Pedro de Céspedes was a Cuban revolutionary and landowner who was executed in the

Virginius Affair The ''Virginius'' Affair was a diplomatic dispute that occurred from October 1873 to February 1875 between the United States, Great Britain, and Spain (then in control of Cuba) during the Ten Years' War. ''Virginius'' was a fast American ship h ...

during the

Ten Years' War The Ten Years' War (; 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. On 10 October 1868, sugar mil ...

Early life

Pedro de Céspedes y del Castillo was born in

Bayamo Bayamo is the capital city of the Granma Province of Cuba and one of the largest cities in the Oriente region. Overview The community of Bayamo lies on a plain by the Bayamo River. It is affected by the violent Bayamo wind. One of the mos ...

Oriente Province Oriente (, "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country, which currently is divided into five different provinces. The origins of Oriente lie in the 1607 di ...

Spanish Cuba The Captaincy General of Cuba () was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire created in 1607 as part of Habsburg Spain's attempt to better defend and administer its Caribbean possessions. The reform also established captaincies general ...

on January 31, 1825. He was a member of a prominent Cuban family and the younger brother of the first President of the Republic of Cuba in Arms

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Carlos Manuel de Céspedes del Castillo (18 April 1819, Bayamo, Spanish Cuba – 27 February 1874, San Lorenzo, Spanish Cuba) was a Cuban revolutionary hero and First President of Cuba in Arms in 1868. Cespedes, who was a plantation owne ...

. Pedro de Céspedes was educated in the Bayamo region in Eastern Cuba. In the 1860s, he became a member of the

Masonic Order Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

of Buena Fe of Manzanillo.

Ten Years' War

He backed the revolutionary cause led by his brother to achieve Cuban independence from Spanish colonial rule. His brother Carlos coordinated meetings with various groups to plan an

insurrection Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

against the Spanish government. Amid the earlier-than-expected start of the

, Pedro de Céspedes signed 'El Acta de Independencia' in Oriente on October 10, 1868, with 15 other signatories, including his brother and

Bartolomé Masó Bartolomé de Jesús Masó Márquez (21 December 1830 in Yara – 14 June 1907 in Manzanillo) was a Cuban politician and military patriot for Cuban independence from the colonial power of Spain, and later President of the '' República en ...

. In April 1869, Pedro's brother was elected as the first President of the Republic of Cuba in Arms in

Guáimaro Guáimaro is a town and municipality in the southern part of Camagüey Province in Cuba. It is located between the cities of Camagüey and Las Tunas (city), Las Tunas. History Guáimaro features prominently in Cuban history as the place where in 1 ...

. In 1872, Céspedes left the Island of Cuba with his family in a canoe, relocating to

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

. By late October 1873, his older sibling Carlos Manuel was

deposed Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch.
ORB: The Online Reference for Medie ...

as president in Cuba.

The Virginius Expedition

On what would be his last journey to his homeland, Pedro de Céspedes was involved in the ''Virginius'' Affair.House Documents, Otherwise Publ. as Executive Documents: 13th Congress, 2d Session-49th Congress, 1st Session. (1874). United States: (n.p.). Meeting the ill-fated steamer at the port of Kingston, he boarded as a non-combatant to head back to Cuba. On October 31, 1873, the ''Virginius'' was intercepted near Jamaica by the Spanish cruiser ''Tornado'' who was alerted of the American

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...

. The list of captives included Céspedes,

Bernabé Varona Bernabé Varona (1845November 4, 1873), also known as Bembetta, was a Cuban revolutionary and mambí General who was executed during the Ten Years' War in 1873. Early life Bernabé Varona y Borrero was born in the district of Puerto Príncipe (n ...

Jesús del Sol Jesús del Sol (1835 - November 4, 1873) was a Cuban statesman and high-ranking Cuban military figure who was executed in the Virginius Affair during the Ten Years' War. Early life Jesús del Sol was born in Cienfuegos, Las Villas in Cuba in 1835 ...

, William A.C. Ryan, and Joseph Fry, the steamer's captain. On November 2, 1873, a

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

aboard the ''Tornado'' led to the trial and conviction of the men for

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

Death

On November 4, 1873, in

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

, Pedro de Céspedes and three others faced

execution by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French , rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually rea ...

, ordered by

Juan Nepomuceno Burriel Juan N. Burriel (December 13, 1823December 24, 1877) was a Spanish army general who served in the Second Carlist War, Spanish-Moroccan War, and Ten Years' War. Early life Juan Nepomuceno Burriel y Linch was born in the Spanish province of Cádiz ...

. While kneeling alongside Jesús del Sol, he was shot in the back. His final resting place was the city of Santiago de Cuba's

Santa Ifigenia Cemetery The Santa Ifigênia Cemetery, officially Santa Ifigênia Patrimonial Cemetery (), is the cemetery, necropolis and main pantheon of the Cuban Oriente and the city of Santiago de Cuba. It is located west of the city, more specifically in the Jos ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Cespedes, Pedro 1825 births 1873 deaths People from Bayamo Cuban independence activists People of the Ten Years' War People executed by firing squad People executed by Spain by firing squad