Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 375 Cuban War of Independence
In the latter half of 1895, there was another event worth mentioning: the Second Cuban War of Independence.

Since the colonial exchange between Spain and Britain, Spain has abandoned its interest in the Cuban colony. However, Spain's abandonment of interest does not mean that those in Cuba who sought independence no longer existed.

On the contrary, because the colony was transferred to the British, the Cubans who wanted independence shifted their hatred from the Spanish to the British.

Several years ago, these people wanted to launch a revolution in Cuba, but it was quickly suppressed by the British.

Britain's naval power far surpasses that of Spain; by simply deploying a few warships to the Cuban coast, they could easily deter the Cubans from their uprising.

Unfortunately, Cuba is actually shaped like a country that is narrow from north to south and wide from east to west. In particular, the area where Havana, the capital of the Cuban colony, is located is the narrowest part of the entire Cuban territory.

The British fleet could easily threaten not only Havana, the capital of Cuba, but also other important cities and agricultural areas in Cuba.

If the Cubans don't appreciate this, their main crop, sugarcane, will be destroyed by the British, which would severely damage the Cuban economy.

The sugar industry is the backbone of Cuba's economy and the reason these Cuban immigrants are wealthy. They can incite local Black people to rebel against the colonial government, but they cannot accept the destruction of their plantations due to war.

Britain's forceful suppression caused Cuban whites to abandon their independence aspirations, but they soon had a new opportunity a few years later.

This so-called opportunity was actually Britain's Boer War.

The Boer War exposed the world to the shortcomings of the British army and gave the Cubans hope for independence.

However, gaining independence from the British colonial system was extremely difficult. To increase their chances of success, the white settlers in the Cuban colony decided to seek out allies and supporters.

Those who could support Cuba's pursuit of independence must have been Britain's rivals or enemies.

The first thing these white people in Cuba thought of was France.

There's no way around it; France has done an exceptionally good job in this regard. France played a significant role in enabling the thirteen former colonies of the United States to gain independence from British colonial rule.

Louis XVI, the founding father of the United States, not only provided substantial war loans to the thirteen colonies, but also supplied them with weapons, ammunition, and supplies.

That wasn't the end of it. In order to avenge its defeat to the British in the Seven Years' War in North America, France also mobilized a portion of its troops to directly join the American Revolutionary War.

It was precisely the French's relentless assistance that enabled the thirteen colonies, which at the time had only two to three million inhabitants, to successfully gain independence from British rule.

Louis XVI, the founding father of the United States, led a French revolution after his extravagant lifestyle and financial losses due to multiple wars caused an economic crisis that triggered domestic unrest.

This also shows that the animosity between Britain and France was indeed deep. The fact that Britain and France could set aside their past grievances and unite against Germany under these circumstances further demonstrates just how powerful Germany was during World War I.

Before launching their independence uprising, the white settlers in the Cuban colony specifically sought the help of the French government.

Unfortunately, the French government at this time was no longer the French government of Louis XVI's era, and a small Cuba was not as promising as the original thirteen colonies.

The French government agreed to provide support to the Cuban colony, but only in the form of military loans and resources such as weapons and equipment.

Getting France to send troops is far from possible. In fact, France only agreed to lend Cuba this military loan because it saw that Cuba's sugar industry was still relatively prosperous.

Although French government support was limited, this did not discourage the Cuban revolutionary leaders. The reason was simple: in addition to French support, white Cubans also received support from the United States.

At this point in history, the United States was already preparing for war with Spain. The United States had long coveted Cuba, which was right on its doorstep, and it used Spain as a stepping stone to demonstrate its power.

Now, because the Cuban colony has been transferred to Britain, the United States is not as unbridled in its actions in Cuba.

Although these Cuban whites seeking independence had the support of the United States, the Americans kept a low profile and were unwilling to offend Britain in this situation.

Despite the rapid development of the United States in the 100 years since its independence, there is still a significant gap between the United States and the European powers.

The main reason for the prosperity of American industry and economy is that North America has abundant mineral and natural resources, coupled with the gold rush that attracted a large number of immigrants, enabling the United States to achieve long-term economic and industrial growth.

However, in terms of industrial foundation, the United States lags behind the major European powers. Whether it's talent pool or industrial technology, the US is a level below countries like Britain, France, and Germany, and its industrial foundation is only on par with countries like Austria and Spain.

Of course, despite its rich history, the United States still boasts a very powerful industrial base.

However, if the total scale of industry cannot be transformed into military strength, it will not significantly enhance a country's status.

When Americans rank the world, they also consider placing the United States in the top four or top five.

But if Europeans were to write a world ranking of countries, the United States would be lucky to even retain its sixth-place position, let alone be in the top five.

Because when considering a country's overall strength, most people tend to focus more on its military ranking.

