Cuba, October 15, 1913, evening.
It's just getting dark, and the shadows in some parts of Cuba become active again.
Guantanamo Province, in a small room with candles lit in Guantanamo City, a group of people are discussing what?
"Amy, all the weapons that Portugal promised to send have arrived today. Together with the 120 military instructors who arrived three months ago, everything is ready." A short and handsome man reported.
Leader Amy said in disbelief: "So fast? Have they all really arrived?"
"Yes, they are all here.
20,000 Lee-Enfield rifles, 1,200 Mauser pistols, 350 Madsen light machine guns, 100 Maxon machine guns, 25 75mm howitzers, 500 medium and light mortars, 15,000 grenades, and 1,000 various bullets
Ten thousand rounds, 8,000 shells of various types.
Now that all these have arrived, plus the previous 3,600 guns of various types and 15 cannons, our team of 3,000 people can be expanded to 20,000 as long as progress goes smoothly."
"Good! Great! We in Cuba finally have the power to resist.
We have obtained support equipment here, and the resistance organizations in Havana, Santiago, Camagüey and other provinces should also get it.
Launching a general uprising in December this year will definitely succeed."
Havana Province, a remote fishing village.
A carefree man with a scar face said: "Boss Delong, there are only 3,000 guns left in the last batch. 100 cannons have not arrived, but the others have arrived.
Chief Big said that after all the supporting weapons arrive, the number of more than 1,200 rebels can be expanded to 15,000.
As long as we start an uprising in December of the end of the year and successfully occupy Havana, which is only guarded by 3,000 puppet troops, we can call on the people to join the army, and by then the 15,000 people will be full.
At that time, Portugal will diplomatically recognize the coalition government we established, and its allies will also recognize it, and their later assistance will continue to follow. By then, the United States will definitely retreat in a wise manner."
"I hope so. We are so close to the United States and it is impossible to just let it go.
The United States has stationed more than 5,000 navy and army troops in Onda Bay. I don’t know if our initial uprising troops can withstand it, and I have a hunch that the United States will definitely increase its troops in the later period." Delong said with a frown.
"Boss, don't be so pessimistic. Don't be afraid if you can't withstand it. As long as we take Havana for a period of time and establish our political power, even if we retreat to the south later, we will still be a legitimate government, and the people will know who to support."
…
The Cubans have been dissatisfied with the Americans for more than a day or two. They have always believed that the Americans betrayed them. The Cubans helped the United States win the Spanish-American War, but the United States broke its promise and occupied them.
When the Spanish-American War broke out, in order to defeat Spain, the rebels in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines respectively promised to withdraw from the two places and recognize their independence after the war.
But the war was about to end, and before the negotiations between the United States and Spain ended, the United States broke out and began to suppress the original collaborators and rebels.
It was not until this moment that Cuba and the colonial rebels understood the true purpose of the United States. The United States was to annex Spanish colonies, and it was not for justice at all.
In the end, the United States won, Spain admitted defeat, and the rebels were suppressed. As a result, the original Spanish colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and some Pacific islands were taken away by the United States.
After the United States took over the colonies, they were even more cruel than Spain.
After all, Spain is a declining power. Since Philip II, it has been in a state of decline due to various wars and internal uprisings. During the Napoleonic Wars, it was pushed over by France.
After the Napoleonic Wars, Spain recognized its position. It was a stepping stone among the great powers. It had a weak voice in Europe, and when it came to colonial power, its strength could not compare with other great powers.
In order to maintain stability, Spain began to exploit the colonies in a mild form, promoted Spanish culture in the immigrant areas, allowed colonials to come to Spain to study, and finally allowed colonists to serve in the colonial government.
It can be said that Spain implemented dominions earlier than the United Kingdom, but the British dominions were white people, while the Spanish dominions were indigenous and localized Latins.
Facing a weak Spain, the colonials came to Europe and were fully aware of Spain's weakness. After returning home, they actively seized government power in the colonial areas and wanted to be completely in charge of their own country.
The colonial elites don’t want to have an emperor above them. Spain is not Britain, and we are not white Iberians!
In this era, if Spain still wants to be gentle, we will achieve everything like Simon Bolivar, José de San Martín, and Bernardino Rivadavia.
In the years before the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, the number of uprisings in Spanish colonies seeking independence increased year by year, and Spain was fighting fires everywhere.
The Americans were experienced and had a good grasp of the Spanish colonial elite's thoughts. They contacted the rebels, expressed their willingness to cooperate, and accurately used them.
After the Spanish-American War started, these people were allowed to serve as pioneers for the king. They took a lot of damage for the Americans, and finally stabbed the insurgents who were greatly weakened with a backhand knife.
At the end of the Spanish-American War, the United States took all the best Spanish colonies and made a huge profit! Spain cut off the flesh to stop the bleeding and sold the land to get money, and suffered a huge loss! The colonial rebels were betrayed and suppressed, and they suffered a huge loss!
The United States has stolen the fruits of Cuba's victory, and the Cuban people certainly do not agree. There are various levels of armed resistance, making the United States unable to cope with the situation at the expense of the other.
In order to calm the anti-American sentiment in Cuba, the United States promised to withdraw its troops and allow Cuba to become independent. It only said that it was independent, but in fact it came to Cuba in the form of an emperor.
