title: History of Croatia

text: In July 1664, a large Ottoman army besieged and destroyed Novi Zrin. As this army marched on Austrian lands, its campaign ended at the Battle of St. Gotthard, where it was destroyed by the Habsburg imperial army. Given this victory, Croatians expected a decisive Habsburg counter-offensive to push the Ottomans back and relieve pressure on Croatian lands, but Leopold decided to conclude the unfavorable Vasvar peace treaty with the Ottomans because it solved problems he had on the Rhine with the French at the time. In Croatia, his decision caused outrage among leading nobles and sparked a conspiracy to replace the Habsburgs with different rulers. After Nikola Zrinski died under unusual circumstances while hunting, his relatives Fran Krsto Frankopan and Petar Zrinski supported the conspiracy.


title: History of Croatia

text: The conspirators established contact with the French, Venetians, Poles, and eventually even the Ottomans, only to be discovered by Habsburg spies at the Ottoman court who served as the sultan's translators. The conspirators were invited to reconcile with the emperor, to which they agreed. However, when they came to Austria, they were charged with high treason and sentenced to death. They were executed in Wiener Neustadt in April 1671. Their families, whose history was intertwined with centuries of Croatian history, were subsequently eradicated by imperial authorities, and all of their possessions were confiscated.


title: History of Croatia

text: Despite the decline of Ottoman might in the 17th century, the Ottoman high command decided to attack the Habsburg capital of Vienna in 1683, as the Vasvár peace treaty was about to expire. Their attack, however, ended in disaster, and the Ottomans were ultimately routed near Vienna by joint Christian armies defending the city. Soon thereafter, the Holy League was formed and the Great Turkish War was launched. In the Croatian theater of operations, several commanders distinguished themselves, including friar Luka Ibrišimović, whose rebels defeated the Ottomans in Požega, and Marko Mesić, who led the anti-Ottoman uprising in Lika. Hajduk leader Stojan Janković distinguished himself by leading troops in Dalmatia. Croatian Ban Nikola (Miklos) Erdody led his troops in battles for Virovitica, which was liberated from the Ottomans in 1684. Osijek was liberated by 1687, Kostajnica was liberated by 1688, and Slavonski Brod was liberated by 1691. A siege of Bihać was also attempted in 1687 but was called off due to lack a of cannons. In the same year, general Eugene of Savoy led a 6500-strong army from Osijek into Bosnia, where he raided the seat of Bosnia Eyalet, Sarajevo, burning it to the ground. After this raid, large groups of Christian refugees from Bosnia settled in what was then an almost empty Slavonia. After the decisive Ottoman defeat in the Battle of Zenta in 1697 by the forces of Eugene of Savoy, the Peace of Karlowitz was signed in 1699, confirming the liberation of all of Slavonia from the Ottomans. For Croatia, nonetheless, large chunks of its late medieval territories between the rivers Una and Vrbas were lost, as they remained part of the Ottoman Bosnia Eyalet. In the following years, the use of the German language spread in the new military borderland and proliferated over the next two centuries as German-speaking colonists settled in the borderlands.


title: History of Croatia

text: By the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire had been driven out of Hungary, and Austria brought the empire under central control. Since the emperor Charles VI had no male heirs, he wanted to leave the imperial throne to his daughter Maria Theresa of Austria, which eventually led to the War of Austrian Succession of 1741–1748. The Croatian Parliament decided to accept Maria Theresa as a legitimate ruler by drafting the Pragmatic Sanction of 1712, asking in return that whoever inherited the throne recognize and respect Croatian autonomy from Hungary. The king unwillingly granted this. The rule of Maria Theresa brought limited modernization in education and health care. Croatian Royal Council ("Consilium Regni Croatiae"), which served as the de facto Croatian government, was founded in Varaždin in 1767, but it was abolished in 1779 and its authority was passed to Hungary. The foundation of the Croatian Royal Council in Varaždin made this town the administrative capital of Croatia, however, a large fire in 1776 caused significant damage to the city, so these major Croatian administrative institutions moved to Zagreb.


title: History of Croatia

text: Maria Theresa's heir, Joseph II of Austria, also ruled in an enlightened absolutist manner, but his reforms were marked by attempts at centralization and Germanization. In this period, roads were built connecting Karlovac with Rijeka, and Jozefina connecting Karlovac with Senj. With the Treaty of Sistova, which ended the Austro-Turkish War (1788-1791), the Ottoman-held areas of Donji Lapac and Cetingrad, along with the villages of Drežnik Grad and Jasenovac, were ceded to the Habsburg monarchy and incorporated into the Croatian Military Frontier.


title: History of Croatia

text: As Napoleon's armies started to dominate Europe, Croatian lands came into contact with the French as well. When Napoleon abolished the Republic of Venice in 1797, former Venetian possessions in Dalmatia came under Habsburg rule. In 1809, as Napoleon defeated the Austrians in the Battle of Wagram, French-controlled territory eventually expanded to the Sava river. The French founded the "Illyrian Provinces" centered in Ljubljana and appointed Marshal Auguste de Marmont as their governor-general. The French presence brought the liberal ideas of the French Revolution to the Croats. The French founded Masonic lodges, built infrastructure, and printed the first newspapers in the local language in Dalmatia. Called "Kraglski Datmatin/Il Regio Dalmata", it was printed in both Italian and Croatian. Croatian soldiers accompanied Napoleon in his conquests as far as Russia. In 1808, Napoleon abolished the Republic of Ragusa. Ottomans from Bosnia raided French Croatia and occupied the area of Cetingrad in 1809. Auguste de Marmont reacted by occupying Bihać on 5 May 1810. After the Ottomans promised to stop raiding French territories and withdraw from the Cetingrad, he withdrew from Bihać.


title: History of Croatia

text: Under the influence of German romanticism, French political thought and pan-Slavism, Croatian romantic nationalism emerged in the mid-19th century to counteract the Germanization and Magyarization of Croatia. Ljudevit Gaj emerged as a leader of the Croatian national movement. One of the important issues to be resolved was the question of language, where regional Croatian dialects had to be standardized. Since the Shtokavian dialect, widespread among Croats, was also common with Serbs, this movement likewise had a South-Slavic characteristic. At the time, "Croatian" only referred to the population in southwestern parts of what is today Croatia, while "Illyrian" was used throughout the south-Slavic world; wider masses of people were attempted to attract by using the Illyrian name. Illyrian activists chose the Shtokavian dialect over Kajkavian as the standardized version of Croatian language. The Illyrian movement was not accepted by the Serbs or the Slovenes, and it remained strictly a Croatian national movement. In 1832, Croatian count Janko Drašković wrote a manifesto of Croatian national revival called "Disertacija" ("Dissertation"). The manifesto called for the unification of Croatia with Slavonia, Dalmatia, Rijeka, the Military Frontier, Bosnia, and Slovene lands into a single unit inside the Hungarian part of the Austrian Empire. This unit would have Croatian as the official language and would be governed by Ban. The movement spread throughout Dalmatia, Istria and among Bosnian Francisian monks. It resulted in the emergence of the modern Croatian nation and eventually the formation of the first Croatian political parties. After the usage, the Illyrian name was banned in 1843; the proponents of Illyrianism changed their name to Croatian.


title: History of Croatia

text: On 2 May 1843, Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski held the first speech on Croatian language in the Croatian Sabor, requesting that the Croatian language be made the official language in public institutions. At this point, this was a significant step, because Latin was still in use in public institutions in Croatia. In the Sabor in 1847 Croatian was proclaimed as an official language in Croatia.


title: History of Croatia

text: In the Revolutions of 1848, the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia, driven by fear of Magyar nationalism, supported the Habsburg court against Hungarian revolutionary forces.


title: History of Croatia

text: During a session of the Croatian Sabor held on 25 March 1848, colonel Josip Jelačić was elected as Ban of Croatia and a petition called "Demands of The People" ("Zahtjevanja naroda") was drafted to be handed over to the Austrian Emperor. These liberal demands asked for: independence, unification of Croatian lands, a Croatian government responsible to the Croatian parliament and independent from Hungary, financial independence from Hungary, the introduction of the Croatian language in offices and schools, freedom of the press, religious freedom, abolishment of serfdom, abolishment of nobility privileges, the foundation of a people's army, and equality before the law.


title: History of Croatia

text: As the Hungarian government denied the existence of the Croatian name and nationhood and treated Croatian institutions like provincial authorities, Jelačić severed ties between Croatia and Hungary. In May 1848, Ban's Council was formed which had all the executive powers of the Croatian government. The Croatian parliament abolished feudalism, serfdom and demanded that the Monarchy become a constitutional federal state of equal nations with independent national governments and one federal parliament in the capital of Vienna. The Croatian parliament also demanded the unification of the Military Frontier and Dalmatia with Croatia proper. Sabor also asked for an undefined alliance with Istria, Slovene lands and parts of southern Hungary inhabited with Croats and Serbs. Jelačić was also appointed the governor of Rijeka and Dalmatia as well as the "Imperial Commander of Military Frontier", thus having most of the Croatian lands under his rule. The breakdown of negotiations between Croats and the Hungarians eventually led to war. Jelačić declared war on Hungary on 7 September 1848. On 11 September 1848, the Croatian army crossed the Drava river and annexed Međimurje. Upon crossing Drava, Jelačić ordered his army to switch Croatian national flags with Habsburg Imperial flags.


title: History of Croatia

text: Despite the contributions of its Ban Josip Jelačić in quenching the Hungarian war of independence, in the aftermath, Croatia was not treated any more favorably by Vienna than the Hungarians and therefore lost its domestic autonomy.


title: History of Croatia

text: The dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary was created in 1867 through the Austro-Hungarian Compromise. Croatian autonomy was restored in 1868 with the Croatian–Hungarian Settlement, which was comparatively favorable for the Croatians, but still problematic because of issues such as the unresolved status of Rijeka. In 1873, the territory of Military Frontier was demilitarized and in July 1871 a decision was made to incorporate it into Croatia with Croatian ban Ladislav Pejačević taking over the authority. Pejačević's successor Károly Khuen-Héderváry caused further problems by violating the Croatian-Hungarian Settlement through his hardline Magyarization policies in period from 1883 to 1903. Héderváry's magyarization of Croatia led to massive riots in 1903, when Croatian protesters burnt Hungarian flags and clashed with the gendarmes and the military, resulting in the death of several protesters. As a consequence of these riots, Héderváry left his position as Ban of Croatia, but was appointed prime minister of Hungary.


