Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
authorities thought that immersing him in
the society of the mother country would
cure the young man of his nationalistic incli-
nations, they were mistaken. He earned a
law degree at the University of Zaragoza and
published poems and essays. Frustrated by
his homeland's status as the last remnant of
Spanish imperialism, he wrote about a free
and united Western Hemisphere linking all
of Spain's former colonial dependencies.
During the 1870s Martí lived in a number of
Spanish-American countries, teaching, writ-
ing, and even serving for a time as a judge in
G UATEMALA . From the early 1880s to 1895
he resided in the United States, mostly in
New York City, where he founded the Cuban
Revolutionary Party and devoted himself to
organizing a network of nationalists dedi-
cated to a renewed war of liberation on the
island. Martí admired many aspects of soci-
ety and democratic political life in the United
States but feared that country's inevitable
pursuit of hemispheric domination. When
he returned to Cuba to play a role in the
new uprising that began in 1895, his life was
tragically cut short in a clash between insur-
gents and Spanish troops.
In addition to his acknowledged role as
the spiritual leader of the Cuban national
movement, Martí is recognized as one of
the finest poets and essayist of 19th-cen-
tury Spanish America. Martí's poems are
collected in Ismaelillo (1882), Versos libres
(Free verses, 1883), and Versos sencillos
(Unpretentious verses, 1891).
tury, Martínez de Campos was a distin-
guished graduate of the General Staff
College. After serving in various assign-
ments including the abortive Spanish par-
ticipation in the subjugation of M EXICO in
the early 1860s, he was sent to C UBA during
the opening stages of the 10-year insurrec-
tion that began in 1868. Martínez gradually
developed an approach to the rebels that
combined vigorous attacks on their strong-
holds with a humane treatment of civilians
and a willingness to grant amnesty to com-
batants who surrendered. His success gained
him rapid promotion and the recognition of
his methods as the most promising path to
victory. Within a few years Martínez was
able to return home in triumph, with Cuba
pacified and the laurels of victory mingled
with a reputation for humanitarianism that
earned him great popularity. Appointed
general commanding the forces in C ATALO -
NIA , Martínez swept aside the anarchist reb-
els, abandoned the floundering government
of the First Republic, and at the beginning
of 1875 proclaimed the restoration of
A LFONSO XII. He then played a critical role
in ending the Second Carlist War, once
again employing both energetic military
tactics in conjunction with a strategy of
humane and conciliatory treatment of the
enemy. During the 1880s Martínez served
as minister of war and for a time as presi-
dent of the Council of State, but his views
were too liberal for the conservative author-
ities, and he was returned to a more limited
military role. Sent back to Cuba as military
governor in the early 1890s, Martínez con-
fronted a new insurrection with a renewal
of his moderate policy of seeking to win the
minds and hearts of the Cuban people.
Armed rebels were attacked without ques-
tion, but they were made to understand
Martínez de Campos, Arsenio
(1831-1900)
Spanish general
One of the most successful and admired
Spanish commanders of the late 19th cen-
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search