The influx of Cuban, Spanish and Italian workers made Ybor City and the encompassing Tampa region a vibrant, radical and ethnically diverse community interested in politics and ideology. Early in their history, the militant unionism of Cuban workers is evident. After the failed Cuban revolution in 1868, the Cuban Nationalist movement continued to grow in Key West, and, when Cuban independence began to dim in the 1870s, workers turned towards trade unionism with even more vigor. "La Resistencia" was formed in 1895 as a social group for Tampa cigar workers and transformed into a very powerful trade union. It fostered links between cigar industry workers in Tampa and workers in Havana, Cuba thus becoming an effective force for organizing workers and leading successful strikes in 1899 and 1901. After the strike of 1901, "La Resistencia" declined in importance and the Cigar Makers International Union replaced it as the chief labor organization in Tampa.