Negro Rebellion

The Negro Rebellion was a series of revolts and uprisings in Cuba, mostly in the easr. It began around May 20, 1912 and ended in July. The rebellion was crushed by the government, with help from US President William H. Taft, and both of the rebellion's leaders were killed in the war. The rebellion saw the formation of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade.

The US military came in to protect American companies in Cuba and saw combat there. Over 3,000 Afro-Cuban rebels were killed during the war, and some estimates put that at 6,000 deaths. The United States government claims that only 12 men were killed during the war. Some sources (such as Guillermo Lara) claim that 2,000 men were killed, but North American estimates put it at 5,000-6,000.

Background
Slavery
After the discovery of America, slavery was introduced, and over 800,000 people were enslaved in Cuba, which was the largest slave hub. These were primarily Taínon and Guanahatabey peoples, who mixed with the slaves from Africa to form Afro-Cubans. There was also a genocide against the Taínon by the Spanish. Evaristo Estenoz started the Partido Independiente de Color (PID), a party that wanted equality for Afro-Cubans in the sugarcane industry, where many of them were employed. When the party started, many Afro-Cubans supported the movement since it pushed for equality and better working conditions.

Banana Wars
The Banana Wars were a series of wars, conflicts, rebellions, and occupations between the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898 and 1934. The US Army would usually fight, and the US Navy sometimes provided support. The took place in Central America and the Caribbean in the following countries:
Dominican Republic
Haiti
Cuba
Mexico
Nicaragua

However, on August 1st, 1934, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt pulled out all US soldiers in occupied territories. A manual of Americans were supposed to do during the wars, the Small Wars Manual, was written by experienced soldiers of the US Marine Corps. This manual was also used during the Iraq War by the 1st Infantry Division.

Marines in Cuba
In 1895, the PID started the War of 1895, which was unsuccessful, but it regrouped in 1912 and also caused some unrest. As a response, the United States sent 688 police officers and Marines to the naval base at Guantanamo Base under Major George C. Thorpe. They garrisoned the naval base and secured it in case of any further unrest. During the time they were there, the PID was arming themselves and getting ready for a rebellion.

The rebels had few many guns, but they still had several hundred men, mostly peasants, and were led by Evaristo Estenoz. Later, the rebellion had several thousand men. However, before the uprising, Cuban President José Miguel Gómez had ordered for the party to be disbanded under the Morúa Law.

Rebellion
Start
On May 20, Estenoz and his rebellion fought the Cuban National Army. Most of the fighting took place in Oriente Province in the east, where most Afro-Cubans lived, but there was also some fighting in Las Villas Province, in the west. At first, the rebels won against the army, which was pushed back. On May 23, Gómez requested help from US President William H. Taft.

On May 28, the first US Marines landed in Deer Point, Guantanamo Bay, under Colonel Lincoln Karmany. The 1st Provisional Regiment of Marines had about 809 men. Once they had landed, they were ordered to meet up with Major Thorpe's battalion, which was in Guantanamo Bay's Naval Base.

Cuban Response
The Cuban government and news talked about the rebels and started terriblty rumors and propaganda. Gómez ordered that his people to fight for "civilization" and against "ferocious savagery." He also showed a picture of a "raped teacher," which was confirmed to be fake news, and Cuban government propaganda was printed by El Día. The conservative newspaper wanted Cuba to copy the Jim Crow laws from the United States, which segregated black people, mistreated them, and gave them fewer rights than white men. The newspaperalso argued that "dominated races do submit." 

However, Afro-Cuban politicians were against that and were worried by the racism and anger that the rebellion caused. The reputation of Juan Gualberto Gomez, an Afro-Cuban, was also damaged because he wrote a manifesto against racism.

American Intervention
On June 7, the 2nd Provisional Regiment under Colonel James E. Mahoney landed at Guantanamo Bay with 1,292 men and officers. The 1st battalion landed in Havana, Cuba, on June 10th. USS Mississippi also sent a detachment to El Cuero on June 19. For the men that landed in Guantanamo, only one battalion was commanded. The rest were under Colonel Karmany, who took command of all unassigned troops and organized the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade.

In total, there were about 2,789 American men and officers in total in Cuba. Half of them were sent to occupy towns and cities, and the  other half were kept in Guantanamo. The Marines also guarded American sugarcane plantations, copper mines, railroads, and trains that were owned by American companies. The Afro-Cubans attacked the Marines only once, at El Cuero, but they lost the battle. Both sides suffered 0 casualties.

Suppression
In June 1912, Estenoz started losing a lot of land to the Cuban National Army, his rebels became less organized, and many died. Before June, there were about 3,000 men, but that went down to about 1,800 men. Some sources say that over 6,000 men were killed. President Gómez offered peace to any rebels who would surrender by June 22nd, but Estenoz rejected that offer and continued to fight with a couple of hundred men. Most other rebels surrendered.

Estenoz was killed on June 27, after he had been shot in the back of the head by soldiers in the Cuban National Army. After he died, the rebel factions became smaller. The most important faction of rebels was led by Pedro Ivonnet, who escaped to the mountains and started to use guerrilla warfare, but he was pushed out of the mountains and surrendered on July 18. He was killed when he tried to escape. Then, the war was over.

After Estenoz died, President Gómez announced that the Marines were no longer needed, and they started to withdraw from Cuba. They went from Guantanamo Naval Base to bases in the United States. The last Marines left Cuba left on August 2, on USS Prairie.

Other names
The Negro Rebellion had other names used by the Government, people, rebels, and the press:
 Levantamiento Armado de los Independientes de Color
 Armed Uprising of the Independents of Color
 Little Race War
 War of 1912
 War of 1912 In Cuba 
 The Twelve
 Massacre of the Colored Independents
 Black Rebellion

Aftermath
After the rebellion ended and the Marines left Cuba, between 2,000 and 6,000 men were reported to have died, including civilians and combattants. The Cuban National Army claimed to have lost only 12 men.

The PID was dissolved because there was nobody left to lead it. The Cuban government had won, and the entire rebellion had been put down. Those who did not surrender were killed or went home.

Of the 1,200 Afro-Cuban rebels who surrendered, only about 500 of them made it home. The bodies of both of the leaders, Ivonnet and Estenoz, were shown in public to humiliate them. They were also buried in normal and common graves to avoid them from being noticed or making them a public figure.

Related pages
 Spanish-American War
 Colonialism
 Cuba

References

Category:20th century in Cuba
Category:1910s conflicts
Category:1912 in North America