title: History of Croatia

text: A year earlier, in 1902, "Srbobran", the newspaper of Zagreb Serbs, published an article titled "Do istrage naše ili vaše" (Until us, or you get exterminated). The article was filled with Greater Serbian ideology; its text denied the existence of the Croatian nation and the Croatian language and announced Serbian victory over "servile Croats", who would, the article proclaimed, be exterminated.


title: History of Croatia

text: The article sparked major anti-Serb riots in Zagreb, in which barricades were raised and Serb-owned properties were attacked. Serbs of Zagreb eventually distanced themselves from the opinions published in the article.


title: History of Croatia

text: World War I brought an end to the Dual Monarchy. Croatia suffered a great loss of life in World War I. Late in the war, there were proposals to transform the dualist monarchy into a federalist one, with a separate Croatian/South Slavic section, however, these plans were never carried out, due to Woodrow Wilson's announcement of a policy of self-determination for peoples of Austria-Hungary.


title: History of Croatia

text: Shortly before the end of the war in 1918, the Croatian Parliament severed relations with Austria-Hungary after receiving the news that the Czechoslovak parts had also separated from Austria-Hungary. The Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia became a part of the newly created provisional State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. This internationally unrecognized state was composed of all of the South Slavic territories of the old Austro-Hungarian Monarchy with a transitional government located in Zagreb. Its biggest issue, however, was the advancing Italian army that sought to capture the Croatian Adriatic territories promised to them by the Treaty of London in 1915. A solution was sought through unification with the Kingdom of Serbia, which had an army capable of confronting the Italians as well as the international legitimacy among the members of the Entente Cordiale, which was about to carve new European borders at the Paris Peace Conference.


title: History of Croatia

text: A new state was created in late 1918. Srijem left Croatia-Slavonia and joined Serbia together with Vojvodina, shortly followed by a referendum to join Bosnia and Herzegovina to Serbia. The People's Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ("Narodno vijeće"), guided by what was by that time a half-century-long tradition of pan-Slavism and without the sanction of the Croatian Sabor, merged with the Kingdom of Serbia into the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.


title: History of Croatia

text: An Italian army eventually took Istria, started to annex the Adriatic islands one by one, and even landed in Zadar. A partial resolution to the so-called Adriatic Question came in 1920 with the Treaty of Rapallo.


title: History of Croatia

text: The Kingdom underwent a crucial change in 1921 to the dismay of Croatia's largest political party, the Croatian Peasant Party ("Hrvatska seljačka stranka"). The new constitution abolished historical/political entities, including Croatia and Slavonia, centralizing authority in the capital of Belgrade. The Croatian Peasant Party boycotted the government of the Serbian People's Radical Party throughout the period, except for a brief interlude between 1925 and 1927, when external Italian expansionism was at hand with her allies, Albania, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, threatening Yugoslavia as a whole. Two differing concepts of how the new common state should be governed became the main source of conflict between Croatian elites led by the Croatian Peasant Party and Serbian elites. Leading Croatian politicians sought a federalized new state in which Croats would have certain autonomy (similar to what they had before in Austria-Hungary), while Serb-centered parties advocated unitarist policies, centralization, and assimilation. The new country's military was also a predominately Serbian institution; by 1938 only about 10% of all Army officers were Croats. The new school system was Serb-centered with Croatian teachers being either retired, purged, or transferred. Serbs were also posted as high state officials. The replacement of old Austro-Hungarian Krones was conducted through an unfair rate of four Krones for one Serbian Dinar.


title: History of Croatia

text: In the early 1920s, the Yugoslav government of Serbian prime minister Nikola Pašić used police pressure on voters and ethnic minorities, confiscation of opposition pamphlets, and election-rigging to keep the opposition, mainly the Croatian Peasant Party and its allies, in the minority in the Yugoslav parliament. Pašić believed that Yugoslavia should be as centralized as possible, creating a Greater Serbian national concept of concentrated power in the hands of Belgrade in place of distinct regional governments and identities.


title: History of Croatia

text: During a Parliament session in 1928, Puniša Račić, a deputy of the Serbian Radical People's Party, shot at Croatian deputies, resulting in the killing of Pavle Radić and Đuro Basariček and the wounding of Ivan Pernar and Ivan Granđa. Stjepan Radić, a Croatian political champion at the time, was wounded and later succumbed to his wounds. These multiple murders caused the outrage of the Croatian population and ignited violent demonstrations, strikes, and armed conflicts throughout Croatian parts of the country. The Greater Serbian-influenced Royal Yugoslav Court even considered "amputation" of Croatian parts of the country, while leaving Yugoslavia only inside Greater Serbian borders, however, Croatian Peasant Party leadership rejected this idea. While Račić was subsequently tried for multiple murders, he served his sentence in a luxurious villa in Požarevac, where he had several servants at his disposal and was allowed to leave and return at any time.


title: History of Croatia

text: In response to the shooting at the National Assembly, King Aleksandar abolished the parliamentary system and proclaimed personal dictatorship. He imposed a new constitution aimed at removing all existing national identities and imposing "integral Yugoslavism". He also renamed the country from the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The territory of Croatia was largely divided into the territories of the Sava and Littoral Banates. Political parties were banned and the royal dictatorship took on an increasingly harsh character. Vladko Maček, who had succeeded Radić as leader of the Croatian Peasant Party, the largest political party in Croatia, was imprisoned. This new situation inspired Ante Pavelić to leave Yugoslavia and create the Ustaše Movement, with the ultimate goal of destroying Yugoslavia and making Croatia an independent country. According to the British historian Misha Glenny, the murder in March 1929 of Toni Schlegel, editor of the pro-Yugoslavian newspaper "Novosti", brought a "furious response" from the regime. In Lika and west Herzegovina in particular, described as "hotbeds of Croatian separatism", Glenny wrote that the majority-Serb police acted "with no restraining authority whatsoever". In the words of a prominent Croatian writer, Schlegel's death became the pretext for terror in all forms. Politics was soon "indistinguishable from gangsterism". In 1931, the royal regime organized the assassination of Croatian scientist and intellectual Milan Šufflay on the streets of Zagreb. The assassination was condemned by globally renowned intellectuals such as Albert Einstein and Heinrich Mann. In 1932, the Ustaše Movement made an unsuccessful attempt to spark the Velebit uprising in Lika. Despite the oppressive climate, few rallied to the Ustaša cause and the movement was never able to gain serious support among the Croatian population.


title: History of Croatia

text: In 1934, King Aleksandar was assassinated during a state visit to Marseille by a coalition of the Ustaše and the Bulgarian Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), thus ending the Royal dictatorship. The government of Serbian Radical Milan Stojadinović, which took power in 1935, distanced Yugoslavia from its former allies of France and the United Kingdom and moved the country closer to Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. In 1937 Yugoslav gendarmes led by Radical Party member Jovo Koprivica killed dozen of youth members of the Croatian Peasant Party in Senj, because they sang Croatian patriotic songs. With the rise of Nazis in Germany and the looming possibility of another European war, Serbian political elites decided that it was time to fix relations with the Croats, the second largest ethnic group in the country, so that in the event of a new war the country would be united and without ethnic divisions. Negotiations started, resulting in the Cvetković–Maček Agreement and the creation of Banovina of Croatia, an autonomous Croatian province inside Yugoslavia. Banovina of Croatia was created in 1939 out of the two Banates, as well as parts of the Zeta, Vrbas, Drina, and Danube Banates. It had a reconstructed Croatian Parliament which would choose a Croatian Ban and Viceban. This Croatia included a part of Bosnia, most of Herzegovina, and the city of Dubrovnik and the surroundings.


title: History of Croatia

text: The Axis occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941 allowed the Croatian radical right Ustaše to come into power, forming the "Independent State of Croatia" ("Nezavisna Država Hrvatska", NDH), led by Ante Pavelić, who assumed the role of "Poglavnik". Following the pattern of other fascist regimes in Europe, the Ustaše enacted racial laws and formed eight concentration camps targeting minority Serbs, Romas, and Jewish populations, as well as Croatian and Bosnian Muslim opponents of the regime. The biggest concentration camp was Jasenovac in Croatia. The NDH had a program, formulated by Mile Budak, to purge Croatia of Serbs, by "killing one third, expelling the other third and assimilating the remaining third". The main targets for persecution were the Serbs, of whom approximately 330,000 were killed.


title: History of Croatia

text: Various Serbian nationalist Chetnik groups also committed atrocities against Croats across many areas of Lika and parts of northern Dalmatia. During World War II in Yugoslavia, the Chetniks killed an estimated 18,000-32,000 Croats.


title: History of Croatia

text: The anti-fascist communist-led Partisan movement, based on a pan-Yugoslav ideology, emerged in early 1941 under the command of Croatian-born Josip Broz Tito, and spread quickly into many parts of Yugoslavia. The 1st Sisak Partisan Detachment, often hailed as the first armed anti-fascist resistance unit in occupied Europe, was formed in Croatia, in the Brezovica Forest near the town of Sisak. As the movement began to gain popularity, the Partisans gained strength from Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs, Slovenes, and Macedonians who believed in a unified, but federal, Yugoslav state.


title: History of Croatia

text: By 1943, the Partisan resistance movement had gained the upper hand and in 1945, with help from the Soviet Red Army (passing only through small parts such as Vojvodina), expelled the Axis forces and local supporters. The State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia (ZAVNOH) functioned since 1942 and formed an interim civil government by 1943. NDH's ministers of War and Internal Security Mladen Lorković and Ante Vokić tried to switch to the Allied side. Pavelić was, in the beginning, supporting them but when he found that he would need to leave his position he imprisoned them in Lepoglava prison where they were executed.


