A Numismatic Link to Cuba’s Abortive Bid
for Independence in 1868
Mark B. Anderson 10140
P
aper money is frequently a testament to changes in fortune
across history, and this is especially true of Cuba, which has
had more than its share of violent changes of administration
since it was “discovered” 520 years ago. This is the story of one
fascinating series of notes that remind us of the first of Cuba’s
revolutionary bids for independence.
The island we refer to as Cuba is widely accepted to have been
“discovered” by Christopher Columbus, who christened it
“Juana” upon his arrival on October 28, 1492. This honour was a
reference to Prince Don Juan, son of Queen Isabella of Spain, the
sponsor of Columbus’ voyage. The indigenous residents continued
to call the land by its Indian name, “Cubanacan.”
Less than 20 years later, Columbus’ son Diego, who had been
appointed Governor of the Indies by King Ferdinand, sent Diego
Velazquez to Cuba for the purpose of “conquering and settling”
it. In 1511, when Velazquez and 300 men arrived, they were
met with an attitude about the intentions and character of white
men based on their experiences with previous European visitors.
The landing party faced a hail of arrows, but managed to survive
the attack. Hatuey, a chief of the local natives, led a group of
warriors in a guerrilla campaign against the Spaniards, but he was
eventually captured. On February 2, 1512, Velazquez and his
men tied Hatuey to a post and demanded he disclose the location
of “the gold.” When offered a cross and the chance to “die in the
grace of God,” Hatuey is reported to have replied, “If Christians
go to heaven, I do not want to go to heaven.” Then Hatuey was
burned at the stake, and immediately after the fire consumed his
body, the opposition of the natives came to an abrupt end.
“Western” colonization began almost immediately. By 1515,
Cuba had six settlements, one of which was Havana. It was given
the title of “City” in 1592 and was confirmed as the capital of
Cuba in 1607, a special year of that period as it also saw the
founding of Jamestown, Virginia far to the north. Interestingly,
in 1602, Cuba’s population was already more than 20,000,
of which 13,000 lived in or around Havana. This was almost
20 years earlier than the Pilgrim landing to settle present-day
Massachusetts.
As Spain grudgingly discovered, gold was not important in Cuba,
but farming was. The indigenous labour force, so necessary to
cultivation, was not thriving; thus workers had to be imported,
and so began the slave trade. The monarchy in Spain approved the
first slave trading permit in 1513, and as part of the deal, received
a royalty for each slave transported. This was the same year that
Ponce de Leon discovered “La Florida.” By 1524 slaving had
become important, and by 1550 was reportedly “uninhibited.”
Its practice did not end in Cuba until 1886, a full 32 years after
Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation during the
American Civil War.
Havana, viewed as the principal commercial and military port
for all of Hispanic America, existed simply for the good of
mother Spain. As the capital of the Spanish New World, trade
was routed through Havana and carried mainly in Spanish flag
vessels. Trade with countries other than Spain was prohibited,
strangely, and shipping was really only practical on Spanish ships.
Vessels in transit to Europe would almost all put into Havana for
key provisions before setting sail northward for the Gulf Stream.
A rare 1,000 peso note, dated September 6, 1869 and hand-signed by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes as President and E. Yzaguirre as Interior Minister (P60), which was the top
denomination issued by the first Cuban revolutionary government.
50
International Bank Note Society Journal 51.3
This explains the frequency of wrecks along the shallow Cuban
reefs and, over time, increasingly persistent attacks by competing
European powers. This pressure peaked in 1762 when English
ships took Havana, but ownership was returned to Spain in 1763
in an arranged trade in return for Spanish Florida. Florida later
provided a haven for fleeing Loyalists when the English lost the
American Revolutionary War, even though ownership of the
Florida Keys, then known as Los Martires, was not settled.
By 1809, discontent with Spanish rule in Cuba began to manifest
itself in what would become roughly 60 years of sporadic
secessionist movements. Cuba’s first successful rebellion against
Spain traces back to the February 24, 1868 uprising in Puerto
Rico known as the Grito de Lares. By August 4 of that year, a
revolutionary group had formed in Cuba. At a meeting on a farm
in Las Tunas, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes pleaded for action,
closing with the moving words: “Gentlemen, the hour is solemn
and decisive. The power of Spain is decrepit and worm-eaten. If
it still appears great and strong to us, it is because for more than
three centuries here in Cuba, we have contemplated it from our
knees.” Ten days later, on August 14, a Revolutionary Committee
was formed in Santiago de Cuba. On September 18, Isabel II,
Queen of Spain, was dethroned by a military revolt in Spain, after a
quarter century of rule. On October 10, 1868, from his plantation,
de Céspedes proclaimed Cuban independence in the historic
Grito de Yara (“Cry of Yara”). Joined by 37 other planters, he
liberated all of his slaves and offered each of them a role in his new
revolutionary militia. This set off ten years of armed struggle against
the Spanish colonial forces, which eventually ended in a truce
which saw Spanish rule restored (which was eventually overthrown
only after after US intervention in the Spanish-American War).
De Céspedes headed the revolution which in September 1869
issued a series of seven notes – 50 centavos, and 1, 5, 10, 50, 500
and 1,000 pesos (P54-60). De Céspedes led the revolutionary
government until October 27, 1873, when, at a meeting of the
House of Representatives in Bijaugal – to which he was not
invited – he was removed and replaced by Salvador Cisneros
Betancourt. On February 27, 1874, as he was leaving S. LorenzoOriente, de Céspedes was ambushed and killed.
These notes financed the overthrow of the Spanish government
after its nearly 400 years of domination of strategically important
Cuba. By virtue of the de Céspedes signature, these notes
represent a tangible connection to Cuba’s earliest meaningful
assertion of independence, and is unquestionably connected to
yearnings for freedom experienced in all ages. That is why the note
on the opposite page is my favorite Cuban numismatic object.
This note and others like it will be seen at the upcoming Wall
Street Collectors Bourse II, “Memorabilia of Finance,” October
18-20, 2012 at the Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall Street,
New York City. For more information contact John Herzog at
info@wallstreetbourse.com or phone 203-292-6819.
International Bank Note Society Journal 51.3
51