Abstract
In early January 1895, Cuban exile leader Jose Marti completed preparations in the United States and the Caribbean to ignite a revolt against Spanish colonial despotism in his homeland. Three vessels were chartered in New York and Boston to retrieve hundreds of weapons from a warehouse in Fernandina Beach, Florida, and board contingents of Cuban revolutionaries in Key West, the Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica to disembark on the island in conjunction with nationwide internal uprisings. During the previous forty-five years, Cuban patriots had been launching dozens of similar military filibuster expeditions from the United States, which the federal government moved to suppress for violating the Neutrality Act. The Fernandina affair ran into trouble when New York's World revealed parts of the conspiracy and the local collector of customs reacted by taking legal steps to seize the weapons, have the sailing charters revoked, and detain Marti and his cohorts for questioning.
Recommended Citation
de la Cova, Antonio Rafael
(2003)
"Fernandina Filibuster Fiasco: Birth of the 1895 Cuban War of Independence,"
Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 82:
No.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol82/iss1/4
