1868–1898
Wars of Independence
Cubans fight a series of wars against Spanish rule. José Martí becomes the movement's enduring hero.
Across three decades, Cubans fought a series of wars to free themselves from Spanish colonial rule — a long, costly struggle that forged the island's sense of nationhood.
The Ten Years' War and after
The Ten Years' War (1868–1878) began with the Grito de Yara, when planter Carlos Manuel de Céspedes freed his enslaved workers and called for independence. Though that war ended without freedom, it planted ideas that would not die.
José Martí and the final war
The poet, journalist, and organizer José Martí became the soul of the independence movement, uniting exiles and islanders behind the cause. The War of Independence launched in 1895; Martí was killed in battle that same year, becoming an enduring martyr and the most revered figure in Cuban history.
Why it matters
These wars defined what it means to be Cuban — a people willing to sacrifice for patria and freedom. Martí's words and ideals are claimed across the political spectrum to this day, by government and exiles alike.