title: History of Croatia

text: Following the defeat of the Independent State of Croatia at the end of the war, a large number of Ustaše, civilians supporting them (ranging from sympathizers, young conscripts, anti-communists, and ordinary serfs who were motivated by Partisan atrocities), Chetniks and anti-Communists attempted to flee in the direction of Austria, hoping to surrender to British forces and to be given refuge. Following the Bleiburg repatriations, they were instead interned by British forces, and returned to the Partisans where they were subject to mass executions.


title: History of Croatia

text: Croatia was one of six constituent socialist republics of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia. Under the new communist system, privately-owned factories and estates were nationalized, and the economy was based on a type of planned market socialism. The country underwent a rebuilding process, recovered from World War II, went through industrialization, and started developing tourism.


title: History of Croatia

text: The country's socialist system also provided free apartments from large companies, which with the workers' self-management investments paid for the living spaces. From 1963, the citizens of Yugoslavia were allowed to travel to almost any country because of the neutral politics. No visas were required to travel to eastern or western countries or capitalist or communist nations. Such free travel was unheard of at the time in the Eastern Bloc countries, and in some western countries as well (e.g., Spain or Portugal, both dictatorships at the time). This proved to be helpful for Croatia's inhabitants who found working in foreign countries more financially rewarding. Upon retirement, a popular plan was to return to live in Croatia (then Yugoslavia) to buy more expensive property.


title: History of Croatia

text: In Yugoslavia, the people of Croatia were guaranteed free healthcare, free dental care, and secure pensions. The older generation found this very comforting as pensions would sometimes exceed their former paychecks. Free trade and travel within the country also helped Croatian industries that imported and exported throughout all the former republics.


title: History of Croatia

text: Students and military personnel were encouraged to visit other republics to learn more about the country, and all levels of education, including secondary education and higher education, were free. In reality, the housing was inferior with poor heat and plumbing, the medical care often lacking even in the availability of antibiotics, schools were propaganda machines and travel was a necessity to provide the country with hard currency. The propagandists, who want people to believe "neutral policies" equalized Serbs and Croats, severely restricted free speech and did not protect citizens from ethnic attacks.


title: History of Croatia

text: Membership in the League of Communists of Yugoslavia was as much a prerequisite for admission to colleges and government jobs as in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin or Nikita Khrushchev. Private sector businesses did not grow as the taxes on private enterprise were often prohibitive. Inexperienced management sometimes ruled policy and controlled decisions by brute force. Strikes were forbidden, and owners/managers were not permitted to make changes or decisions which would impact their productivity or profit.


title: History of Croatia

text: The economy developed into a type of socialism called "samoupravljanje" (self-management), in which workers controlled socially-owned enterprises. This kind of market socialism created significantly better economic conditions than in the Eastern Bloc countries. Croatia went through intensive industrialization in the 1960s and 1970s with industrial output increasing several-fold and with Zagreb surpassing Belgrade in industry. Factories and other organizations were often named after Partisans who were declared national heroes. This practice also spread to street names, as well as the names of parks and buildings.


title: History of Croatia

text: Before World War II, Croatia's industry was not developed, with the vast majority of the people employed in agriculture. By 1991, the country was completely transformed into a modern industrialized state. At the same time, the Croatian Adriatic coast had become a popular tourist destination, and the coastal republics (but mostly SR Croatia) profited greatly from this, as tourist numbers reached levels still unsurpassed in modern Croatia. The government brought unprecedented economic and industrial growth, high levels of social security, and a very low crime rate. The country completely recovered from WWII and achieved a very high GDP and economic growth rate, significantly higher than those of the present-day republic.


title: History of Croatia

text: The constitution of 1963 balanced power in the country between the Croats and the Serbs and alleviated the imbalance coming from the fact that the Croats were again in a minority position. Trends after 1965 (like the fall of OZNA and UDBA chief Aleksandar Ranković from power in 1966), however, led to the Croatian Spring of 1970–71, when students in Zagreb organized demonstrations to achieve greater civil liberties and greater Croatian autonomy. The regime stifled public protest and incarcerated the leaders, but this led to the ratification of a new constitution in 1974, giving more rights to the individual republics.


title: History of Croatia

text: Radical Ustaše cells of Croatian émigrés based in Australia and Western Europe planned and attempted to carry out acts of sabotage within Yugoslavia, including an incursion from Austria of 19 armed men in June 1971, who unsuccessfully aimed to incite a popular Croatian uprising against what they called the "Serbo-communist" regime in Belgrade.


title: History of Croatia

text: In 1980, after Tito's death, economic, political, and religious difficulties started to mount and the federal government began to crumble. The crisis in Kosovo and, in 1986, the emergence of Slobodan Milošević in Serbia provoked a very negative reaction in Croatia and Slovenia; politicians from both republics feared that his motives would threaten their republics' autonomy. With the climate of change throughout Eastern Europe during the 1980s, the communist hegemony was challenged (at the same time, the Milošević government began to gradually concentrate Yugoslav power in Serbia, and calls for free multi-party elections were becoming louder).


title: History of Croatia

text: In June 1989, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) was founded by Croatian nationalist dissidents led by Franjo Tuđman, a former fighter in Tito's Partisan movement and a JNA General. At this time, Yugoslavia was still a one-party state and open manifestations of Croatian nationalism were considered dangerous, so a new party was founded in an almost conspiratorial manner. It was only on 13 December 1989 that the governing League of Communists of Croatia agreed to legalize opposition political parties and hold free elections in the spring of 1990.


title: History of Croatia

text: On 23 January 1990, at its 14th Congress, the Communist League of Yugoslavia voted to remove its monopoly on political power. The same day, it effectively ceased to exist as a national party when the League of Communists of Slovenia walked out after SR Serbia's President Slobodan Milošević blocked all their reformist proposals, which caused the League of Communists of Croatia to further distance themselves from the idea of a joint state.


title: History of Croatia

text: On 22 April and 7 May 1990, the first free multi-party elections were held in Croatia. Franjo Tuđman's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won by a 42% margin against Ivica Račan's reformed communist Party of Democratic Change (SDP) who won 26%. Croatia's first-past-the-post election system enabled Tuđman to form the government relatively independently, as the win translated into 205 mandates (out of 351 total). The HDZ intended to secure independence for Croatia, contrary to the wishes of some ethnic Serbs in the republic and federal politicians in Belgrade. The excessively polarized climate soon escalated into complete estrangement between the two nations and spiraled into sectarian violence.


title: History of Croatia

text: On 25 July 1990, a Serbian Assembly was established in Srb, north of Knin, as the political representation of the Serbian people in Croatia. The Serbian Assembly declared "sovereignty and autonomy of the Serb people in Croatia". Their position was that if Croatia could secede from Yugoslavia, then the Serbs could secede from Croatia. Milan Babić, a dentist from the southern town of Knin, was elected president. The rebel Croatian Serbs established some paramilitary militias under the leadership of Milan Martić, the police chief in Knin.


title: History of Croatia

text: On 17 August 1990, the Serbs of Croatia began what became known as the Log Revolution, where barricades of logs were placed across roads throughout the South as an expression of their secession from Croatia. This effectively cut Croatia in two, separating the coastal region of Dalmatia from the rest of the country. The Croatian government responded to the road blockades by sending special police teams in helicopters to the scene, but they were intercepted by SFR Yugoslav Air Force fighter jets and forced to turn back to Zagreb.


title: History of Croatia

text: The Croatian constitution was passed in December 1990, categorizing Serbs as a minority group along with other ethnic groups. On 21 December 1990, Babić's administration announced the creation of a Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Krajina (or "SAO Krajina"). Other Serb-dominated communities in eastern Croatia announced that they would also join SAO Krajina and ceased paying taxes to the Zagreb government.


title: History of Croatia

text: On Easter Sunday, 31 March 1991, the first fatal clashes occurred when police from the Croatian Ministry of the Interior (MUP) entered the Plitvice Lakes National Park to expel rebel Serb forces. Serb paramilitaries ambushed a bus carrying Croatian police into the national park on the road north of Korenica, sparking a day-long gun battle between the two sides. During the fighting, one Croat and one Serb policeman were killed. Twenty other people were injured and twenty-nine Krajina Serb paramilitaries and policemen were taken prisoner by Croatian forces. Among the prisoners was Goran Hadžić, who would later become the President of the Republic of Serbian Krajina.


title: History of Croatia

text: On 2 May 1991, the Croatian parliament voted to hold an independence referendum. On 19 May 1991, with a turnout of almost 80%, 93.24% voted for independence. Krajina boycotted the referendum. They had held their referendum a week earlier on 12 May 1991 in the territories they controlled and voted to remain in Yugoslavia. The Croatian government did not recognize their referendum as valid.


title: History of Croatia

text: On 25 June 1991, the Croatian Parliament declared independence from Yugoslavia. Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia on the same day.


title: History of Croatia

text: During the Croatian War of Independence, the civilian population fled the areas of armed conflict "en masse", with hundreds of thousands of Croats moving away from the Bosnian and Serbian border areas. In many places, masses of civilians were forced out by the Yugoslav National Army (JNA), which consisted mostly of conscripts from Serbia and Montenegro, and irregulars from Serbia, participating in what became known as ethnic cleansing.


title: History of Croatia

text: The border city of Vukovar underwent a three-month siege during the Battle of Vukovar. It left most of the city destroyed and a majority of the population was forced to flee. The city was taken over by the Serbian forces on 18 November 1991 and the Vukovar massacre occurred.


title: History of Croatia

text: Subsequent United Nations-sponsored cease fires followed, and the warring parties were mostly entrenched. The Yugoslav People's Army retreated from Croatia into Bosnia and Herzegovina where a new cycle of tensions was escalating—the Bosnian War was about to start. During 1992 and 1993, Croatia also handled an estimated 700,000 refugees from Bosnia, mainly Bosnian Muslims.


title: History of Croatia

text: Armed conflict in Croatia remained intermittent and mostly small-scale until 1995. In early August, Croatia embarked on Operation Storm, an attack that quickly reconquered most of the territories from the Republic of Serbian Krajina authorities, leading to a mass exodus of the Serbian population. Estimates of the number of Serbs who fled before, during and after the operation range from 90,000 to 200,000.


