Negro Rebellion

Negro Rebellion Part of the Banana Wars Date 1912 Location Cuba Result Rebellion suppressed Belligerents  Cuba  United States Independent Party of Color Commanders and leaders José Miguel Gómez Lincoln Karmany Evaristo Estenoz † Pedro Ivonnet † Casualties and losses Unknown 3,000–6,000 killed[1][2][3]

Banana Wars Cuba (1898–1922) Cuban Campaign Cuban Pacification Negro Rebellion Sugar Intervention Puerto Rico (1898) Puerto Rican Campaign Honduras (1903–1925) Nicaragua (1912–1933) Granada Coyotepe Hill La Paz Centro Ocotal San Fernando Santa Clara Telpaneca 1st Las Cruces 2nd Las Cruces Quilali La Flor Achuapa Agua Carta El Sauce Mexico (1914) Veracruz Haiti (1915–1934) Fort Dipitie Fort Rivière 1st Port au Prince 2nd Port au Prince Dominican Republic (1916–1924) Santo Domingo Guayacanas San Francisco de Macoris

The Negro Rebellion (Spanish: Levantamiento Armado de los Independientes de Color, "Armed Uprising of the Independents of Color"; also known as the Little Race War, War of 1912, or The Twelve) was an armed conflict in Cuba, between Afro-Cuban rebels on one side and the Cuban and US military on the other. It took place in 1912, mainly in the eastern region of the island where most Afro-Cubans were employed. The conflict saw the widespread massacre of Afro-Cubans by the Cuban Army, and an intervention by the United States military. Both the massacre and the presence of American troops quelled the violence so the unrest and the occupation ended after only a few weeks.^[1][2] The Afro-Cubans' leaders, Evaristo Estenoz and Pedro Ivonnet, were killed during the rebellion^[4][5] and their party, the Independent Party of Color, was dissolved.

Background

The Independent Party of Color played a central role in the conflict. Under the leadership of Evaristo Estenoz, the party quickly gained the support of a large number Afro-Cubans in opposition to Pres. José Miguel Gómez. Conditions in Cuba were poor for the black inhabitants, most of whom were employed in the sugarcane industry. Estenoz led a movement to better these conditions which had begun with the War of 1895. The Independent Party of Color was formed in 1908 by veterans of the War of 1895, primarily by the officers. Pres. Gómez ordered the party disbanded under the Morúa law which outlawed political parties based on race.^[6] By 1912 the Independent Party of Color had regrouped to stage another armed rebellion.

In early 1912, the United States government sent a detachment of 688 officers and enlisted marines to Guantanamo Naval Base. Meanwhile, Estenoz and his followers were preparing an armed rebellion.^[7]:70 Though they were lightly armed, the rebels numbered several hundred men, mainly peasants.

Estenoz's rebellion

On May 20, Estenoz and his men confronted the Cuban Army. Fighting took place mainly in Oriente Province, where most African Cubans lived, while there were also a few minor outbreaks of violence in the west, particularly in Las Villas Province. Initially the rebels were successful in engaging the Cuban forces, which included soldiers and militia, so on May 23 Pres. Gómez requested aid from Pres. William H. Taft, who approved the idea, according to the Platt Amendment. Additional marines were called for. The first reinforcements arrived on May 28, landing at Deer Point, Guantanamo Bay, to link up with Maj. Thorpe's battalion. Col. Lincoln Karmany was in command of this new force, designated the 1st Provisional Regiment of Marines, it numbered thirty-two officers and 777 enlisted men.^[8]

The 2nd Provisional Regiment of Marines was also en route, under Col. James E. Mahoney, the 2nd Regiment included 1,292 officers and men. They first sailed to Key West, aboard ten United States Navy battleships from the Atlantic Fleet. After receiving instructions, most of the fleet headed for Guantanamo Bay, arriving on June 7, while one battalion was landed at Havana, on June 10. USS Mississippi landed her detachment at El Cuero on June 19. Of the 1,292 men who landed at Guantanamo, only one battalion would be deployed. Col. Karmany took command of all the unassigned troops. Together, the American forces in Cuba totaled 2,789 officers and men and were organized into the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, about half of which were sent to occupy various towns and cities in eastern Cuba. The rest remained at the naval base. June saw Estenoz rapidly losing control of his territory to the Cuban military, which was dispersing large bands of the rebels, as well as bystanders. Rebel forces had numbered at least 3,000 men but by June there were an estimated 1,800 left, 1200 having been killed, although some sources cite 6000 exterminated.^[7]:71 The marines were assigned to protect the American-owned sugarcane plantations and their associated properties, as well as copper mines, railroads and trains. The Afro-Cubans attacked the Marines only once, at El Cuero, but were repulsed without casualties to either side.^[9] President Gómez offered amnesty to any of the rebels who surrendered by June 22 but Estenoz refused and he continued to fight with a few hundred men. Most of the rebels did surrender, though. By the end of June the majority had returned to their homes. The turning point in the war was when Estenoz was killed by government forces (shot in the back of his head) at Miraca on June 27.^[1][8][10]

Government victory

Estenoz's death resulted in the splintering of the rebel army into small factions which were all eventually defeated. The most important faction was that of Ivonnet, who took his men into the mountains to wage a guerrilla war. However, he was driven out by mid July. Soon after Ivonnet's surrender, Gómez announced that the American Marines were no longer needed. They began to withdraw, first to the naval base at Guantanamo, and then to stations in the United States. The last marines to leave Cuba embarked USS Prairie on August 2 and sailed for New England. The Afro-Cubans lost between 3,000 to 6,000 killed, both combatants and non-combatants, and the results of the rebellion were disastrous. Conditions in Cuba largely remained the same after 1912, except for the Independent Party of Color, which was dissolved.^[1][8]

References

Bibliography

• Clark, George B. (2010). Battle History of the United States Marine Corps, 1775-1945. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-4598-X.