Needless to say, the U.S. Army has been reduced to a pitiful tens of thousands of personnel, which is not even a fraction of the size of the major European powers.

The U.S. Navy is of a certain size, but it is still the smallest among the major European powers. If it weren't for the fact that the U.S. industry and economy are indeed quite strong, the U.S. might also be at the bottom of the list of major powers.

This phenomenon is indeed completely different from later history.

In fact, the reason why the United States became the world's hegemon after World War II was because of the exploitation of Europe by the two world wars.

Before World War I, the United States was just an ordinary major power in the world. Not to mention superpowers like Britain, France, and Germany looking down on the United States, even Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Italy often didn't give the United States a second glance when discussing it.

At this time, the United States' role in the world was merely that of a country experiencing a sudden surge, a nation with no real foundation but possessing a decent industrial base and economy.

Because of the outbreak of World War I, the United States, relying on its status as a neutral country, engaged in extensive trade with both sides of the war, transforming itself from a debtor nation into a creditor nation and acquiring large amounts of gold, paper money, and other resources from European countries.

Many Europeans who came to the United States to escape the Great War enriched America's talent pool.

Among the more famous scientists are Albert Einstein and Theodore von Kármán.

Albert Einstein, of course, needs no introduction; he is one of the most outstanding theoretical scientists in the field of physics. As for Theodore von Kármán, this scientist's contributions to the fields of aerospace and rocketry were also remarkable.

It was with the support of these scientists who fled war in Europe that the United States was able to make up for the lack of talent in industrial and scientific fields, and then catch up with European countries in science and technology.

In 1895, before the two World Wars, the United States ranked not only behind the four traditional European powers of Britain, France, Germany, and Russia in the world's rankings of world powers, but also behind Spain and Austria-Hungary, ranking only ahead of Italy and seventh in the world.

Of course, some newspapers that are more optimistic about the United States will rank it above Austria-Hungary and below Spain as the sixth largest country in the world.

This was roughly the peak of America's power at that time. This also explains why the US went through a long period of preparation before launching the Spanish-American War. Not only did Europeans look down on the US during this era, but many Americans themselves also had a low opinion of their own country's military strength.

Just when these white Cubans had the support of France and the United States and thought they had enough to launch an independence uprising, officials from the Spanish colony of Puerto Rico approached them, offering them a military loan and selling them weapons and supplies at below-market prices.

The colony of Puerto Rico was the only remaining Spanish colony in the Americas, and it was specifically preserved by Carlos during the exchange of Cuban colonies. It can be considered Spain's last gateway to the Americas. Losing Puerto Rico would have meant the complete withdrawal of Spanish colonial sphere from the Americas, signifying a final farewell to Spain's glorious past.

Anyway, Puerto Rico is further east of Cuba, and unless the Americans are completely out of their minds, they are unlikely to cross Cuba to cause trouble for the Spanish in Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rican colonial government generally maintained a low profile. After all, it was Spain's last colony in the Americas, and Puerto Rico was separated from mainland Spain by the entire Atlantic Ocean, making it difficult to receive timely assistance from mainland Spain in case of danger.

Spain stationed an entire colonial garrison here, along with the local Puerto Rican police, making up an armed force of about 2500 people.

The main reason why so many troops are stationed in the small city of Puerto Rico is that there is a considerable local population.

Before Spain relinquished its Cuban colony, the population of the Cuban colony was approximately 50 to 60.

Puerto Rico is less than one-tenth the size of Cuba, but its population is more than one-sixth that of Cuba.

It is worth mentioning that, whether in Cuban colonies or Puerto Rico, the population count only included those recognized as Caucasians and Asians.

If you include the large number of Black laborers in the local population, the population of both Cuba and Puerto Rico would be several times larger.

Cuba had a population of only 500,000 to 600,000 during Spanish rule, but after the United States acquired Cuba and conducted a census, the population quickly approached 2 million.

The biggest change was that the United States treated Black people as citizens, and a large number of Black people who were not originally counted in the population became residents of Cuba under US control.

Spain certainly wouldn't include these Black people in its population statistics, which is why the population figures for its colonies have always been low in official Spanish data.

If we include these Black people, the population of the Congo Territory alone would be at least tens of millions. Not to mention the Guinea colony, which also had over ten million Black indigenous people. The combined Black population of these colonies is larger than the Spanish population in mainland Spain.

When these white plantation owners in Cuba discovered that the people who had approached them were the Spanish colonial government of Puerto Rico, they were initially surprised, but they did not refuse the goodwill from the Puerto Rican colonial government.

Although there were indeed some frictions between the white plantation owners and the Spanish colonial government in the past, these conflicts are now a thing of the past.

Currently, Cuba is colonized by the British Empire, and has no connection whatsoever with Spain. In fact, given the current relationship between Spain and Britain, if Cuba could seek independence under British colonial rule, it would actually be a good thing for Spain.