title: History of Croatia

text: As a result of this operation, a few months later the Bosnian War ended with the negotiation of the Dayton Agreement. A peaceful integration of the remaining Serbian-controlled territories in eastern Slavonia was completed in 1998 under UN supervision. The majority of the Serbs who fled from former Krajina did not return due to fears of ethnic violence, discrimination, and property repossession problems; and the Croatian government has yet to achieve the conditions for full reintegration. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, around 125,000 ethnic Serbs who fled the 1991–1995 conflict are registered as having returned to Croatia, of whom around 55,000 remain permanently.


title: History of Croatia

text: Croatia became a member of the Council of Europe in 1996. While the years 1996 and 1997 were a period of post-war recovery and improving economic conditions, in 1998 and 1999 Croatia experienced an economic depression resulting in the unemployment of thousands.


title: History of Croatia

text: The remainder of former Krajina, adjacent to the FR Yugoslavia, negotiated a peaceful reintegration process with the Croatian government. The so-called Erdut Agreement made the area a temporary protectorate of the UN Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium. The area was formally re-integrated into Croatia by 1998.


title: History of Croatia

text: Franjo Tuđman's government started to lose popularity as it was criticized for its involvement in suspicious privatization deals in the early 1990s, as well as for international isolation. The country experienced a mild recession in 1998 and 1999.


title: History of Croatia

text: Tuđman died in 1999 and in the early 2000 parliamentary elections, the nationalist Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) government was replaced by a center-left coalition under the Social Democratic Party of Croatia, with Ivica Račan as prime minister. At the same time, presidential elections were held which were won by a moderate, Stjepan Mesić. The new Račan government amended the constitution, changing the political system from a presidential system to a parliamentary system, transferring most executive presidential powers from the president to the institutions of the parliament and the prime minister.


title: History of Croatia

text: The new government also started several large building projects, including state-sponsored housing, more rebuilding efforts to enable refugee return, and the building of the A1 highway. The country achieved notable economic growth during these years, while the unemployment rate continued to rise until 2001 when it finally started falling. Croatia became a World Trade Organization (WTO) member in 2000 and started the Accession of Croatia to the European Union in 2003.


title: History of Croatia

text: In late 2003, new parliamentary elections were held and a reformed HDZ party won under the leadership of Ivo Sanader, who became prime minister. European accession was delayed by controversies over the extradition of army generals to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), including the runaway Ante Gotovina.


title: History of Croatia

text: Sanader was reelected in the closely contested 2007 parliamentary election. Other complications continued to stall the EU negotiating process, most notably Slovenia's blockade of Croatia's EU accession in 2008–2009. In June 2009, Sanader abruptly resigned from his post and named Jadranka Kosor in his place. Kosor introduced austerity measures to counter the economic crisis and launched an anti-corruption campaign aimed at public officials. In late 2009, Kosor signed an agreement with Borut Pahor, the premier of Slovenia, that allowed the EU accession to proceed.


title: History of Croatia

text: In the Croatian presidential election, 2009–2010, Ivo Josipović, the candidate of the SDP won a landslide victory.


title: History of Croatia

text: Sanader tried to come back into HDZ in 2010 but was then ejected, and USKOK soon had him arrested on several corruption charges.


title: History of Croatia

text: In November 2012, a court in Croatia sentenced former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, in office from 2003 to 2009, to 10 years in prison for taking bribes. Sanader tried to argue that the case against him was politically motivated.


title: History of Croatia

text: The 2011 Croatian parliamentary election was held on 4 December 2011, and the Kukuriku coalition won. After the election, the center-left government was formed led by new prime minister Zoran Milanovic.


title: History of Croatia

text: Following the ratification of the Treaty of Accession 2011 and the successful 2012 Croatian European Union membership referendum, Croatia joined the EU on 1 July 2013.


title: History of Croatia

text: In the 2014–15 Croatian presidential election, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović became the first Croatian female President.


title: History of Croatia

text: The 2015 Croatian parliamentary election resulted in the victory of the Patriotic Coalition which formed a new government with the Bridge of Independent Lists. However, a vote of no confidence brought down the Cabinet of Tihomir Orešković. After the 2016 Croatian parliamentary election, the Cabinet of Andrej Plenković was formed.


title: History of Croatia

text: In January 2020, the former prime minister Zoran Milanovic of the Social Democrats (SDP) won the presidential election. He defeated center-right incumbent Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). In March 2020, the Croatian capital Zagreb experienced a 5.3 magnitude earthquake which caused significant damage to the city. In July 2020, the ruling center-right party HDZ won the parliamentary election. On 12 October 2020 right-wing extremist Danijel Bezuk attempted an attack on the building of the Croatian government, wounded a police officer in the process, and then killed himself. In December 2020. Banovina, one of the less developed regions of Croatia was shaken by a 6.4 M earthquake which killed several people and destroyed the town of Petrinja. Throughout two and half years of the global COVID-19 pandemic, 16,103 Croatian citizens died from the disease. In March 2022, a Soviet-made Tu-141 drone crashed in Zagreb, most likely due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 12 July 2022, Croatia was set to become a Eurozone member from 1 January 2023. On 26 July 2022, Croatian authorities opened Pelješac Bridge, thus connecting the southernmost part of Croatia with the rest of the country.


title: Kizz Daniel

text: Oluwatobiloba Daniel Anidugbe, (born 1 May 1996) better known by his stage name Kizz Daniel, is a Yoruba singer and songwriter. He is best known for his singles "Woju" and "Yeba". He went by the stage name Kiss Daniel prior to changing it in May 2018. He signed a record deal with G-Worldwide Entertainment in 2013, but left the label following a publicized contract dispute and court case. He founded the Fly Boy Inc record label in November 2017.


title: Kizz Daniel

text: On 8 August 2022, Kizz Daniel was arrested in Dar es Salaam by the Tanzanian police force over failure to perform.


title: Kizz Daniel

text: Kizz Daniel was born Oluwatobiloba Daniel Anidugbe in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. He hails from Abeokuta North local government area. He attended Abeokuta Grammar School and graduated from Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, in 2013, with a degree in Water Resources Management and Agrometeorology (Water Engineering). While in university, he decided to pursue music as a career alongside his studies.


title: Kizz Daniel

text: In May 2015, Kizz Daniel released a third follow up single, “Laye,” on his birthday, along with a video two weeks later which was shot in different locations in the eastern part of Africa and was directed by AJE FILMS. Daniel released his first studio album titled New Era on May 14, 2016.


title: Kizz Daniel

text: After his exit from his former label G-WorldWide, he went to float his own personal imprint FLYBOY I.N.C. which recently signed two new acts Demmie Vee and Philkeyz. After which Kizz Daniel was featured on Demmie Vee single entitled "You Go Wait?". 2018 was sure a good year for the WOJU crooner, he featured Wizkid on a Hit Song "FOR YOU" and Davido on another single "One Ticket" which hit the charts within 24hrs of its release. On the 30th of December 2018, Kizz Daniel released his 2nd Studio album and his first under FlyBoy Inc titled "No Bad Songz". The album contained 20 Songs including the pre-released One Ticket which he featured Davido. Other features on the Album included Nasty C, Diamond Platiumz, Philkeyz, Demmie Vee, Dj Xclusive, Wretch 32, Diplo and Sarkodie. The album received positive reviews from music lovers, it debuted at No 55 on the US iTunes Chart and became number 1 on the world Album Chart within 24 hours of its release. On 25 June 2020, he released his third studio album 'King of Love'


title: Kizz Daniel

text: In 2017, many of his fans thought he would make a career switch to comedy as he was uploading comedy skits. However he said he has no intention switching into comedy as music is his main talent.


title: Kizz Daniel

text: For the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Kizz Daniel will perform his hit single ‘Buga’ at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he has expressed his desire to perform at the FIFA World Cup, which is set to start on November 20, 2022, shared an update on whether he would be appearing at the world's biggest footballing event.


title: Kizz Daniel

text: He acquired a new house and announced it in September 2022, According to his own statements, he always wanted a house on the water for his wife and children which he claims will soon be possible.


title: Kizz Daniel

text: He recently released a new song called "Cough (Odo)" produced by Blaise Beatz, this is Kizz Daniel' second official release of the year 2022.


title: Kizz Daniel

text: In November 2017, Kizz Daniel announced his split from his record label, G-Worldwide and created his own label called FLYBOY I.N.C. He was sued to court by the former record label but was not found guilty for any of the crimes he was accused of.


title: Kizz Daniel

text: In May 2018, Kizz Daniel announced that he had changed his stage name from Kiss Daniel to Kizz Daniel, a name which immediately reflected on his social media accounts. New Spotify and Apple Music accounts were also created immediately with the names Kizz Daniel, with his new songs featured.


title: Kizz Daniel

text: In June 2018, Kizz Daniel's former record label G-Worldwide made a move to own the rights to the name “Kizz Daniel” and further advised the singer to desist from using the name or face legal consequences in a press release sent out to media houses. In October 2018 Daniel responded to the suit and statement made by his former record label G-Worldwide through his own lawyer. On 8 April 2022, Emperor Geezy and Daniel settled their disputes, outside the court in a viral video tagged #Peace&Love.


title: Kizz Daniel

text: On May 4, 2022, he released a chart-topping single titled Buga The song became a hit with dance challenges on Instagram and TikTok with prominent people including the President of Liberia, George Weah dancing to it.


title: Kizz Daniel

text: On May 1, 2021, he welcomed a set of triplets, Jamal, Jalil and Jelani, with his mysterious girlfriend. Kizz later revealed how he lost one of his triplets, Jamal, just four days after birth as he acquired a two-bedroom penthouse each for Jalil and Jelani.


title: Execution by shooting

text: Execution by shooting is a method of capital punishment in which a person is shot to death by one or more firearms. It is the most common method of execution worldwide, used in about 70 countries, with execution by firing squad being one particular form.


title: Execution by shooting

text: In most countries, execution by a firing squad has historically been considered a more honorable death and was used primarily for military personnel, though in some countries—among them Belarus, the only state in Europe today that has the death penalty—the single executioner shooting inherited from the Soviet past is still in use.


title: Execution by shooting

text: Although Brazil abolished capital punishment in peacetime, it can be used for certain crimes in a period of war, such as betrayal, conspiracy, mutiny, unauthorised retreat in battles, and theft of equipment or supplies in a military base. The execution method in this case is execution by shooting.


