General Weyler: Total War, Cuba, and US Intervention
General Valeriano Weyler and Total War in Cuba
In early 1896, the Conservative Government of Cánovas, seeking a victory against armed insurgents in Cuba prior to colonial reform, appointed General Valeriano Weyler to command Spanish troops. Weyler, known for his harsh suppression of the nationalist uprising in the Philippines, had previously served as Captain of the Canary Islands (1878-1883).
Weyler’s strategy in Cuba was to wage a total war of annihilation. To cut off support for rural independence guerrillas, he decreed the “reconcentration” of the rural population into villages and towns controlled by colonial garrisons, abandoning their crops. This policy led to the deaths of thousands of elderly people, women, and children (perhaps around 300,000) from hunger and the spread of diseases like malaria. Weyler, the Marquis of Tenerife, is remembered for establishing concentration camps and using terror as a method of warfare.
United States Involvement
Weyler’s inhumane tactics earned him the nickname “butcher” and served as a pretext for the United States and President McKinley to justify their interference in the Spanish-Cuban conflict, which was damaging Yankee trade in the West Indies. The U.S. capitalist class was expanding its imperialism in America, seeking new investment areas and markets.
In October 1897, a government led by Sagasta came to power after the assassination of Cánovas. The Liberals radically changed Spanish policy towards Cuba, relieving Weyler of command and granting autonomy to the island. However, these reforms came too late, as the independence movement had deeply penetrated the Cuban bourgeoisie and lower classes.
The Sinking of the Maine and the War
The bombing of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, triggered a media campaign in the United States to justify military intervention in Cuba. The real intent was to gain control over Cuban sugar production and Caribbean trade. The American victory and the Treaty of Paris (December 1898) marked the collapse of Spanish colonial power, with the loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to U.S. imperialism.