Reviews
"[A] unique and clearly delineated look at the Cuban independence struggles from the perspective of all three major players: Spain, Cuba, and the United States. . . . [T]he book offers a clear timeline of the events leading to the Cuban-Spanish-American war from each national perspective. . . . [F[ans of military history will appreciate the attention Villafaa pays in each chapter to the maneuvers of Spanish, Cuban, and US forces, particularly in the last section, detailing the "Battles in Cuban Territory". . . . [T]his book offers inquiries into some very knotty issues of sovereignty and historical contingency." --Elizabeth S. Manley, The Historian "Expansionism is a book that is excellent for the understanding of Cuban history, and at the same time, a volume that should be required reading for every American student of US history. Because of its geographic position as the "key to the Gulf of Mexico," Cuba became a strategic territory for all European powers, and eventually to the United States. . . . Any European power hostile to the United States could have utilized Cuba as a platform to invade the young republic. . . . This risk augmented the imperial appetite of the United States: gaining control of Cuba, either through pacific means, or by force, became a strategic objective. Sixty years after Cuba's independence . . . the USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba to threaten the United States, taking advantage of Cuba's proximity to the enemy during the Cold War. Geography continued determining Cuba's destiny and its relations with its powerful neighbor." --Carlos Alberto Montaner, author and international syndicated columnist "Frank Villafaa tackles a subject that has always been an irritant in the relations between Cuba and the United States, and not just between Revolutionary Cuba and the United States, since this thorn goes back much further in history. It has to do with the role that Cubans played in the Spanish-American War, and how the United States treated the Cuban insurgents and reluctantly handed Cuba its independence. Are there lessons to be learned from these nineteenth-century episodes in the dawn of the twenty-first century? Absolutely! As we engage in wars and occupations in Afghanistan, Iraq and now, Libya, it advocates for a much more enlightened view in our relationships with the armies and fighting men of these other nations. Let us not misconstrue the worth and value of our allied armies simply because they may be of different cultures, races, religions, and ethnic stock. I encourage anyone who is interested in Cuban history, or in insurgency and post-insurgency policies for that matter, to read this book." --Ramon C. Barquin, president, Barquin International "Frank Villafaa has written the missing chapter of nineteenth-century Cuban history. Thoroughly researched and documented, presented in a clear, lucid prose, it should be required reading for anyone, including Cuban-Americans, interested in a full comprehension of an epic chapter in Cuban history." --Armando I. Gonzlez, columnist, El Nuevo Herald "An intelligent and well-written text that examines the dynamics between the history of Cuba's independence and American expansionism. It is a wonderful and broad overview of some historical events that left an everlasting imprint on the way that Cubans and Americans related from the nineteenth century to the present." --Javier Figueroa, department of history, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras "A scholarly, yet thorough and readable, analysis of a fascinating era in US-Spanish-Cuban relations." --Jaime Suchlicki, department of history, University of Miami
Synopsis
Starting in the early part of the nineteenth century, American administrations expressed a desire to own Cuba, Starting in the early part of the nineteenth century, American administrations expressed a desire to own Cuba. A rationale for adding Cuba to the territory of the United States could be built on Cuba's sugar and tobacco industries, as well as Cuba's mineral deposits. But economics was not the primary motivation. American presidents knew that in the event of war, any nation occupying Cuba would have an advantage over the US military strategies; this fear, coupled with the economic benefit, explains a century of policy decisions. As Frank R. Villafana shows, Cubans were not sitting idle, waiting for outsiders to liberate them from Spanish oppression. A major part of this research is devoted to studying Cuban efforts to liberate their island from prolonged Spanish domination. Cuba had been struggling for independence from Spain since the 1830s, followed by the Ten Year War. During the 1895-1898 War of Independence, Cuba came close to defeating Spain, but a merciless Spanish military effort converted Cuba into a series of concentration camps. Spain surrendered after its naval defeats by the US at Manila Bay and Santiago de Cuba, following a failed ground campaign in eastern Cuba. After the US occupied Cuba militarily, American political leaders realized only a small minority of Cubans supported annexation, and the Platt Amendment was developed as a substitute. Today, most Cubans agree that independence, even constrained by the United States, was better than enslavement by the Castro brothers. However, as Villafana emphasizes, Cubans living in Cuba as well as abroad still seek a land free and independent of foreign threat and domestic tyrants.