title: Execution by shooting

text: In Belarus, executions are performed by a single executioner shooting condemned through the brain from behind with a suppressed pistol.


title: Execution by shooting

text: In 20th-century communist states, shooting was a standard form of execution of civilian and military prisoners alike, with the Soviet Union setting an example of the single-executioner approach. The firing squad, with its solemn and lengthy ceremony was used infrequently.


title: Execution by shooting

text: This method was widely used during the Great Purges of the late 1930s at locations outside the major cities, e.g. Krasny Bor near Petrozavodsk, against purportedly anti-social elements, "counter-revolutionaries" and other Enemies of the People.


title: Execution by shooting

text: It was also used in the execution of those who had committed ordinary criminal offences. Even after the breakup of the Soviet Union, people continued to be executed by shooting. Serial killer Andrei Chikatilo was executed in this way in 1994, just before Russia discontinued capital punishment as part of its accession to the Council of Europe.


title: Execution by shooting

text: No British citizen has ever been executed for a civilian crime by shooting by the British Crown Judiciary. A Royal Commission on Capital Punishment considered shooting as a possible alternative to hanging, although the findings published in 1953 concluded shooting was not a sufficiently effective means of execution to justify a switch to the method from hanging.


title: Execution by shooting

text: Since 1608, about 142 men have been judicially shot in the United States and its English-speaking predecessor territories, excluding executions related to the American Civil War.


title: Jesé

text: Jesé Rodríguez Ruiz (; born 26 February 1993), known as Jesé, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Süper Lig club Ankaragücü.


title: Jesé

text: An academy graduate of La Liga side Real Madrid, Jesé debuted for the senior team in 2011, making 94 appearances across all competitions for the club and scoring eighteen goals. During his time in Madrid, which was disrupted by a serious knee injury in 2014, he won two Champions League medals, as well as a title in each of La Liga, the FIFA Club World Cup and the Copa del Rey.


title: Jesé

text: Jesé left the club in 2016 to join Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain for a reported fee of €25 million, before returning to Spain six months later to join hometown club Las Palmas on loan for the remainder of the season. Jesé then joined Premier League side Stoke City on loan for the 2017–18 season, and later Real Betis for the second half of the 2018–19 La Liga campaign. After a brief loan spell with Primeira Liga club Sporting CP, Jesé left PSG to rejoin Las Palmas on a permanent deal.


title: Jesé

text: On the international stage, Jesé earned 36 caps at youth level for Spain from under-16 to under-21 level, scoring sixteen goals overall. He was part of the Spain U19 side which won the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship and claimed the Golden Boot award for ending as the tournament's top goalscorer.


title: Jesé

text: Jesé is also a musician and goes by the stage name Jey M. He was previously part of a two-man reggaeton band which was formed in March 2014 and disbanded later that year.


title: Jesé

text: Born in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Jesé began his football career with local team Huracán in 2005, whom he joined from amateur side El Pilar. His form at youth level for the club saw him attract interest from La Liga sides Espanyol, Mallorca and Barcelona, but he opted to sign for Real Madrid's youth system in 2007, aged 14. Jesé made his senior debut for the Real Madrid Castilla side on 16 January 2011 in a 5–0 Segunda División B home win over Universidad de Las Palmas. His performance throughout the match, which included an assist for Dani Carvajal, drew early comparisons to fellow Real Madrid teammate and multiple Ballon d'Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo. Jesé spent most of the season with Real Madrid's "Juvenil A" team, however, and enjoyed a successful 2010–11 campaign which earned him a permanent promotion to the Castilla side.


title: Jesé

text: In July 2011, Jesé was selected by first-team manager José Mourinho for the club's pre-season tour of the United States and made his non-competitive debut for Real Madrid in a friendly against Los Angeles Galaxy, coming on as a 64th minute substitute for José Callejón and scoring in a 5–1 win. He returned to the Castilla for the start of the season and scored his first goal on 2 October 2011 against La Roda CF, finishing an assist from Álvaro Morata in a 4–2 away loss. Having impressed with the reserve side during the first half of the season, Jesé was handed his senior debut on 12 December in the first round of the Copa del Rey, replacing Ronaldo for the final fifteen minutes of a 2–0 away triumph over SD Ponferradina. After the match Jesé dedicated his debut to his family who had supported him in fulfilling his dream. He made his first La Liga appearance on 24 March 2012, once again replacing Ronaldo for the last ten minutes of a 5–1 home win over Real Sociedad. Aside from his two senior appearances, Jesé made 39 appearances and scored 10 goals for Castilla as the club was crowned Segunda División B champions. The senior side were also crowned champions of La Liga, having claimed the title with two games to spare in early May.


title: Jesé

text: The following season, after criticism that players from the Castilla were not being given a fair chance, Mourinho stated that it was difficult to do so as the senior side played a different style to the reserves. He also highlighted the position Jesé was being played in as one that did not exist in the main squad. Jesé's lack of opportunity prompted agent Ginés Carvajal


title: Jesé

text: to publicly state that they would need to study options for the player's future if he was not permanently promoted to the first team the following year with the guarantee he would receive more playing time. In February 2013, in an interview with "Marca", Jesé spoke out against his lack of senior game, stating that he was confident he was doing well enough to be granted an opportunity and, while he tried to learn as much as he could from Mourinho, he was a manager who surrounded himself with players who had already made their name. Club chairman Florentino Pérez and B-side coach Alberto Toril both defended Jesé for his comments, although the latter advised that he should learn to control his emotions.


title: Jesé

text: In spite of his struggles in breaking into the first-team, Jesé continued to excel for the Castilla and on 2 June he broke the record for most goals scored in a single season for the reserve side, netting a solo goal in a 4–0 home win over AD Alcorcón to surpass the record of 21 goals set by Emilio Butragueño in 1983–84. Jesé's success drew praise from Pérez who described him as the jewel in the crown of "Los Blancos"' academy. He ended the season with 22 goals to his name in 38 appearances, earning the Zarra Trophy for the top Spanish goalscorer in the league, and on 18 June reiterated his desire to stay at Real Madrid in order to fight for a place in the first team.


title: Jesé

text: While at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup with Spain, Jesé was the subject of mass media speculation that he could be leaving Real Madrid following his lack of game-time with the first team the season before. The club's technical director, Miguel Pardeza, categorically stated on 13 July that the player would remain at the club, however, and Jesé extended his contract for a further four years later in the same month, signing a deal worth more than €1 million a year and which contained a €200 million release clause.


title: Jesé

text: Jesé was handed his Champions League debut on 2 October 2013 by new club manager Carlo Ancelotti, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute for Karim Benzema in a 4–0 group stage victory over F.C. Copenhagen. He scored his first competitive goal for Real Madrid in his first El Clásico appearance on 26 October, netting in injury-time from a Ronaldo assist in a 2–1 loss at Barcelona. On 23 November, Jesé came on as a second-half substitute against UD Almería and contributed with his first two assists for the first team in a 5–0 away win. He enjoyed a fine run of form between the back end of 2013 and March 2014, where he netted a late winner at Valencia, scored his first Copa del Rey goal in a 2–0 win over CA Osasuna and netted in league encounters against Athletic Bilbao, Villarreal and Getafe. On 18 March, however, just two minutes into Real Madrid's Champions League's round-of-16 second leg game against Schalke, Jesé suffered a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee following a challenge from Sead Kolašinac and was sidelined for the remainder of the season. He ended the season with 5 goals and 4 assists to his name in 18 league appearances, and 8 goals in 31 matches across all competitions as Real Madrid went on to lift the Copa Del Rey and Champions League trophies.


title: Jesé

text: After spending nine months on the sidelines, Jesé returned from injury for the second leg of Real Madrid's tie against UE Cornellà in the Copa del Rey round of 32 on 2 December 2014, replacing Sami Khedira after 57 minutes and scoring the last goal of a 9–1 aggregate victory. On his injury, Jesé stated: "I had a very tough time, but I think that things in life happen for a reason. Maybe I had the injury because I needed to learn and become a more mature footballer." Later that month he was included in the club's squad which won the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, making a substitute appearance in a 4–0 win over Cruz Azul in the semi-finals. He scored the first of his three La Liga goals for the season on 4 February 2015 in a 2–1 victory over Sevilla. Jesé struggled to break back into the first team following his injury though, starting only 3 of his 23 appearances for the season, and by the end of the campaign it was reported that he had grown frustrated at the club and was looking to leave in the summer.


title: Jesé

text: Jesé opted to remain in Madrid for the 2015–16 season as he sought to break into the first team under new club manager Rafa Benítez. However, he found competition for places tough and was limited to just 1252 minutes of football across all competitions under Benítez and his successor, Zinedine Zidane. In spite of his lack of game time, Jesé still managed to contribute 6 goals and 8 assists for the season and was regularly used as a back-up in the team's triumphant 2015–16 UEFA Champions League campaign.


title: Jesé

text: It would ultimately be Jesé's final season at the club as at the end of the season, with one year remaining on his contract, he agreed to sign for reigning Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain. He made 63 La Liga appearances for Real Madrid during his ten-year stay at the Santiago Bernabeu, of which 49 were substitute appearances, and scored 13 goals. In total, across all competitions, Jesé amassed 96 appearances and 18 goals for the club, departing with two Champions League titles and one apiece in La Liga, the Copa Del Rey and the Club World Cup to his name.


title: Jesé

text: On 8 August 2016, Jesé joined French side Paris Saint-Germain on a five-year deal for a reported transfer fee of €25 million. The deal included an 'anti-Barcelona' clause which prevented PSG from selling Jesé to Real Madrid's fierce La Liga rivals Barcelona in the future. He made his debut on 13 August, coming on as a substitute for Hatem Ben Arfa in a 1–0 away win over Bastia. Jesé was ruled out for a short period soon thereafter as a result of him suffering from appendicitis. Following his return, he scored his first goal for the club on 19 November, netting from the penalty-spot in a 2–0 win over Nantes. He made his Coupe de la Ligue debut on 14 December and scored the third goal in a 3–1 win over Lille.


