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| - Throughout the 1850s and into the 1860s, fundamental social and economic reforms were demanded by Cuban planters and business owners. Lax enforcement of the slave trade ban led to a dramatic increase in imports, estimated at 90,000 slaves from 1856 to 1860. This occurred despite a strong abolitionist movement and rising costs among the slave-holding planters in the east. New technologies and farming techniques made large numbers of slaves unnecessary and prohibitively expensive. The result was the economic crisis of 1857; many businesses failed, including many sugar plantations and sugar refineries. The abolitionist cause gained strength, favoring a gradual emancipation of slaves with financial compensation from Spain. Additionally, indentured Chinese immigrants gained popularity for cheap
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| abstract
| - Throughout the 1850s and into the 1860s, fundamental social and economic reforms were demanded by Cuban planters and business owners. Lax enforcement of the slave trade ban led to a dramatic increase in imports, estimated at 90,000 slaves from 1856 to 1860. This occurred despite a strong abolitionist movement and rising costs among the slave-holding planters in the east. New technologies and farming techniques made large numbers of slaves unnecessary and prohibitively expensive. The result was the economic crisis of 1857; many businesses failed, including many sugar plantations and sugar refineries. The abolitionist cause gained strength, favoring a gradual emancipation of slaves with financial compensation from Spain. Additionally, indentured Chinese immigrants gained popularity for cheap labor in the absence of slaves. Before the 1870s, more than 125,000 came to Cuba. In May 1865, Cuban creole elites placed four demands upon the Spanish Parliament: tariff reform, Cuban representation in Parliament, judicial equality with Spaniards, and full enforcement of the slave trade ban. The Spanish Parliament at the time was changing; gaining much influence were reactionary, traditionalist politicians, and it was their policy to eliminate all liberal reforms. Military tribunals saw their powers increased as well; a six percent tax increase was hoisted on the Cuban planters and businesses. Additionally, all political opposition and the press were silenced. Dissatisfaction in Cuba spread on a massive scale as the mechanisms to express it were restricted. This discontent was particularly felt by the planters and hacienda owners in Eastern Cuba. The failure of the latest efforts by the reformist movements, the demise of the "Information Board" and another economic crisis in 1866/67 gave way to a new scenario. In spite of the crisis, the colonial administration continued to make huge profits which were not re-invested in the island, but either went into military expenditures (44% of the revenue), paid for the colonial government's expenses (41%), or were sent to the Spanish colony of Fernando Po (12%). The Spaniards, representing 8% of the island's population, was appropriating over 90% of the island’s wealth. In addition, the Cuban population still had no political rights and no representation in Parliament, which sparked the first serious liberation movements, especially in the eastern part of the island. In July 1867, the "Revolutionary Committee of Bayamo" was founded under the leadership of Cuba’s wealthiest plantation owner, Francisco Vicente Aguilera. The conspiracy rapidly spread to Oriente’s larger towns, most of all Manzanillo where Carlos Manuel de Céspedes became the main protagonist of the uprising. Originally from Bayamo, Céspedes owned an estate and sugar mill known as La Demajagua. The Spanish, aware of Céspedes’ anti-colonial intransigence, tried to force him into submission by imprisoning his son Oscar. Céspedes refused to negotiate and Oscar was executed.
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