Antonio Maceo Born in Santiago de Cuba

Summary

Antonio Maceo was born on June 14, 1845, in the Santiago de Cuba region of Spanish colonial Cuba. Born free into a family of color, he joined the independence struggle that began with the Ten Years’ War in 1868 and rose from the ranks to become one of the most important commanders in the Cuban insurgent forces. In 1878, Maceo became closely associated with the Protest of Baraguá, rejecting a settlement that ended the war without Cuban independence and without fully resolving slavery. After periods of exile, he returned to Cuba during the renewed war for independence in 1895. Working with other revolutionary leaders, he helped carry the military campaign westward across the island. Maceo was killed in battle in December 1896. His career connected the military struggle against Spanish colonial rule with broader questions of independence, race, citizenship, and the abolition of slavery in nineteenth-century Cuba.