CESPEDES, CARLOS MANUEL DE

born April 18, 1819, Bayamo, Cuba died March 22?, 1874, San Lorenzo in full Carlos Manuel De Cspedes Y Borja Del Castillo Cuban revolutionary hero. Although his revolution failed, Cspedes started the Ten Years War, which ultimately led to Cuban independence. Cspedes was born into a prominent plantation family who had been granted their Cuban estate in 1517. After receiving his baccalaureate from Havana (1840), Cspedes completed his law studies in Spain. While in Spain he took part (1843) in the revolution led by Juan Prim, for which he was exiled to France. Upon his return to Cuba, Cspedes started a law practice, wrote poems and pamphlets, and secretly organized an independence movement. By 1868 Cspedes was made chief of the revolutionary movement in the Oriente region, and on Oct. 10, 1868, Cspedes, at the head of only 147 poorly armed men, proclaimed independence for Cuba in the Grito de Yara (Cry of Yara). The insurrection gained momentum and, by the end of the month, had 12,000 volunteers and scored some stunning military successes. Cspedes, who favoured the gradual emancipation of the slaves, allowed them to join the rebel army only with their owners' permission. The slaves were emancipated by a new constitution adopted in April 1869, the same month that Cspedes was elected president by the revolutionary government. Spanish troops poured into Cuba, and the earlier victories were followed by defeats and retreats. Cspedes' government lost prestige, and his ambivalent stand on slavery angered both conservatives and liberals. A Cuban tribunal deposed him in absentia (1873), and Cspedes was forced into hiding; he was finally discovered and shot by Spanish soldiers.