Carlos Manuel de Céspedes

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y López del Castillo (born April 18, 1819 in Bayamo , Cuba ; † February 27, 1874 in San Lorenzo , Cuba) was a Cuban freedom fighter and largely responsible for the outbreak of the first Cuban war for freedom ( Ten Years War ). He is considered the founder of the Cuban nation and was its first president.

Life

On October 10, 1868, the large landowner CM de Céspedes called on all Cubans to fight against the Spanish colonial power ( Grito de Yara ) from his La Demajagua sugar mill in Manzanillo . He released all of his slaves and invited them to join the fight.

On April 10, 1869 he was elected president of the group formed in the underground Cuban Republic elected (Asamblea de Guáimaro) .

After his removal as president (October 27, 1873), his departure into exile was prevented by the new Cuban government because they refused to give him an escort.

Death and afterlife

Statue of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes in the Plaza de Armas in Havana .

In 1874 Céspedes was killed in action with the Spanish colonial troops after his hiding place was betrayed. His body was publicly exhibited in Santiago de Cuba by the Spanish colonial power and buried in a mass grave. His remains were recovered from the mass grave in 1910 and transferred to a tomb in the Santa Ifigenia cemetery.

Céspedes is popularly referred to as the father of the fatherland because, when his son was captured by Spanish soldiers, he decided not to stop the fight and exchange his son, with the words: "All Cubans are my sons". His son was then killed by the Spaniards.

His portrait is depicted on the CUP 100 banknote, his monument in Havana on the CUC 100 banknote.

personal data
SURNAME	Céspedes, Carlos Manuel de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Céspedes y López del Castillo, Carlos Manuel de (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Cuban freedom fighter, founder of the Cuban nation
DATE OF BIRTH	April 18, 1819
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bayamo , Cuba
DATE OF DEATH	February 27, 1874
Place of death	San Lorenzo , Cuba