Cuba 1895, La partida: episodes prior to the final disaster
The 130th anniversary of the painful loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines is approaching, a tragic end to an empire that once ruled much of the world.
This collapse caused, in addition to a tremendous economic impact, a profound moral, political and social crisis that marked the entire history of Spain during the 20th century and whose political consequences are still felt today. Despite the decades that have passed since 1898, the wound of Cuba remains a painful memory in the Hispanic spirit. The war for independence particularly affected many families who saw their sons leave for that conflict.
The book Cuba 1895, La partida (270 pages), written by geopolitics and security expert Lucas Martín Serrano, recovers the memory of the Spaniards who, whether voluntarily or by force, gave their youth, health and lives in the so-called Pearl of the Antilles.
The context of the war of independence
The definitive war for Cuba's independence broke out in February 1895, after two previous attempts: the Ten Years' War (1868-1878) and the Little War (1879-1880). Both conflicts ended with peace treaties that did not meet the expectations of the mambises (Cuban guerrillas), especially in terms of tax reduction and freedom to associate and trade, particularly with the prosperous United States.
The United States' growing interest in the islands near its territory prompted decisive support with weapons and troops, using the self-inflicted attack on the battleship Maine as justification for declaring war on Spain.
The story of Lieutenant Andrade
Lucas Martín assumes that the reader is familiar with the major events of this conflict and the Spanish defeat that marked the end of a 500-year empire. His book is a historical novel centred on the real figure of Lieutenant José Andrade Chinchilla, an infantry officer from Malaga who participated in the conflict until the end.
The narrative follows Andrade's trail to show the harshness of the conflict: the fear, suffering and death, but also the courage and dedication of young people who left their homes to fight in a war they did not even fully understand.
A human look at war
The author treats the Cubans who fought with determination for their independence with respect. That is why there is no story of heroes and villains. Despite the prejudices derived from the “black legend”, Cubans, like other inhabitants of Hispanic America, were also part of Spain from the other hemisphere.
The novel describes everyday life in Cuba, where many people were not even aware of the war that was being waged. However, the soldiers, mostly newly recruited teenagers, faced cruel and violent hand-to-hand combat, using bayonets against Cuban rifles and machetes.
Each of these young men developed a personal reflection on the reason for their presence there. One testimony stands out, taken from Lieutenant Andrade's interrogation of a deserter who had been presumed dead but was captured travelling on a ship bound for the peninsula.
The deserter confessed: "As soon as he began to speak, he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from him. He began by recounting the pain and worry of leaving his sick mother in Spain. The anger he felt when he saw that some of the wealthier people in the village were able to avoid being called up. How only the sons of farm labourers and those who had barely enough to survive had to leave their land, their homes and their lives to go and fight in a place they could not even imagine where it was. And all this regardless of how much they were needed in their homes."
Many of those who were required to work were the breadwinners for entire families, but they had to leave, leaving their loved ones in a precarious situation. This man, fatherless and with an elderly and sick mother, knew that if he did not take care of the small plot of land that sustained them, she would end up depending on charity. An already difficult life became a torment for those who left with that burden and for those who remained with the fear of never seeing their loved ones again.
This work is not lenient with Spain, but it highlights the epic nature of the selfless dedication of those young people to their homeland, even when politicians provided scarce resources to sustain the empire in its final moments. An intense and emotional read, Lucas Martín's third book, following his previous geopolitical analyses ‘Visión Global’ and ‘Terror Global’, rescues from oblivion the memory of those who did not deserve to be forgotten.