title: Jesé

text: Jesé struggled to settle in Paris, however, and by the end of the year he had only started in one of his nine league appearances for the club. His lack of form and infrequent game time, which totaled 358 minutes, prompted manager Unai Emery to suggest that he would be leaving the club during the January transfer window in order to rediscover his form.


title: Jesé

text: On 31 January 2017, Jesé signed for Las Palmas on loan until the end of the season. Club chairman Miguel Ángel Ramírez revealed that he had taken a massive pay cut in order to join his hometown club. The next day, he was presented in front of 9,000 fans at the Estadio de Gran Canaria, and pledged to do all he could to help the club qualify for European football. He debuted for the club on 6 February, coming on as a second-half substitute for Vicente Gómez in a 1–0 loss away to Granada, and made his first start the following week in a loss to Sevilla by the same scoreline.


title: Jesé

text: On 1 March, Jesé returned to the Santiago Bernabéu for the first time ahead of Las Palmas' La Liga encounter with Real Madrid. During the build-up to the match, he revealed that he owed a debt to Real Madrid for welcoming him at the club and blamed the cruciate ligament injury he suffered as the reason for him not becoming a star with them. He also defended his previous criticism of former manager José Mourinho, stating that he has no regrets over his actions. Jesé started in the match between the two sides which ultimately ended in a 3–3 draw. He scored his first goals for the club four days later, netting a brace in a 5–2 league win over Osasuna. The result was Jesé's first win with Las Palmas, after the club failed to record a victory in its previous five matches following his arrival. He ultimately made 16 appearances for the campaign, scoring three goals and registering an assist as the side dropped to end the season in fourteenth position. Upon the conclusion of Jesé's loan agreement, Las Palmas elected not to attempt to sign him permanently, with his poor overall performance, high salary demands and off-field behaviour ultimately contributing to the club's decision.


title: Jesé

text: On 16 August 2017, Jesé joined Premier League club Stoke City on loan for the 2017–18 season. Despite having only trained once with the team following his arrival, he made his debut on 19 August and scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over Arsenal. In December 2017, Jesé left the stadium early during Stoke's match against Swansea City after manager Mark Hughes made all of his substitutes and left him on the bench. He was subsequently disciplined by the club. In unrelated circumstances, he missed the next match against Tottenham Hotspur and a number of subsequent matches as he had been granted compassionate leave to visit his prematurely born son in the Canary Islands.


title: Jesé

text: He made his return on 10 February 2018 in Stoke's 1–1 draw with Brighton and in the final minutes of the match won a penalty after being fouled by Dale Stephens. Teammate, and regular Stoke penalty-taker, Charlie Adam denied a visibly angered Jesé the opportunity the take the penalty but saw his effort saved by Brighton goalkeeper Mathew Ryan. New club manager Paul Lambert later denied that there was any rift between the players following the match. The following month, Jesé was again afforded compassionate leave after his son underwent a second operation. However, he failed to return to training thereafter which sparked speculation that Stoke would look to terminate his loan contract. His loan spell ended on 1 May when the club confirmed that he had been given unpaid compassionate leave until the end of the season. He scored one goal in 13 appearances during his time with Stoke and the club ultimately suffered relegation from the Premier League.


title: Jesé

text: Upon his return to PSG, Jesé indicated his eagerness to fight for a spot in the team but he and teammate Gonçalo Guedes were later excluded from new manager Thomas Tuchel's pre-season tour of Asia. He continued to be excluded as the season commenced and was also made to train alone by Tuchel alongside Jean-Christophe Bahebeck. At the turn of the year, with Jesé having not played a single match for the season, it was revealed that he had lost 7kg after appointing a personal trainer as he looked to reintegrate himself into the team. He then made his first, and only appearance for the club for the season on 23 January 2019, coming on as a last minute substitute in a Coupe de France win over Strasbourg.


title: Jesé

text: On 29 January, Jesé signed for Betis on loan until the end of the season where he reunited with former Las Palmas manager, Quique Setién. He made his debut for the club on 7 February, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–2 Copa del Rey draw with Valencia. The following week, he made his Europa League debut as a second-half substitute and assisted Diego Lainez for an injury-time equalizer in a 3–3 draw with Rennes. His first goal followed on 10 March, when he scored the only goal in a 1–0 league win over Celta Vigo. He ultimately scored twice in eighteen appearances but Betis elected not to sign him permanently at the end of the season.


title: Jesé

text: On 2 September 2019, Jesé joined Portuguese club Sporting CP on loan for the 2019–20 season. He scored his first goal for the club towards the end of the following month, opening the scoring in a 3–1 win over Vitória de Guimarães.


title: Jesé

text: At the end of the 2019-20 season, Jesé received a Ligue 1 medal for his contributions at PSG, where he played one minute the whole season in an away match against Metz.


title: Jesé

text: Jesé did not complete a permanent transfer to Sporting CP after the end of his loan deal; instead, he headed back to PSG. On 10 September 2020, Jesé made his return to play for the Parisian club in a 1–0 loss to Lens. He made his final appearance for PSG as a substitute in a 4–0 win against Nîmes on 16 October.


title: Jesé

text: Jesé joined Süper Lig club Ankaragücü on 4 August 2022, signing a one-year deal with the club. He made his competitive debut four days later, coming on as a substitute for Giorgi Beridze in the 61st minute of a 0–0 home draw against Konyaspor.


title: Jesé

text: Jesé is a former Spanish youth international, having represented the nation at all levels from the under-16s to the under-21s between 2009 and 2014.


title: Jesé

text: In 2010, he traveled to Liechtenstein with the Spain under-17 side for the 2010 UEFA European Football Championship in which Spain ended as runners-up to England. Jesé scored one goal at the tournament, netting the opener in Spain's 3–1 semi-final win over Turkey. Two years later, Jesé netted five goals during Spain's victorious 2012 European Under-19 Championship campaign in Estonia, including a hat trick against Portugal and the winning goal against Greece in the final. Jesé also received the Golden Boot award for ending as the competition's top goalscorer. The following year, Jesé scored a further five goals and assisted another for the Spain under-20 team at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. Spain were ultimately eliminated at hands of Uruguay in the quarter-finals but the nation's early exit from the competition did not prevent Jesé from earning the Bronze Boot award for ending as the tournament's third top goalscorer. His form at the tournament drew praise from Spanish journalist Guillem Balagué who claimed he was better than Real Madrid's new world-record signing Gareth Bale was at the same age.


title: Jesé

text: On 6 February 2014, although he was still eligible to play for the under-21s, Spain manager Vicente del Bosque revealed that Jesé was in his plans ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. However, his chances of taking part at the tournament were ended in March when he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for Real Madrid, with Del Bosque describing the situation as "a blow". Due to his eight-month spell on the sidelines, Jesé also missed Spain's qualification play-off against Serbia for the 2015 European U-21 Championship. Spain ultimately lost the match 2–1 and thereby also failed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics.


title: Jesé

text: Jesé is able to play across the front line, operating either as an attacking midfielder, second striker or centre-forward, or in his favoured position out on the wing. During his time at the Castilla, Jesé was often deployed in a false 9 role in the team's 4–3–3 formation, and regularly switched flanks due to his ability to use both feet. In 2013, in his role as the club's sporting director at the time, Zinedine Zidane declared himself an admirer of Jesé's direct style of football and goal scoring ability. Following Jesé's promotion to Real Madrid's first team in 2013, manager Carlo Ancelotti played him in a winger position, where he could cut inside from the wing both with the ball and without, to create chances and score goals. His progression with Real Madrid's senior side often saw him compared to teammate Cristiano Ronaldo due to the similarities in their style as well as Jesé's technical ability, close control, pace and dribbling abilities. Jesé welcomed the comparison to Ronaldo and in a 2013 interview with "Marca" named the Portuguese as his favourite player, ahead of Brazilian namesake, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho.


title: Jesé

text: Jesé was born to Pascual Rodríguez, a pharmacy worker, and María Ruiz. When he joined Real Madrid at the age of 14, he made a promise to his father that he would help him retire by pursuing a career in football. The day after he signed his first professional contract with Real Madrid, Jesé's father was able to retire from the pharmacy at which he worked. He has the names of his parents tattooed on the back of his hands and in 2014 bought them a house in Gran Canaria.


title: Jesé

text: Jesé has four sons, Jesé Jr. (born 2012), Neizan (born 2016), Nyan (born 2017), Kenai (born 2019) and one daughter, Aylén (2020). He learned of the birth of his second son over social media platform Instagram after the mother of the child claimed that he was the father in a post in November 2016. A DNA test was conducted soon after which confirmed Jesé to be the father. Jesé's third son, Nyan was born prematurely in 2017 and suffered from a number of medical conditions from birth. The following year, he went through a public and acrimonious breakup with Nyan's mother, Aurah Ruiz, which culminated in Ruiz taking Jesé to court where she accused him of neglecting his duties as a father. He responded with a counter-suit against Ruiz for slander in which he allegedly asked that she pay "one Euro and be sentenced to three to five years in prison."


title: Jesé

text: In 2014, just a week after suffering a cruciate ligament injury with Real Madrid, Jesé had to be rescued when a suspected gas explosion set fire to the luxury apartment block in which he was staying at the time.


title: Jesé

text: Aside from football, Jesé is also a musician and formed a Spanish reggaeton band called Big Flow with close friend DJ Nuno in March 2014. Together, the pair released two singles on YouTube, the first of which was titled La Mano Arriba. In November the same year, the group disbanded with Jesé announcing he would be pursuing a solo career in 2015 under the name 'Jey M.' In 2018, he released a single titled "La Prueba" – The Proof - from which he sought to donate proceeds for research towards diseases such congenital hyperinsulinism.


title: Jesé

text: In December 2020, Jesé ended his contract early with Paris Saint-Germain. He had reportedly broken COVID-19 regulations while being on a trip to the Canary Islands, and was involved in a sex scandal having supposedly cheated on his partner with her friend Rocio Amar earlier in the year. Both events contributed to PSG terminating his contract.


