuban republic. It also dealt with black and mulatto political power within the nationalist movement.
This decree was more than a vague promise, it solidified the ideals of the movement (a more solid idea of emancipation but limited). Céspedes decreed that all slaves belonging to enemies would be freed and their owners would not receive compensation while pro - Cuban owners who present their slaves to rebel authorities would get financial compensation. This was limited though because runaway slaves would be brought back to owners if they supported the Cuban cause and separatists could lend their slaves to the cause while still maintaining ownership. In all, the decree represented a very limited emancipation and condoned slavery.
Carlos Manuel de Cespedes explains the transition from slavery to freedom towards the slaves belonging to known enemies, run away/captured slaves, and slaves presented by their consenting pro-Cuban owners.
The captain general of Cuba wrote that 32 slaves returned to enslavement rather than continuing to be free under the insurgents. The mambis were so poorly treated as they were subjected to pseudo enslavement. Sometimes they preferred slavery to the "freedom" given to them by men like Cespedes.
After a 10-year period of insurgency and war, Spanish officials met with rebels to sign the Pact of Zanjón. This treaty technically "ended" the war by ending slavery for those who had fought in the rebellion and about 16,000 slaves were granted freedom. However, this did not satisfy all the rebels which is why insurgencies continued.
Economic crisis that began in 1857 worsened the state of Cuba. As a result, the Spanish raised tariffs on good entering Cuba as well as increased taxes by 10% on property.
Martí was one of the prominent intellectuals of the Cuban Revolution who argued against the existence of race. The concept of a race-less Cuban nationality was a foundational part of Marti's philosophy on nationalism (9). Said beliefs differed radically from the ethos of the U.S., where "the color line in the United States grew more and more rigid, and the consequences of crossing that line became more and more brutal" (5).