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Revolution of 95' |
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In 1795, a little known slave revolt was put down in Cuba, and little about it was documented. One of the most surprising facts about the revolt was it was multi-racial groups looking for the abolition of slavery from Cuba and equality between the races. The same year, a small slave community in southern Florida, also being controlled by the Spanish, revolted against their owners, but it was put down in a matter of Hours. These revolts know are not really known but are major events as they both had the ability to win the battles against the Spanish.This timeline will look at if the revolts grew and turned into massive revolutions against the Spanish in arguably their most important colonies.
The Revolution and Basic Overview[]
The revolution in 1795 was one of the turning points of the Spanish empire, due to Cuba and Florida being one of the most profitable slave colonies in the world, besides Haiti. It is often denoted to the American Revolutionary War that sparked the original revolts of the Revoltion. The leader of the revolutionaries was a free negro, Nicolás Morales, who rose up against the injustices on the island of Cuba, especially towards slaves. He gathered a group of 3400 men at Bayamo and quickly went from town to town asking the people to help in his cause.
The flag of the Republic of Havana.
The majority of men who joined were abolitionists, slaves, and free men of colour. The major apposition were slave owners and the Spanish/Cuban government who fought and died against major revolts in the past. At the now infamous battle of Holguin, the Spanish, while in retreat from the city captured a full unit of 350 men and hung them all outside of the newly captured town to taunt the revolutionaries. After the major breakthroughs in 1797 and 98, the Spanish government decided to start executing any revolutionary, or those considered to be sympathetic to their cause..
The Spanish general and governor of Cuba at the time, Luis De Uzanga, thought that the could cut down the revolutionary spirit by simply killing as many in battle, no matter the outcome. In the 14 battles he fought at, he lost a total of 76,000 men compared to 21,000 to the revolutionary army, most of the time, the revolutionaries had less men. He used brute strength in the battles where he was general, and it failed miserably. The largest and most deadly battle, was fought at the Cuban capital, Havana. 75,000 men loyal the the Spanish crown attempted to defended the city against 81,000 revolutionaries, but failed after 37 days fighting and 34,280 men dead, the revolutionaries raised their flag and declared the independence of the Republic of Havana, on November 16th 1798. Luis De Uzanga fled to Florida where he would go on to take control of the Northern Army.