Carlos Manuel de Céspedes
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Carlos Manuel de Céspedes | |
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President of the Republic of Cuba | |
In office 1869–1873 | |
Vice President | Francisco Vicente Aguilera |
Personal details | |
Born | 18 April 1819 Bayamo, Oriente Province, (Cuba) |
Died | February 27, 1874 Sierra Maestra, Oriente Province, Cuba | (aged 54)
Resting place | Santa Ifigenia Cemetery |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Cuban Liberation Army |
Years of service | From 1868 to his death in 1874. |
Rank | Army General |
Battles/wars | Ten Years' War |
Carlos Manuel de Céspedes del Castillo (18 April 1819,
Because of his actions which led to the eventual independence of Cuba, he is known there as the "Father of the homeland".
Ten Years' War
Céspedes was a landowner and lawyer in eastern Cuba, near
The Ten Years' War was the first serious attempt to achieve independence from Spain and to free all slaves. The war was fought between two groups. In eastern Cuba the tobacco planters and farmers, joined by
Céspedes was deposed in 1873 in a leadership coup. Spanish troops killed him in February 1874 in a mountain refuge, as the new Cuban government would not let him go into exile and denied him an escort. The war ended in 1878 with the
Personal life
Born in 1819 in Bayamo into a family dedicated to the production of sugar, he studied at the University of Havana, where he graduated in 1840. In Spain, the country to which he moved with the intention of pursuing his law studies, he participated in revolutionary and anti-government activities, being arrested and forced into exile in France.
After returning to Cuba, and convinced of the need to oppose militarily the metropolis as the only way to achieve the independence of the island, he came into contact with other opponents of the colonial regime, among them Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, Bartolomé Masó and
Céspedes was married twice and had two lovers who also bore him children. The first marriage in 1839 to Maria del Carmen de Cespedes y del Castillo (his first cousin) and they had Maria del Carmen, Oscar, and Carlos Manuel de Cespedes y Cespedes. His first wife died in 1867 of tuberculosis and in 1869 he marries for the second time to Ana Maria de Quesada y Loinaz (1843–1910) and they had 3 children, Oscar, and twins Gloria (1871–?) and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada (1871–1939), who was briefly President of Cuba after Gerardo Machado was deposed in 1933.
Between his two marriages, its believed he had carried on an affair during or shortly afterwards with Candelaria "Cambula" Acosta y Fontaigne (b. 1851) then the 17-year-old daughter of the foreman of his plantation Juan Acosta and wife Concepción Fontaine y Segrera. He had tasked Cambula with sewing the first flag that he designed for Cuba. With Cambula he had a daughter, Carmen de Cespedes y Acosta (b. 1869). Fearing for their safety he moved a then-pregnant Cambula and daughter to Jamaica. In 1872 their son Manuel de Cespedes Y Acosta was born in Kingston. In San Lorenzo, before he died, Carlos Manuel met a widow, Francisca (Panchita) Rodriguez. Carlos Manuel and Panchita became lovers and produced a son, Manuel Francisco de Cespedes y Rodriguez.
He named Oscar, his fifth son, after his late second child Oscar, who was executed by a Spanish firing squad. The Spanish authorities wanted to exchange Oscar's life for Céspedes' resignation as President of the Republic of Cuba at Arms (not to be confused with his son Carlos Manuel de Cespedes Y Quintana who was in 1933 named President of Cuba after President Machado fled the country). He famously answered that Oscar was not his only son, because every Cuban who had died for the revolution he started, was also his son.
He had been, before the conflict, something of a musician, and he was part-composer of a romantic song called La Bayamesa.[3] In addition, he supported the work of his distant relative Úrsula Céspedes, even writing the prologue for one of her works.
His portrait was on the 10 pesos bills in Cuba until 1960 when it was moved to the 100 pesos bill. A municipality in
References
- ^ Guerra Sánchez, Ramiro 1972. Guerra de los 10 años. 2 vols, La Habana.
- ^ Thomas, Hugh 1971. Cuba, or the pursuit of freedom. Eyre & Spottiswoode, London. Revised and abridged edition 2001, Picador, London. Chapters 16 & 17.
- ^ About 1851, lyrics by José Fornaris, score by Francisco Castillo Moreno and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes. Canizares, Dulcila 1995. La trova tradicional. 2nd ed, La Habana. p14
Further reading
- Céspedes y Quesada, Carlos Manuel 1895. Carlos Manuel de Céspedes. Dupont, París.
- Portell Vila, Herminio 1931. Céspedes, el padre de la patria cubana. Espasa-Calpe, Madrid, 1931.
- De Céspedes, Carlos Manuel & Galliano Cancio, Miguel (ed) 1925. En La Demajagua. La Habana.
- De Céspedes, Carlos Manuel & Leal Spengler, Eusebio (ed) 1992. El diario perdido. La Habana.
External links
Media related to Carlos Manuel de Céspedes at Wikimedia Commons