IN choosing to rise up in arms against the oppression of the tyrannical Spanish government, in accordance with the customs of all civilized nations, we declare to the world the causes which have compelled us to avail ourselves of such a recourse, a recourse which, though pursued for greater good, invariably entails inevitable upheaval, and the principles we wish to erect upon the ruins of the present regime for the happiness of future generations.

All are aware that Spain governs the island of Cuba with a blood- drenched iron fist. Denying us security in our property and arrogating to herself the power to impose taxes at whim, she has stripped us of every political, civil, and religious liberty: her unfortunate children are exiled to distant lands or executed without due process by military commissions convened in time of peace, to the detriment of civil authority. She withholds the right of assembly except under a military commander, and any plea for relief brands us rebels, leaving us no recourse but silence and obedience.

An endless plague of famished officials flooding in from Spain devour the fruits of our estates and labour. Sheltered by despotic power, and aided by a restrictive system of education, they exclude our worthiest compatriots from office, wishing us so ignorant that we remain blind to our sacred rights, or, that knowing them, we are rendered unable to demand their observance. Loved and respected by the nations which surround us, . . . [Cuba] needs neither a standing army nor a navy whose exorbitant costs exhaust every source of wealth; yet Spain imposes upon us an armed force solely to crush our necks beneath an iron yoke. . . Spain has repeatedly promised to respect our rights, yet has squandered her word by mocking us with a vestige of representation, whilst imposing crippling taxes which are the ruin of our property.

Finding ourselves exposed to the loss of estates, lives, and honour, we are therefore compelled to place at stake those very treasures in order to reconquer our sacred rights as men; if not by the force of argument, then by the force of arms. When a people descend to the depths of degradation and misery which we now endure, none may reproach them for taking up arms; the actions of the greatest nations of this world serve as precedent. Cuba shall not be denied the rights enjoyed by other peoples; nor can it be said that her people should know only suffering. . . We desire only to be free and equal, as the Creator has made all men.

We consecrate two venerable principles: that all men are equal, and that tolerance, order, and justice must prevail. We respect the lives and property of all peaceful citizens, even Spaniards resident here; we admire universal suffrage as the safeguard of popular sovereignty; we desire the gradual, indemnified, emancipation of slavery, free trade with reciprocating nations, national representation to enact laws and taxes, and the scrupulous observance of the imprescriptible rights of man by constituting ourselves as an independent nation, for only thus can we fulfil our future destiny, and under Spain’s sceptre we shall never enjoy the free exercise of our rights.

What noble heart wishes not that we attain this sacred goal? What civilized nation will not condemn Spain’s conduct[?]. . . Cuba can no longer belong to a power that, like Cain, kills its brothers and, like Saturn, devours its own children. Cuba aspires to be great and civilized, to extend a friendly arm and fraternal heart to all peoples; if Spain consents to leave us free and at peace, we shall embrace her as a loving daughter embraces her mother, but if she persists in domination and extermination, she will sever all of our necks, before rendering Cuba a wretched herd of slaves. . .

October 10, 1868,

Manzanillo, Cuba

Commander in Chief, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes.