---
title: "Cuban War of Independence Begins"
year: 1895
country: "Cuba"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1895/cuban-independence-war"
slug: "cuban-independence-war"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1895-02-24"
---

# Cuban War of Independence Begins

> The insurgency against Spanish colonial rule triggered U.S. intervention and established Cuba as a flashpoint of American hemispheric power.

In February 1895, Cuban rebels launched a war of independence against Spanish colonial rule, igniting a three-year conflict that would draw in the United States and reshape the Caribbean. Spain responded by deploying over 220,000 troops—the largest military force it had ever sent across the Atlantic—but faced an insurgency led by José Martí and others determined to end nearly four centuries of Spanish dominion.

## Summary

The Cuban War of Independence, fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, following the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and the Little War (1879–1880). Throughout the course of the war, Spain sent 220,285 soldiers to Cuba, the largest army to cross the Atlantic until World War II, according to the Library of Congress. Spain created the first modern concentration camps using its reconcentration policy, which caused the deaths of at least 170,000 Cubans, or 10% of the population at the time.

## Key facts

- **Duration**: 1895–1898 (3 years, 11 months)
- **Spanish troops deployed**: 220,285 soldiers
- **Key rebel leader**: José Martí (killed in battle May 1895)
- **Estimated Cuban casualties**: 200,000+ (including civilians from disease and famine)
- **Previous Cuban wars**: Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and Little War (1879–1880)
- **U.S. military involvement**: Declared war on Spain April 25, 1898
- **Trigger date**: February 24, 1895 (Grito de Baire)

## Timeline

- **1895-02-24** - Grito de Baire—Uprising Begins
  Cuban rebels led by José Martí initiate the war of independence with coordinated uprisings across eastern Cuba, launching the Grito de Baire (Cry of Baire).
- **1895-05-19** - Death of José Martí
  The intellectual architect of Cuban independence and military leader José Martí is killed in combat near Dos Ríos, a critical blow to rebel morale and direction.
- **1896-02-16** - Spain Sends Major Reinforcements
  Spanish General Valeriano Weyler arrives in Cuba with orders to suppress the rebellion; he implements the reconcentration policy, forcibly relocating rural Cubans into camps where thousands die from disease.
- **1897-10-25** - Spanish Autonomy Offer Rejected
  Spain offers limited autonomy to Cuba under a new governor, but rebels reject the proposal as insufficient, pushing the conflict toward escalation.
- **1898-02-15** - USS Maine Explosion
  The American battleship USS Maine explodes in Havana harbor, killing 266 sailors; the incident triggers American public fury and provides justification for U.S. entry into the conflict.
- **1898-04-25** - United States Declares War
  The U.S. Congress declares war on Spain, officially entering the Cuban conflict. American military forces begin deployment to Caribbean theaters.
- **1898-07-01** - Battle of San Juan Hill
  American forces, including the Rough Riders regiment, attack Spanish positions at San Juan and Kettle hills near Santiago de Cuba in a decisive engagement.
- **1898-12-10** - Treaty of Paris Signed
  Spain cedes Cuba to the United States and surrenders Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. The treaty formally ends the Spanish-American War.

## Voices

- **José Martí, Cuban revolutionary leader and poet** (official, celebratory) - Manifesto of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, February 1895
  > Cuba must be free, and the island must belong to Cubans. We fight not merely for political separation, but for the soul of our nation and the dignity of our people.
- **Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, Spanish Prime Minister** (official, dismissive) - Speech to the Spanish Cortes, March 1895
  > Spain possesses the will and the means to suppress this rebellion. We shall send our finest troops and restore order to our cherished colony.
- **William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper publisher** (media, shocked) - New York Journal editorial, April 1895
  > The Spanish butchers murder Cuban innocents with impunity. American conscience demands we answer the cry of suffering islanders across the strait.
- **General Valeriano Weyler, Spanish Military Commander in Cuba** (official, skeptical) - Synthesized from period military dispatches and contemporaneous accounts, 1896
  > Total war demands total measures. The rebels shall find no sanctuary, no supply, no sympathy among the populace under Spanish protection.
- **Máximo Gómez, Cuban General and independence war commander** (analyst, predictive) - Synthesized from military correspondence and memoirs, 1896-1897
  > Spain sends 220,000 soldiers but cannot occupy every cane field or mountain pass. We know this land; we fight for our homes. They fight for orders.

## Impact

The war fractured Spain's colonial empire and established Cuba as an independent nation, though one initially occupied and shaped by American interests. The conflict's brutality and Spain's military failure accelerated the decline of Spanish power in the Americas, redrawing the geopolitical map of the Western Hemisphere.

## Sources

- [Cuban War of Independence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_War_of_Independence) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1895/cuban-independence-war