As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. With this in mind, the white plantation owners in Cuba contacted the Puerto Rican colonial government to discuss the details of their cooperation.

In keeping with the principle of causing as much trouble as possible for the British, Spain was quite generous to these Cuban immigrants who had once belonged to it.

In addition to providing them with low-interest loans of up to 500 million pesetas, they can also purchase any weapons Spain has the option to buy.

This low-interest loan of 500 million pesetas could arm an army of tens of thousands of people. If the white immigrants in Cuba were to cooperate, they could easily overthrow British colonial rule in Cuba with this army of tens of thousands of people.

Of course, even if the Cuban army was not very good at fighting, it could still have an impact on British colonial rule in Cuba.

In any case, they could cause some trouble for the British, and as long as the British were in trouble, it would benefit Spain.

Spain's assistance was an unexpected boon to Cuba, which spurred these white Cubans to accelerate the outbreak of their independence revolution.

In July 1895, the party led by José Martí, which called for Cuban independence, officially launched a popular uprising in Cuba, which was met with a response from people all over the country within days.

Even including Cuba, where the Black population is less than 2 million, they managed to gather nearly 10,000 insurgents in less than a month.

Driven by self-interest, the white plantation owners incited their Black laborers to join the uprising. The Black people, already deeply resentful of the colonizers, joined the rebellion spontaneously, requiring little encouragement from the Cuban white plantation owners.

This uprising seeking Cuban independence was a massive undertaking, supported by almost the majority of white, Asian, and Black people.

This is actually due to the unique nature of the Cuban colonies. Because of their developed sugar industry, despite their small size and population, Cuba's income ranked among the highest of all colonies worldwide.

This is why the colonial government collected a large amount of tax revenue from these plantations every year. If Cuba could gain independence, these white plantation owners would pay significantly less in colonial taxes, which is why they did everything they could to push for Cuban independence.

The uprising's size of 10,000 men was not the limit for Cuba. The British colonial government in Cuba suppressed the uprising, but they soon discovered that forceful suppression was ineffective.

The more the suppression continues, the more intense the resistance of these Cubans becomes. What began as a response from only a few cities to José Martí's call has gradually escalated into a nationwide movement.

Now the British government finally understood why Spain had abandoned its Cuban colony. Although Cuba could provide substantial tax revenue during times of peace and stability, a Cuban uprising for independence would be anything but small.

All the taxes collected from Cuba beforehand had to be invested in suppressing the rebellion. Like Spain, Britain had to wage war across the ocean to quell the Cuban rebellion.

Even if Canada could provide some supplies for the Cuban war, it would not change the fact that suppressing the rebellion in Cuba would require a large amount of additional military spending.

For the British, Cuba was something they couldn't afford to lose.

The British traded several West African colonies for Cuba; it would be strange if they let it go so easily.

Fortunately, Cuba is just an island nation, and its surrounding areas are all within the British sphere of influence. Even if the Cuban issue is temporarily shelved, it will not affect Britain's sovereignty over Cuba.

As far as the British government is concerned, since these Cubans want to cause trouble, let them cause trouble in Cuba for the time being.

Cuba is bordered by the British Bahamas to the north, the British Jamaican colony to the south, and the British Honduras colony to the southwest, making it almost entirely surrounded by British colonies.

Under such circumstances, even if the Cubans control the Cuban region, they will not be able to develop stably.

For this reason, Britain decided to temporarily abandon Cuba, concentrating all of Cuba's limited military forces in the colonial capital of Havana, and abandoning all Cuban territories east of Havana.

As long as Britain held onto the capital of the Cuban colony, it meant that Britain still possessed sovereignty over the land. No matter how much the Cubans protested, they only numbered a little over a million. Once Britain resolved the Boer War, these unruly Cubans would be a matter that Britain could easily resolve in a few days.

Britain's decision to temporarily abandon Cuba has made the Cuban independence uprising even more exciting.

During the two months of the Cuban uprising, they acquired a large amount of weaponry from France, Spain, and the United States.

They managed to gather over 2 rifles, enough to enable Cuba to build a powerful army.

And that's exactly what the Cubans did. However, it seems that Black people make up the majority of the Cuban army.

White plantation owners wouldn't personally join the army in battle; it was already quite good if they could send a few Black laborers from their plantations.

Black people made up the majority of the Cuban army, Asians made up a portion, and whites were only a very small minority.

With such a racial composition, the army's combat effectiveness was naturally not very good, which is why Britain chose to temporarily abandon the eastern Cuban territory; otherwise, it would have been questionable whether these troops could have occupied Cuba at all.

　I only wrote 5,000 words today; something came up and I was delayed. As compensation, I'll add one more day to my daily 10,000-word goal (I still need to write 10,000 words a day for three more days). Thank you for your support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)