Arsenio Martínez - Campos y Antón Arsenio Martínez - Campos y Antón , born Martínez y Campos ( Segovia , Spain , December 14 , 1831 – Zarauz , Spain , September 23 , 1900 ) , was a Spanish officer , who rose against the First Spanish Republic in a military revolution in 1874 and restored Spain ' s Bourbon dynasty . Later he became Captain - General of Cuba . As soldier and politician , he took part in the wars in Africa , Mexico , Cuba and the last Carlist war . Martínez Campos received a military education and after 1852 served on Spain ' s general staff ( " Estado Mayor " ) . Later on , he was named professor in its academy . In 1860 , he was sent to Africa , and also took part in the Mexican 1861 campaign against urban rebels under General Juan Prim , in a joint expedition along with France and Britain . After the Revolution of 1868 , Arsenio Martínez Campos requested posting to Cuba , where he fought well against the rebels in 1869 in the Ten Years ' War , gaining the rank of Brigadier General . Success in this war commonly was a matter of perception , the Spanish Army after taking serious losses , would take the field in bayonet charges thus technically winning . However , the Cuban rebels would count up the Spanish losses against their own and consider the action a victory in terms of body count and withdraw . The Cubans also knew that movements of Spanish in the field caused the exposure of the susceptible Spanish forces to yellow fever and other tropical diseases ; these diseases would hurt the enemy further . Martínez Campos , perceived as too soft to win , was displaced by the ruthless Blas Villate , Count of Balmaceda ; who proceeded with a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing called , " The Rising Flood of Valmaseda " . In 1872 , Martínez Campos returned to Spain , where he backed the coup d ' état led by Manuel Pavía . Here , he took charge of several brigades to fight the Carlist uprisings with little success . After this , he was put in charge of the Valencian army , fighting Independent forces in Alicante and Cartagena . The chaotic situation in Spain caused him to plot against the Republic and in favour of Alfonso XII , son of the exiled Isabel II . On the 29 December 1874 , Martínez Campos led a coup d ' état in Sagunto to restore the throne to Alfonso XII . Later , he was named Captain General of Catalonia after defeating the Carlists there and in Navarre in the Restoration . He was made Captain General ( governor ) of Cuba in 1876 where his reputation as a noble warrior allowed him to arrange a peace treaty ( Paz de Zanjón ) with the war weary Cuban rebels in 1878 . This treaty granted more autonomy to Cuba , freedom to rebels who had been slaves , and a few years after led to the complete abolition of slavery on the island . Returning to Spain , and after presiding over a conservative government in 1879 as Cánovas ' s puppet , he was forced to leave the Conservative Party , since he favoured granting total freedom to all races in Spain . He turned to the Liberals . As Minister for War under Sagasta , he founded the Academia Militar General . In 1893 , he was named general - in - chief of the African army , and subscribed a peace treaty ( Peace of Melilla ) with the Sultan of Morocco in 1894 . That same year ( 1893 ) , he suffered an assassination attempt . Two years later , he returned to Cuba , but facing an incorrectly perceived need to toughen measures against the rebels , he refused to order ethnic cleansing and resigned his post . He was replaced with by Valeriano Weyler . Martínez Campo returned to Spain , where he was named president of the Supreme War and Navy Council until his death in 1900 . Weyler ’ s tactics did not lead to victory but instead contributed to the U . S . intervention in the Spanish American War .