FRANCISCO VICENTE AGUILERA - AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT SIGNED 10/10/1871 CO-SIGNED BY: RAMON DE CESPEDES BARRERO - HFSID 218117

FRANCISCO VICENTE AGUILERA and RAMON DE CESPEDES
The Cuban Revolutionaries write a letter to the American People telling them about the situation of their country and asking them for help on these 5½x8¼ sixteen sheets.
Autograph Document Signed: "F.V. Aguilera" and "Ramon Cespedes" in iron gall ink. 5½x8¼. Fully Translated in English: "Cuba. To the American people. Delegates of the Republic of Cuba overseas, in order to help you obtain your freedom from Spain as much as we can, we have requested the attention of the American people in the commemoration of the third anniversary of the declaration of independence. The United Sates were constituted in Republic and their example awoke the lethargy and was a guide for the territories under the strong leash of Spain. The one time slave colonies became independent nations and the continental America breathed freely from the Land of Fire all the way to las Californias. Only Cuba and Puerto Rico remained slaves due to their insular situation their oppressors could prevent the arrival of the revolutionary redemptory consciences and also because the United States besides boosting an egoistic and pusillanimous, were opposed to the idea of granting freedom to their siblings in the southern continent. Under those circumstances is how Spain with its evil tenacity that characterizes it and its power remains and faded with the tolerance of this Great Republic, could master its tyranny system and promote slavery despite its treaties and century beliefs, and establish an advanced stronghold [illegible] from where Spain and the European potencies could attack in propitious occasions the peace or independence of the American territories. Cuba was the expedition base of Mexico's enemy allies. Cuba was the refugee of corsairs and arsenal and deposit of confederates of the south. In Cuba took place the measure of lies and from there the troops and treasures came out for the reconquer of Santo Domingo. From there the elements for bombing Valparaiso y Callao also came out. But evil does not bloom in perpetuity: the injustice never obtains the complete extinction of the notion of right, and the own overuse of force gives birth to the sufficient occasions and reactions to defeat it. The greediness of the Spaniards induced them to not skip the trading with other territories, the intellectual and moral isolation couldn't ban any port from neither the entrance to the life-giving ideas light nor the joy that they provoke on any social organism. The population increase, the wealth boom, the progress of education despite the suspicion they suffered, the circle of Latin nations recently emancipated, and mostly the incessant coexistence and communication with the United States. Short of splendor in liberty and fortune, they made Cubans understand the quantity of their right, the ignominy of their country, and that couldn't had been accorded to the Providence mines to have had let them grow up and reproduce themselves in a small portion of land privileged by Heaven, giving both hands to two free continents, and on the way of all the civilized territories, for no longer be only the ring of a disunited chain without any other future than being habitants of a colony. To make it seem more strength, the Spanish Courts and the monarch started with the greatest determination the honor of the nation saying that they would make justice to their rights; and the Spanish nation, the Courts and the monarch made fun of their effort. The Cubans protested and their protests either got lost in the expatriation bitterness or drawn under the leash of the tiller. They begged and the result of their begging was more contributions and more luxury in their proceedings until finally the suffering of so many lies, exaction, vilification ended and appealed to the last remedy of the towns against the tyranny, and on October 10, 1868, proclaimed their resolution about their forever separation from Spain and conquered their independence. Heroic resolution in the bunch of men who not well armed or without arms were the first ones who ran into the fight. Resolution that seems a reckless decision of the leader, but that in few days gave them a huge island extension, and against which all the efforts and power of entire Spain have crashed. After three years of a war that due to its ferocity does not find any similar one not even in the horrors of its primitive history in the New World. Once the Republic of Cuba was constituted, its liberty and equality among all its habitants without distinction of race declared in the fundamental law and after being elected Carlos Manuel de Cespedes as president, he thought that his people couldn't find more privileges anywhere outside their fatherland, town still crowned with the laurels of a titanic war in which he had no doubts and even compromised his own existence in order to free four millions of human similar, and that his town with its history, its democratic institutions and its enviable prosperity invites to the other less lucky ones to follow its footprints. Also, that the government of the United States of America when proclaiming and holding the doctrine that says that America has to belong to americans and did not consent the interference of the powers in this part of the world, has assumed the role of protector of the recently born republics and the responsibility of keeping untouched their independence. Therefore, it was necessary that President Cespedes searched before anyone else for the recognition and moral support from the government of Washington. And it is true that at the beginning his hopes seemed reachable. General Grant while shaking his hand with the Cuba representative