title: Han Geng

text: Han Geng (Chinese: 韩庚; Pinyin: Hán Gēng; ) (born February 9, 1984) is a Chinese Mandopop singer and actor. He started his career in 2001, when he was chosen by S.M. Entertainment to become a member of South Korean boy band Super Junior, which debuted in 2005. He later became the leader of its sub-group Super Junior-M in 2008. On December 21, 2009, Han filed a lawsuit against SME to terminate his contract. He has since returned to China to pursue a solo career. On September 27, 2011, Han's departure from SM Entertainment was made official as both parties came to a mutual agreement.


title: Han Geng

text: For his various contributions to the spread of Chinese culture, Han was chosen as a torch bearer for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He later also became an ambassador for the 2010 Shanghai Expo and the 2010 Asian Games. In late 2012, Han started to gain international attention and won the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards' "Best Worldwide Act" and Nickelodeon's 2013 Kids' Choice Awards' "Favorite Asian Act".


title: Han Geng

text: Han is of ethnic Nanai descent from Northeast China, and was born in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, China.


title: Han Geng

text: At age 12, Han was accepted into the dance department at the Central University for Nationalities in Beijing, and left his family and his hometown in the Northeastern part of China to pursue studies in dance. During his years at the university, he mastered all 56 types of traditional dances from China's 56 ethnic groups, received training in ballet and martial arts, and performed in many countries including the United States and Russia.


title: Han Geng

text: In 1999, as a representative of the Nanai ethnic group, Han participated in China's anniversary parade.


title: Han Geng

text: In December 2001, Han signed up for the H.O.T. CHINA Audition Casting, a casting audition that was hosted by S.M. Entertainment.


title: Han Geng

text: After the audition, Han began to work briefly as a cameo actor in short low-budget Chinese films to earn a salary before entering college. In late August 2002, Han was notified that he had been accepted into S.M. Entertainment. After Han's graduation at the Central University for Nationalities, he was sent to Korea and received private lessons in singing, dancing, and acting, as well as learning the Korean language.


title: Han Geng

text: On February 6, 2005, Han was officially announced to be part of the all-boy rotational musical group Super Junior as a member of its first generation, Super Junior 05.


title: Han Geng

text: On March 20, 2008, Han was announced to be one of the torch bearers for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also sung the Beijing Olympic theme song "Beijing Welcomes You".


title: Han Geng

text: On April 8, 2008, Super Junior's third subgroup Super Junior-M made its debut in China, with Han as the leader of the group. The subgroup released their first Chinese-language studio album, "Me", on May 2, 2008.


title: Han Geng

text: On December 21, 2009, Han filed for contract termination from SM Entertainment and ceased activities with both Super Junior and Super Junior-M.


title: Han Geng

text: On July 27, 2010, Han launched his first album "The Heart of Geng". The album contained ten tracks, including the title song "My Logo", which was produced by American producer Craig Williams and Dutch producer Rene Van Verseveld. Travis Payne and Stacey Walker, along with Michael Jackson's "This Is It" dancers participated in creating the choreography for the song. "The Heart of Geng" topped various major music charts throughout Asia, and sold more than 350,000 copies within only 2 months after its release. A special celebratory version of the album was released on October 1 with a limited number of 20,000 copies. Han also held his first two solo concerts in Beijing on July 17 and 18.


title: Han Geng

text: Han made his debut on the big screen in the US-Chinese collaboration action film "My Kingdom". The film is directed by Gao Xiaosong, produced by Andre Morgan and features action directing by Sammo Hung. Han also played Deng Xiaoping in the government-funded film" The Founding of a Party" and starred in the film "The First President" as Hu Han Min, the secretary of Sun Yat-Sen.


title: Han Geng

text: On July 19, 2012, Han released his second album "Hope in the Darkness" which contained singles "Wild Cursive", "Clown Mask" and "Betrayal of the Soul". Han also kicked off his "Hope in the Darkness World Tour" on July 28, 2012 at Beijing MasterCard Center.


title: Han Geng

text: On November 11, 2012, Han was announced as the winner of the MTV European Music Awards' Best Worldwide Act, earning him his first major international award.


title: Han Geng

text: On March 24, 2013, Han attended Nickelodeon's 2013 Kids' Choice Awards at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, where he won the Favorite Asian Act award.


title: Han Geng

text: Han was then cast in Zhao Wei’s directorial debut "So Young". The film was released on April 26, 2013 and became a major success at the Chinese box office, grossing over 700 million yuan (US$115 million). The same year, he was cast in Chinese-French film "Seek McCartney", about a romance that centers on a relationship between two gay men. The film is China's first gay film and premiered in Cannes in 2014.


title: Han Geng

text: In 2014, Han starred in romantic comedy film "Ex-Files", which went on to become one of the most successful romantic comedy series. Han was praised for his comedic timing and acting performance. The same year, he made a cameo appearance in the Hollywood blockbuster "".


title: Han Geng

text: On May 27, 2014, Han won the World's Best Male Artist award at the World Music Awards' World's Best Male Artist. He was also the first Chinese singer to be invited to perform for the World Music Awards.


title: Han Geng

text: In 2015, Han starred alongside Fan Bingbing in the erotic romance film "Ever Since We Love", adapted from the novel "Everything Grows" by Feng Tang.


title: Han Geng

text: In 2016, Han starred in the South Korean-Chinese co-production film "Sweet Sixteen", a bitter coming-of-age romance. The same year, he starred in fantasy comedy film "A Chinese Odyssey Part Three" directed by Jeffery Lau, playing the titular role of Sun Wukong. Han also competed on and won the 2nd season of "The Amazing Race" with teammate Wu Xin.


title: Han Geng

text: On November 30, 2015, Han released his third album "San Geng". He announced that this would be his final album release, and he will focus on acting in the future.


title: Han Geng

text: In 2016, Han announced that he will be starring in the science fiction drama "Hard Memory". He also acts as the executive producer of the series.


title: Han Geng

text: In 2017, Han was cast in the fantasy suspense film "The Great Detective (film)". In July, he featured in the documentary film "The Founding of an Army", playing the role of Zhang Xueliang. The same month, he was cast in the film adaptation of popular video game "Dynasty Warriors", playing the role of Guan Yu. In December, Han reprised his role as Meng Yun in the third installment of the Ex-file franchise.


title: Han Geng

text: In 2018, Han starred in hacker-themed thriller "Reborn". He also participated as a captain on the first season of the hip hop show, Street Dance of China.


title: Han Geng

text: Han participated in the period drama series “Legacy” which will premiere exclusively on WarnerMedia’s regional streaming service HBO Go at an unspecified date later in 2021. “Legacy” is a 1920s-set drama that chronicles the lives of the wealthy Yi family and three sisters who vie to inherit their father’s shopping mall business. In a time of upheaval and uncertainty, the three sisters set aside their differences to keep the business afloat and save their family. That same year he was a captain for Street Dance of China 4.


title: Han Geng

text: In 2022, he returned for his 4th season of Street Dance of China as a captain once again in Street Dance of China 5.


title: Han Geng

text: In 2013, Han participated in MTV EXIT's anti-human trafficking campaign as a special host for "Human Traffic: China, "a 36-minute documentary aimed at raising awareness to help prevent human trafficking in China"."" "The documentary was produced with the support of China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and the United Nations Inter Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Walk Free, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).


title: Han Geng

text: On May 16, 2014, Han appeared at the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell as a shareholder of Jumei International Holding Limited. Han is the first Chinese artist to ring the opening or closing bell at the NYSE as a shareholder.


title: Han Geng

text: Han Geng and actress Celina Jade married on December 31st, 2019 in New Zealand. In September 2022, they welcomed their first child, a daughter.


title: Han Geng

text: Before his debut, Han entered Korea with a vacation visa and had to return to China every three months to renew it. After debuting in 2005, his company obtained an E-6 (Entertainment Industry) passport, allowing him to stay for longer periods. However, a Chinese passport strictly limited his promotional activities and appearances in various broadcasting corporations in Korea. By law, a Chinese passport holder is only allowed to perform on three television stations. Han was allowed to perform on KBS and SBS, as stated by Lee Soo Man during a Harvard Korean Wave conference in early 2007. Initially, the company did not know of the procedures and was fined because of it. Before Han signed contracts with KBS and SBS, he performed on stage with a mask and a hat to hide his face on screen. Many thought Han was a backup dancer until three months later when his bandmate Kim Heechul finally revealed him to the media by publicly taking off his mask.


title: Han Geng

text: Despite visa restrictions, Han performed with the rest of Super Junior at the 2007 M.NET/KM Music Festival and the 2007 Golden Disk Awards. Both award ceremonies aired on channels that Han was restricted to perform on.


title: Han Geng

text: On December 21, 2009, Han filed for contract termination from his former company S.M. Entertainment, arguing that the 13-year length and structure of their exclusive contracts as well as the terms of profit distribution were unilaterally disadvantageous towards the artists and should be invalidated. Along with this, it was disclosed that because of S.M. Entertainment's refusal to give him a day off in over two years, he had developed gastritis and kidney disease.


title: Han Geng

text: On December 21, 2010, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Han. However, a representative of S.M. Entertainment stated that they will file an immediate appeal to reverse the decision.


title: Han Geng

text: As of September 27, 2011, Han and S.M. Entertainment have officially come to a mutual agreement regarding Han's contract, thus closing the case. Han will not continue his exclusive contract with SME and no longer has any legally binding connection with SME, as stated by Yue Hua Entertainment, Han's current management company.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: The Cuban War of Independence (), fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and the Little War (1879–1880). The final three months of the conflict escalated to become the Spanish–American War, with United States forces being deployed in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands against Spain. Historians disagree as to the extent that United States officials were motivated to intervene for humanitarian reasons but agree that yellow journalism exaggerated atrocities attributed to Spanish forces against Cuban civilians.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: During the years 1879–1888 of the so-called "Rewarding Truce", lasting for 17 years from the end of the Ten Years' War in 1878, there were fundamental social changes in Cuban society. With the abolition of slavery in October 1886, freedmen joined the ranks of farmers and the urban working class. The economy could no longer sustain itself with the shift and changes; therefore, many wealthy Cubans lost their property, and joined the urban middle class. The number of sugar mills dropped and efficiency increased: only companies, and the most powerful plantation owners, remained in business followed by the Central Board of Artisans in 1879, and many more across the island. After his second deportation to Spain in 1878, José Martí moved to the United States in 1881. There he mobilized the support of the Cuban exile community, especially in Ybor City (Tampa area) and Key West, Florida. His goal was revolution in order to achieve independence from Spain. Martí lobbied against the U.S. annexation of Cuba, which was desired by some politicians in both the U.S. and Cuba.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: After deliberations with patriotic clubs across the United States, the Antilles and Latin America, "El Partido Revolucionario Cubano" (The Cuban Revolutionary Party) was in a state of pendency and was affected by a growing fear that the U.S. government would try to annex Cuba before the revolution could liberate the island from Spain.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: A new trend of aggressive U.S. "influence" was expressed by Secretary of State James G. Blaine's suggestion that all of Central and South America would some day fall to the U.S.:


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: "That rich island", Blaine wrote on 1 December 1881, "the key to the Gulf of Mexico, is, though in the hands of Spain, a part of the American commercial system... If ever ceasing to be Spanish, Cuba must necessarily become American and not fall under any other European domination". Blaine's vision did not allow the existence of an independent Cuba. "Martí noticed with alarm the movement to annex Hawaii, viewing it as establishing a pattern for Cuba..."


