The Little War or Small War ( es, Guerra Chiquita) was the second of three conflicts between

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n rebels and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It started on 26 August 1879 and after some minor successes ended in rebel defeat in September 1880. It followed the

Ten Years' War The Ten Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Diez Años; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. O ...

of 1868–78 and preceded the final war of 1895–98, which resulted in American intervention and Cuban independence.

Origins

The war had the same origins as the

, and in many ways, it was a continuation of it. Following his release after the

Pact of Zanjón The Pact of Zanjón ended the armed struggle of Cubans for independence from the Spanish Empire that lasted from 1868 to 1878, the Ten Years' War. On February 10, 1878, a group of negotiators representing the rebels gathered in Zanjón, a village ...

Calixto Garcia Calixto is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Calixto Bieito (born 1963), Spanish theater director known for "radical" interpretations of classic operas *Benedito Calixto (1853–1927), Brazilian painter *Renato Ribeiro Calixto (b ...

travelled to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and organized the Cuban Revolutionary Committee with other revolutionaries. In 1878, he issued a manifesto against

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

rule of Cuba. This met with approval amongst other revolutionary leaders, and war began on August 26, 1879.

The war

The revolution was led by

Calixto García Calixto García Íñiguez (August 4, 1839 – December 11, 1898) was a Cuban general in three Cuban uprisings, part of the Cuban War for Independence: the Ten Years' War, the Little War, and the War of 1895, itself sometimes called the Cuban ...

, having been one of the few revolutionary leaders who did not sign the Pact of Zanjón. Among the other prominent leaders were José Maceo (the brother of Antonio Maceo),

Guillermo Moncada Guillermo Moncada (nicknamed "Guillermón" since his childhood, due to his large size) was one of 29 Cuban generals in the Cuban War of Independence. He was born in Santiago, Cuba, on June 25, 1841. A former carpenter, he later became a black fo ...

Emilio Núñez Emilio Núñez (born Juan Emilio de la Caridad Núñez y Rodriguez on 27 December 1855 in Esperanza, Las Villas, Cuba – 5 May 1922 in Havana, Cuba) was a Cuban-American soldier, dentist, and politician.Marquez Sterling, Carlos & Manuel; ''Histo ...

. The revolutionaries faced many problems which were difficult to overcome. They lacked experienced leaders other than García, and they had a dire shortage of weapons and ammunition. Further, they had no foreign allies to help them, and the population was both exhausted from the Ten Years' War and lacked faith in the possibility of victory, desiring peace instead. In the west of the island, most of the revolutionary leaders were arrested. The rest of the leaders were forced to capitulate throughout 1879 and 1880, and by September 1880, the rebels had been completely defeated.

Aftermath

Although the Spanish had made promises of reform, they were ineffective. The

Spanish Constitution of 1876 The Spanish Constitution of 1876 ( es, Constitución Española), was the constitution enacted after the restoration of the Spanish monarchy. The constitution was a conservative text, It came into effect on 30 June 1876. It remained in force u ...

was applied to Cuba in 1881, but this changed little. Although Cuba was able to send representatives to the

Cortes Generales The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meet ...

, the Spanish parliament, in practice the representatives were among the most conservative in Cuba, and thus little was changed. The lack of any true reform resulted in another uprising 15 years later, the Cuban War of Independence, which came to be known as the ''War of '95''. The experience gained by the revolutionary generals in the Little War was a great help to them, and following the War of '95 and the linked

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, Cuba gained independence from Spain.

References

{{Authority control Conflicts in 1879 Conflicts in 1880 Rebellions against the Spanish Empire Spanish colonial period of Cuba Wars involving Cuba Wars involving Spain 1879 in Cuba 1880 in Cuba Spanish American wars of independence Spanish–American War

Origins

The war

Aftermath

See also

References