exhorted him to stop. The State Secretary offered Spain his good disposition to put an end to the civil war of Cuba through a treaty that would assure its independence: he protested against the barbaric mode of the war in that island and threatened to consider Cubans as belligerents. Unfortunately, the hopes that seemed so reachable never came true. Spain rejected the good offer, and even though the Cubans have stopped for three years and that nations persists in its barbaric extermination actions, undoubtedly the time to put an end to the atrocities that have become in victims to the citizens of this country has not come yet and there was energetic protests against those atrocities two years ago, for been opposed to the practices of Christian and civilized countries. Cuba respects the undoubtedly very powerful considerations that have delayed the recognition of its rights of belligerents from the Washington Government, and that even have prevented it from intervening in the names of humanity and sanctioned principles by the right of the people with the purpose of regularize the exterminator war that is reducing the island to ashes. But Cuba cannot do less than lament that the American people, always so sensitive and enthusiastic for the noble and generous causes, had stopped showing it their sympathies with the same warmness showed at the beginning of the war for deference to their government. The passion that our cause inspires us does not blind us to the point of not to recognize that a great international matter must has had influenced in the reproductions of the government and in the country opinion about Cuba. Meanwhile, that country following the Senate and Congress instructions, reclaims England for the damage caused and not for the violation of the neutrality laws, allowing armed corsairs to emerge from two forts in order to utilize the American Pabellon, and also for having recognized with anticipation the rights of the belligerents to the confederates of the South, it was logical to avoid recognizing the Cuban insurrects own rights in order to not offer any information that could affect the pending reclamations. But the treaty of Washington has resolved the doubts and also confirmed the beforehand accepted people doctrine. In fact, the Washington treaty says that the faculty to recognize a war state among two or more parts, is discretional and inherent to the arrogance, and that the nation who does that doesn't offend any belligerent as long as it keeps neutrality among them. And even thought the Government of the United States had understood that before the treaty and never had made any complaint against Spain due to its recognizing to the confederates rights, even thought, it was far way from obeying the law of neutrality favoring as much as it could to the separatists of the south. In such situation, the humanity, the justice and the freedom if not claim to proceed with Spain and with Cuba on the same way that Spain favored with the United States and the Confederation just two months after the attack to the fortress. The Cuban revolution is three years old today October 10. The Spanish agents in lying telegrams, favoring for "give it for extinguished". They even consider the island pacification as already accomplished and at the same time the Habana newspapers report fierce battles every day and request twenty thousand soldiers more, quantity of soldiers that the metropolis brags to send and meanwhile the General Gomez among numerous insurrects invades the jurisdiction of Guantanamo, and Calisto Garcia takes control of another town in the west side, and Ygnacio Agramonte in the center don't give any rest to our enemies. Spain has consumed its glory and tens of millions of pesos in three campaigns and has seen three armies of sixty thousand men disappear in the no less numerous arms of volunteers, has also immolate millions of Cubans in the gallows and lastly, the its government has been devastated by the same ones that profess to hold it. Conversely, the republicans keep up the insurrected territory and without any help other than the few resources that receive from outside and even though the blockading squadron, they keep strong their resolution of expeling the tyrants. No other town has done more to obtain freedom with less help from the outside and with so many disadvantages. What else could someone ask the Cubans to consider them belligerents? The Republics of Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Bolivia and El Salvador have also removed them. Spain itself has sent confidential emissaries to propose them agreements. However, the government of the Union keeps watching indifferent to the massacre. American People, you, who are the owner of the destinies and who understand the mission that the Providence has pointed to you in America. You, who only with the strength of your freely expressed opinion can direct the politics of your country following the justice advice, you will sanction until the end with your silence the magnificent labor that is being consumed at your doors. In Cuba people steal, murder and that town is also being rape for the crime of having had followed your steps aspiring to its freedom and giving it back to its slaves. In Cuba your citizens are insulted, dispossessed, murdered, your own consuls are mocked and obligated to run away to save their lifes for only appear to sympathize with the victims. You cannot be on the side of the tortures. You cannot have any pleasure with such horrendous show. Your culture, your religiosity, your greatness, your own interest represents it. Only one gesture of yours was enough to make the french cesar retire humiliated from Mexico. One word of yours will be enough for your government to understand your desire, and that word will moderate the barbarism of an unhuman war and will save for the civilization and liberty of a town that is been destroyed by the implacable claws of the despotism that will lead to Cuba becoming into a desert, like a funeral prayer for those who died imploring you. American People: you asked for help to the European Monarchs to conquer your independence, and the monarchs gave it to you, would you deny to help other America town that is ashamed for being the last slave one and also wants to be free like you proclaimed the America land has to be?. New York October 10/71. The Vice-President of the Republic of Cuba. F.V. Aguilera. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba. Ramon Cespedes.". Francisco Vicente Aguilera (1821-1877) was a Cuban lawyer patriot who inherited a fortune from his father, and in 1867 the richest landowner in eastern Cuba, owning livestock, sugar refineries, extensive properties and slaves. Although he never bought any slave, he used the ones that he had inherited from his father but they were not enough of them to plant and harvest the sugarcane and work the farms, so Aguilera had to hire many free workers. He was Mayor of Bayamo, freemason and head of the Masonic lodge in Bayamo. Francisco Vicente Aguilera also traveled to several countries such as England, The United States of America, France and Italy. While traveling, he met governments with Chiefs of State who were nor monarchs, leading him to embrace the progressive ideas to which he was exposed. Aguilera turned into an idealist who was always trying to improve the conditions of his countrymen and at the age of 30 he began to conspire against Spanish colonial rule and joined a movement started by proto-independence patriot Joaquin Agüero in Camagüey, Cuba. Since then, in alliance with other wealthy landowners of the region, he openly spoke out against colonial Spanish rule. He was the leader of an anti-Spanish outbreak in Bayamo in 1867 and was elected as leader of a General Committee designated to carry out plans for the insurrectionists. The other two members of this committee were Francisco Maceo and Pedro "Perucho" Figueredo, lather author of the Cuban National Anthem. Aguilera had an active participation in the creation of conspiratorial groups in different regions of Cuba, including the planning of preliminary reunions that culminated in the declaration of independence on October 10, 1868 at Yara, led by planter and lawyer Carlos Manuel de Cespedes. Aguilera did not hesitate to use his money in the revolution, and at one of the conspiracy meetings he famously announced that he was willing and ready to sell all his private property and market value to raise funds for arming the new Cuban Army of Independence. On the next day, he published an ad on Bayamo's main newspaper offering all his properties, livestock and buildings, which included 35,000 head of cattle and 4,000 horses, for sale. Aguilera had many positions in the Cuban Army, including "Major General", "Minister of War", "Vice President of the Republic" and "Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern District". When commanding the army, he was distinguished for courage and ability, taking part in person in many engagements and skirmishes. Upon the outbreak of war in 1868, Aguilera decided to free all 500 of his slaves, an illegal action at that time under the Spanish law, and also joined ranks with a lot of them to retake the city of Bayamo from the Spanish. Many of his former slaves became soldiers and officers in the War of Independence, but it is uncertain whether or not his onetime slaves decided to enroll in the military or if their freedom was contingent upon Cuba winning the war. In 1871 Aguilera went to New York City in order to raise funds for the war effort and died in that city in 1877. The freed Cuban Republic honored him by printing his image on the Cuban $100 peso bill that circulated prior to the 1959 communist revolution. Ramon de Cespedes Barrero(1808-1890), was a Cuban lawyer and politician who participated in the Ten Year's War (1868-1878)in the liberating side. Since Cespedes was a prominent lawyer, he became Dean of the Lawyers College of Bayamo in 1842. Prior to the first war for the independence of Cuba he was involved in many cultural activities and worked as treasurer of the Philharmonic Society of Bayamo. In 1865 was elected Mayor of Bayamo and was substituted in 1866 by Luis Fernandez de Castro. Cespedes Barrero joined the revolutionary groups that were getting ready for the insurrection against Spain and had a very active participation in the uprising started by Carlos Manuel de Cespedes in 1868 at his sugarmill in Demajagua, near Manzanillo, actual province of Granma. Cespedes Barrero and Jose Joaquin Palma were the ones who introduced the first notion that declared the abolition of slavery in the island. He was also among the men who entered to Guaimaro on April 1869 and on May 1870 was named as Foreign Secretary of the Republic, departing from the island to New York on July 1871 as a diplomatic commissioner for the USA government and as a company for the vice-president Francisco Vicente Aguilera with the mission of unite the emigrated Cubans and reactivate the help expeditions to Cuba. In New York he tried to gain Cuba the support of other American countries, but some of them denied any help, Mexico for example, couldn't help because it had an agreement with Spain that it would remain neutral. After leaving the United States, he traveled to Costa Rica and remained there until 1878 with the Pacto del Zanjon, with which the war ended. There he worked as a Civil and Trade Judge in Puntarenas City. After his returning to Cuba he settled down in Manzanillo where he worked as a Municipal Judge. Lightly toned and creased. Light tears along edges. Multiple folds. Worn, torn and toned along edges. Otherwise, fine condition.