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: On December 25, 1894, three ships – the "Lagonda", the "Almadis" and the "Baracoa" – set sail for Cuba from Fernandina Beach, Florida, loaded with soldiers and weapons. Two of the ships were seized by US authorities in early January, but the proceedings went ahead. Not dissuaded, on March 25, Martí presented the Manifesto of Montecristi, which outlined the policy for Cuba's war of independence:


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: The insurrection began on February 24, 1895, with uprisings all across the island. In Oriente, the most important ones took place in Santiago, Guantánamo, Jiguaní, El Cobre, El Caney and Alto Songo. The uprisings in the central part of the island, such as Ibarra, Jagüey Grande, and Aguada, suffered from poor coordination and failed; the leaders were captured, deported or executed. In the province of Havana, the insurrection was discovered before it began, and its leaders were detained. The insurgents further west in Pinar del Río were ordered by rebel leaders to wait.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: On April 1 and 11, 1895, the main rebel leaders landed on two expeditions in Oriente: Major General Antonio Maceo along with 22 members near Baracoa, and José Martí, Máximo Gómez and 4 other members in Playitas. Spanish forces in Cuba numbered about 80,000, of which 20,000 were regular troops and 60,000 were Spanish and Cuban volunteer militia. The latter were a locally enlisted force that took care of most of the "guard and police" duties on the island. Wealthy landowners would "volunteer" some of their slaves to serve in this force, which was under local control as militia and not under official military command. By December, Spain had sent 98,412 regular troops to the island, and the colonial government increased the Volunteer Corps to 63,000 men. By the end of 1897, there were 240,000 regulars and 60,000 irregulars on the island. The revolutionaries were far outnumbered.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: The rebels were often called Mambises. The origin of this term is disputed. Some suggest it may have originated in the name of officer Juan Ethninius Mamby who led rebels in the Dominican fight for independence in 1844. Others, such as Cuban anthropologist Fernando Ortiz, posit it has Bantu origins, particularly from Kikongo from the word 'mbi', which carried negative connotations including 'outlaw'. In any case, the word appears to have first been used as an insult or slur, which the Cubans rebels adopted with pride.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: From the start of the uprising, the Mambises were hampered by the lack of weapons. Possession of weapons by individuals was forbidden after the Ten Years' War. They compensated by using guerrilla fighting, based on quick raids and fades to the environment, the element of surprise, mounting their forces on fast horses, and using machetes against regular troops on the march. They acquired most of their weapons and ammunition in raids on the Spaniards. Between June 11, 1895, and November 30, 1897, of 60 attempts to bring weapons and supplies to the rebels from outside the country, only one succeeded. Twenty-eight ships were intercepted within U.S. territory; five were intercepted at sea by the U.S. Navy, and four by the Spanish Navy; two were wrecked; one was driven back to port by storm; the fate of another is unknown.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: Martí was killed soon after landing on May 19, 1895, at Dos Rios, but Máximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo fought on, taking the war to all parts of Oriente. By the end of June, all of Camagüey was at war. Based on new research in Cuban sources, historian John Lawrence Tone showed that Gomez and Maceo were the first to force the civilian forces to choose sides. "Either they relocated to the east side of the islands, where the Cubans controlled the mountainous terrain, or they would be accused of supporting the Spanish and be subject to immediate trial and execution." Continuing west, they were joined by 1868 war veterans, such as Polish internationalist General Carlos Roloff and Serafín Sánchez in Las Villas, who brought weapons, men and experience to the revolutionaries' arsenal.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: In mid-September, representatives of the five Liberation Army Corps assembled in Jimaguayú, Camagüey to approve the "Jimaguayú Constitution". They established a central government, which grouped the executive and legislative powers into one entity named "Government Council", headed by Salvador Cisneros and Bartolomé Masó. After some time of consolidation in the three eastern provinces, the liberation armies headed for Camagüey and then Matanzas, outmaneuvering and deceiving the Spanish Army several times. They defeated Spanish Gen. Arsenio Martínez-Campos y Antón, who had gained victory in the Ten-Year War, and killed his most trusted general at Peralejo.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: Campos tried the strategy he had used in the Ten Years' War, constructing a broad belt across the island, called the "trocha", about 80 km long and 200 m wide. This defense line was to confine rebel activities to the eastern provinces. The belt was developed along a railroad from Jucaro in the south to Morón in the north. Campos built fortifications along this railroad at various points, and at intervals, 12 meters of posts and 400 meters of barbed wire. In addition, booby traps were placed at locations most likely to be attacked.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: The rebels believed they had to take the war to the western provinces of Matanzas, Havana and Pinar del Rio, which contained the island's government and wealth. The Ten-Year War had failed because it was confined to the eastern provinces. The revolutionaries mounted a cavalry campaign that overcame the "trochas" and invaded every province. Surrounding all larger cities and well-fortified towns, they arrived at the westernmost tip of the island on January 22, 1896, exactly three months after the invasion near Baraguá.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: Campos was replaced by Gen. Valeriano Weyler. He reacted to the rebels' successes by introducing terror: periodic executions, mass exile of residents, forced concentration of residents in certain cities or areas, and destruction of farms and crops. Weyler's terror reached its height on October 21, 1896, when he ordered all countryside residents and their livestock to gather within eight days in various fortified areas and towns occupied by his troops.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: Hundreds of thousands of people had to leave their homes and were subjected to appalling and inhumane conditions in the crowded towns and cities. Using a variety of sources, Tone estimates that 155,000 to 170,000 civilians died, nearly 10% of the population.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: Around this time, Spain also had to fight a growing Philippines independence movement. These two wars burdened Spain's economy. In 1896, Spain turned down secret United States offers to buy Cuba.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: Maceo was killed December 7, 1896, in Havana province while returning from the west. The major obstacle to Cuban success was weapons supply. Although weapons and funding were sent by Cuban exiles and supporters in the United States, the supply violated US laws. Of 71 supply missions, only 27 got through; 5 were stopped by the Spanish, and 33 by the U.S. Coast Guard.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: In 1897, the liberation army maintained a privileged position in Camagüey and Oriente, where the Spanish controlled only a few cities. Spanish Liberal leader Práxedes Mateo Sagasta admitted in May 1897: "After having sent 200,000 men and shed so much blood, we don't own more land on the island than what our soldiers are stepping on". The rebel force of 3,000 defeated the Spanish in various encounters, such as the La Reforma Campaign, and forcing the surrender on August 30 of Las Tunas which had been guarded by over 1,000 well-armed and well-supplied men.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: As stipulated at the Jimaguayü Assembly two years earlier, a second Constituent Assembly met in La Yaya, Camagüey, on October 10, 1897. The newly adopted constitution provided that military command was to be subordinated to civilian rule. The government was confirmed, naming Bartolomé Masó President and Domingo Méndez Capote Vice President.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: Madrid decided to change its policy towards Cuba, and replaced Weyler. It also drew up a colonial constitution for Cuba and Puerto Rico, and installed a new government in Havana. But with half the country out of its control and the other half in arms, the colonial government was powerless and these changes were rejected by the rebels.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: The Cuban struggle for independence had captured the American imagination for years. Some newspapers had agitated for US intervention, especially because of its large financial investment, and featured sensational stories of Spanish atrocities against the native Cuban population, which were exaggerated for propaganda.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: Such coverage continued after Spain had replaced Weyler and changed its policies. American public opinion was very much in favor of intervening on behalf of the Cubans.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: In January 1898, a riot by Cuban Spanish loyalists against the new autonomous government broke out in Havana. They destroyed the printing presses of four local newspapers that had published articles critical of Spanish Army atrocities. The U.S. Consul-General cabled Washington with fears for the lives of Americans living in Havana. In response, the battleship USS "Maine" was sent to Havana in the last week of January. On February 15, 1898, the "Maine" was rocked by an explosion, killing 260 of the crew and sinking the ship in the harbor. At the time, a military Board of Investigations decided that the Maine had exploded due to the detonation of a mine underneath the hull. However, later investigations decided that it was likely something inside the ship, though the cause of the explosion has not been clearly established to this day.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: In an attempt to appease the US, the colonial government took two steps that had been demanded by President William McKinley: it ended forced relocation of residents from their homes and offered negotiations with the independence fighters. But the truce was rejected by the rebels.


title: Cuban War of Independence

text: The sinking of the "Maine" sparked a wave of public indignation in the United States. Newspaper owners such as William R. Hearst leaped to the conclusion that Spanish officials in Cuba were to blame, and they widely publicized the conspiracy. Realistically, Spain could have had no interest in drawing the US into the conflict. Yellow journalism fueled American anger by publishing "atrocities" committed by Spain in Cuba. Frederic Remington, hired by Hearst to illustrate for his newspaper, informed Hearst that conditions in Cuba were not bad enough to warrant hostilities. Hearst, allegedly replied, "You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war". President McKinley, Speaker of the House Thomas Brackett Reed, and the business community opposed the growing public demand for war, which was lashed to fury by the yellow journalism. The American cry of the hour became, "Remember the Maine, To Hell with Spain!"