On February 25, 1901, Orville Platt, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, proposed an amendment to the U.S. Congress on Cuba-U.S. relations—the Platt Amendment—as a supplement to the Army Appropriations Bill.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Under the threat and deception of the United States to occupy Cuba indefinitely, the Cuban Constitutional Assembly was forced to pass this resolution with a vote of 16 to 11 on June 12 of the same year.
The amendment was included in the Cuban Constitution as an appendix. There are eight amendments in total, each of which goes straight to the heart and completely turns Cuba into a protectorate. The so-called independence is a joke.
The eight provisions of the Platt Amendment are:
“1. The Government of Cuba shall never enter into treaties or other compacts with any foreign power that would impair or be likely to impair the independence of Cuba, nor may it in any way authorize or permit any foreign power to colonize, for military or naval purposes, or otherwise
, to obtain a treaty or other agreement to occupy or control any part of the island.”
"2. The government should not assume or agree on any public debts and interest payments, nor can it establish reasonable sinking fund provisions to repay the aforementioned debts. The island's ordinary revenue is insufficient to pay the government's daily expenses."
"3. The Government of Cuba agrees that the United States may intervene to safeguard the independence of Cuba, to maintain an adequate government for the protection of life, property and personal liberty, and to fulfill the obligations imposed by the Treaty of Paris on the Government of Cuba that the United States currently assumes and carries out."
"4. All actions of the United States during the military presence in Cuba are subject to approval and confirmation, and all legal rights are hereby reserved."
“5. The Cuban government will implement and provide, to the extent possible, the urban sanitation plan or other plans on the island that have been mutually agreed upon as necessary by both parties, with a view to preventing the possible recurrence of epidemics and infectious diseases, thereby ensuring the protection of the Cuban people and businesses
, and protect the commercial ports and residents of the southern United States."
"6. Pine Island (today's Youth Island) should be omitted from the boundaries in the constitution, and its ownership shall be adjusted by future treaties."
"7. In order to enable the United States to maintain the independence of Cuba, to protect its people, and for its own defense needs, the Cuban government will sell or lease to the United States the coal it needs or certain locations for the establishment of naval bases."
"8. The Cuban government will ensure that the above-mentioned agreement with the United States remains permanently valid in the treaty in the future."
After the Platt Amendment was passed, the United States began to look for puppet candidates and soon established a puppet government.
On May 20, 1902, the pro-American Tomas Estrada Palma took office as the first president of the Republic of Cuba, and the Republic of Cuba was proclaimed. The United States ended its four-year control of Cuba only after ensuring its control over Cuba.
Military occupation, withdrawal of troops from Cuba, and recognition of Cuba's "independence."
Later, the United States used Article 7 of the Platt Amendment to lease Guantanamo Bay (an important port in southern Cuba) and Onda Bay (an important port in northern Cuba, 70 kilometers away from the capital of Cuba, Havana) in February 1903 for its navy.
base.
Historically, due to Cuba's resistance and its unwillingness to have troops stationed near the capital, the United States abandoned Onda Bay a few years later and instead expanded the area of the Guantánamo base.
However, due to the Brazilian occupation and annexation of Dominica, the successor Portuguese Empire purchased Torti Island, Gonave Island, Wash Islands, and the United States from the corrupt Haitian government for 1 million pounds on March 15, 1913.
Nafsha Island in dispute with Haiti.
The national border was pushed to the other side of Cuba, making the United States nervous, and they forcibly leased Onda Bay
The United States violated the regulations and forcibly leased Onda Bay as a base. This time not only the navy came, but also a large number of army troops. The capital of Cuba was completely under the military coverage of the United States.
The United States forcibly leased the abandoned Onda Bay in order to avoid further deteriorating relations with the Portuguese Empire and fearing a major conflict with the Caribbean battleship fleet patrolling the sea.
The relationship between the United States and Europe was originally not very good. If diplomacy with Brazil deteriorates to the end, Europe will definitely add fuel to the flames and start a fight between the two countries.
In order to avoid further conflicts, the United States only left destroyers and frigates in Guantánamo Bay; the cruisers and battleships were withdrawn to northern Cuba, and Onda Bay was naturally taken back under such circumstances.
The United States broke the lease again and occupied Venda Bay. The second president of the Republic, the hero of the War of Independence, José Miguel Gomez, chose to betray his country like the previous president.
No different from the first president of the Republic of Cuba, Tomas Estrada Palma, his successor Jose Miguel Gomez was as filial to the United States as a son and decisively sold Onda Bay again.
This time, the Cuban puppet government completely angered the Cuban people. Why did Onda Bay, which was finally recovered, be given away again? Or permanently.
I thought that the hero of the War of Independence, Jose Miguel, was a Cuban with integrity, but I didn't expect that he was also a complete traitor. The curvy patriotism he promoted was simply a lie.
The Cuban people, desperate for their country, no longer tolerated this time, and began to oppose the United States and the government one after another, and the sluggish and weakened resistance forces also grew stronger again.
The revolt that broke out among the Cuban people was quickly spread to the country by the Golden Gun Bureau.
The Portuguese Emperor Pedro III, as the trigger for everything, chose to add fuel to the fire and decisively ordered support for Cuba. He wanted to fight a volunteer war in Cuba.
He, Pedro III, wanted to use the battlefield of Cuba to warm up the army for the upcoming World War I and the South American War.
This chapter has been completed!