Reading Passage #1: The Cuban Revolution of 1868
By the end of the 19th century, Spain had lost all of its New World colonies except Cuba and
Puerto Rico. However, many Cubans no longer wanted to live under Spanish rule. In 1868,
Cuban revolutionaries declared their independence from Spain and began a ten-year war. Due to
problems in Europe, Spain was unable to devote its full attention to this rebellion until 1876. By
1878, the rebellion was stamped out. Because of this revolution, over 100,000 Cubans fled their
homes and moved to the United States, where most settled in New York, Key West, and Tampa.
The 1868 Revolution did not go unnoticed in the United States. Many Americans were
sympathetic toward the Cuban rebels, and some even saw similarities between the Cuban war for
independence and our own Revolutionary War against Great Britain more than a century before.
Some Americans supplied the Cuban rebels with guns, money, and other supplies. The Spanish
government protested to U.S. officials, but received no response. In one incident in 1873,
American Captain Joseph Fry, a Tampa native, almost brought the United States and Spain to
war. Fry, a former Confederate naval officer in the American Civil War, was captain of the S.S.
Virginus. Carrying guns and 300 Cuban rebels, Captain Fry sailed to Cuba to aid in the Cuban
fight against Spanish forces on the island. However, the Spaniards captured the Virginus before
it reached its destination. After a speedy trial, Captain Fry and fifty-three others (mostly
Americans) were executed by a firing squad. A British warship captain intervened on behalf of
the remaining rebels and crew, but for a few weeks it seemed likely that the United States and
Spain would go to war over this incident. Finally, the U.S. Attorney General decided that the S.S.
Virginus did not travel to Cuba on an official United States visit. War was averted for the time
being. But hard feelings continued to exist.
Explanation:
