In
April of 1898 United States that in spite of the sympathies of
their people toward the rebels had stayed neutral in the war,
enters in it soon after the explosion that destroyed Maine, a
US war ship anchored in the Bay of Havana, beginning this way
the Hispanic-Cuban-American war. In August of the same year an
armistice is signed between Spain and United States putting end
to the hostilities. In spite of their sacrifice for 3 years and
of having combatted next to the American troops, the Cuban forces
was not allowed to participate in the signature of the armistice
in August neither in the signature of the Treaty
of Paris in December that finished the war and assures the
independence of Cuba. To the moment to enter the United States
in the war the Ejército Libertador (Mambises) dominated
completely in the rural areas of the island and the Spanish Army
controlled the cities and towns, Spain already showed signs of
exhaustion and the victory of the freedom cause of Cubans was
close.
The
balance of the war:
- Spain:
ended up having up to 270 000 soldiers in the island, they have
around 44 000 casualties, 90% for illnesses.
- Cuba:
the Ejército Libertador ended up having 50 000 soldiers
(with alone 50% armed) and its definitive casualties were 9
000 soldiers.
For
the country the human and materialslosses were enormous, it is
calculated that near 250 000 casualties because of the war, Cuba
that had 1 631 687 inhabitants in the year 1887 and for the natural
growth it should have reached in the year 1899 around the 1 800
000 inhabitants, really had in the census of that year a total
of 1 572 747 inhabitants, never until then a country had lost
its population's such proportion in a war. The material losses:
got lost 90% of the bovine livestock, one of the main wealth of
the country; 90 000 farm properties and 530 000 hectares of lands
cultivated in 1887 they decreased at 6 000 and 364 000, respectively;
of but of 1 000 sugar sugar factories in 1887 they existed alone
207 in 1899.
Between
January 1ro, 1899 and May 20, 1902 the island is occupied by the
United States with Leonardo Wood like governor, if United States
still had annexionist ideas with regard to the island, they were
abandoned when in the first elections that take place (for municipal
positions) the party that pled for the annexation (Party Democratic
Union) obtains a minimum of the votes in front of the parties
in favor of the independence. During the North American occupation
they were carried out big advances in the reparation of the island,
including the almost total erradicación of the yellow fever
taking like base the Cuban sage's studies Carlos J. Finlay, and
in the organization of the educational system, of sanity, of mail
and administrative.
May
20, 1902 was born the republic with Tomás Estrada Palma
like first president and with the Costitución 1901 like
artificial base to which the Enmienda Platt was added that gave
United States the right to intervene in the Cuban matters and
that was accepted by the independentistas like a smaller evil.
The Platt Amendment was effective
until the year 1934 when was abolished by means of the Permanent
Treaty of 1934.
In
1905 General Maximo Gomez dies in Havana and next year sigiente,
in 1906, the first North American intervention that will be prolonged
up to 1909 takes place. The intervention takes place at the request
of president Estrada Palma like consequence of rebellions that
are happened in the country against its unpopular and fraudulent
reelection for a second period.
The
census of 1907 throws a population of 2 048 980 inhabitants. In
this year arise the Independent Party of Color that accuses to
the Republic of discriminating against the black population, rumors
of a racial war run.
In
1912 the second North American intervention takes place in the
island against president's José Miguel Gómez desires
and using like pretext the necessity to protect the life and American
citizens' properties before lifts that have been raised in the
oriental region.
Between
1919 and 1920 takes place the called dances of the millions when
the sugar reaches unprecedented prices due to the ruin of the
industry of sugar of beet of Europe as a consequence of the recently
finished war, the sugar reached a maximum price of 22.51 cent
of dollar the pound and the production of the harvest of 1919-1920
was sold in $1,022,000,000 (more money that all the crops meetings
from 1900 at 1914).
Between
1903 and 1924 the national income of Cuba multiplies by 4 and
the cattle raising end up having 4 millions of heads of bovine
with a estimate population of 3 345 000 inhabitants, the economy
stays in expansion up to 1931, when the world economic crisis
is already a fact.
An
important part of the sugar industry and the plantations of cane
of sugar are in hands of North American companies and the main
trade centers in hands of Spaniards, the alone Cubans manage the
threads of the political one and they are not few voices those
that urge to revert this situation, the population's pressure
it is strong in that sense. In 1925 Carlos Baliño and Julio
Antonio Mella found the Communist Party and at the end of that
year is elect president Gerardo Machado with a political platform
of nationalist court and the slogan of "water, highways and
schools."
The
first two years of the government of Machado filled the hope to
the Cuban population, the government was hones, it was legislated
to regulate the sugar industry, to diversify the agriculture and
to protect the Cuban products and began a vast program of public
works and construction of highways (among them the Central Highway
that communicates the occident island to east and that it is still
nowadays in active) that gave work to thousands of Cuban. However
very soon their government derived toward the dictatorship what
sank to Cuba in one of his worst economic and social crises together
to the crash of the Bag of New York of 1929. The constant manifestations
of students and workers against the government and the limitless
repression that it exercised ends in 1933 in a general strike
that affects the complete country and a rising of the armed forces
that force finally Machado to run away.
Gerardo
Machado is substitute by Carlos Manuel de Cespedes (son of legendary
first president's of the Republic in Weapons) as provisional president
and he also has to give up when in September of the same year
of 1933 Fulgencio Batista it heads a revolt in the army (know
like the Revolt of the Sergeants) and soon taking the control
of the country. Begins the Government of the 100 Days then with
Ramón Grau San Martin like president and Antonio Guiteras
like vice-president that introduced radical changes in the Cuban
society in spite of their short duration.
In
January of 1934 Fulgencio Batista that had been promoted colonel
and boss of the Army, it causes the fall of the revolutionary
government of Grau San Martin-Guiteras. From that moment and up
to 1940, Batista controls the power and he names presidents Carlos
Mendieta (1934-1935), Miguel Mariano Gómez (1936) and Federico
Laredo Brú (1936-1940). During 1934 an agreement is also
reached with the United States by means of which puts on term
to the Platt Amendment, the nation
of the north it conserves the Naval Base of Guantánamo.
In
1940 the Constitution of 1940 supported by all the political sectors
of the included country the Popular Socialist Party arises (communist),
in its moment one of those more progressive of the world. Begins
then a period of governments' democratic succession that would
last 12 years, period that was characterized partly by the prevailing
political corruption and the gansterism of political court, the
economy of the island, however, goes in increase. |
