Miguel Aldama | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Miguel Aldama y Alfonso |
| Born | October 4, 1821 Havana, Captaincy General of Cuba, Spanish Empire |
| Died | March 15, 1888 Havana, Captaincy General of Cuba, Spanish Empire |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  Cuba |
| Battles/wars | |
Miguel Aldama (October 4, 1821 - March 5, 1888) was a Cuban revolutionary, merchant, and politician.
Miguel de Aldama y Alfonso was born in Havana, Spanish Cuba on October 4, 1821. He was born to Domingo Aldama y Arrechaga and Rosa Alfonso y Soler. Aldama was described as Criollo. As a successful merchant, he led one of the island's most affluent families. [1] Alongside his mansion, the Palacio de Aldama, in Prado [2] and a considerable stake in the Havana Railroad, he owned five of Cuba's largest estates.
Aldama became part of a reformist delegation led by José Morales Lemus in late 1866, traveling to Madrid, Spain to negotiate reforms with the Spanish government. [3] With the failure of these negotiations, the delegates aligned themselves with those who initiated the Ten Years' War in 1868.
Aldama served on the Revolutionary Committee of Havana with fellow members José Morales Lemus, Antonio Fernández Bramosio, José Manuel Mestre, and José Antonio Echeverría. [4]
His property was seized by Spanish authorities on the orders of Spanish Military Governor Domingo Dulce, who mandated an embargo on April 1, 1869, against Cuban properties and assets. [5]
On May 10, 1869, Aldama arrived at the Port of New York in the United States after departing Cuba's capital on board the steamship S.S. Morro Castle. [1]
In November 1869, the revolutionary Cuban Junta was reorganized in New York City and Aldama assumed the role of the president of the Cuban Junta. [6] [7] The Cuban Junta in New York was formed to finance the uprising against the colonial regime of Spain in Cuba. A court-martial was held on November 9, 1870, in which Aldama and others associated with the second junta of New York were convicted of treason and rebellion, with a death sentence by garrote awaiting them if they fell into Spanish hands. [8]
In 1878, following the Pact of Zanjón, his palatial residence, near Plaza del Vapor, was returned by the colonial government but never again occupied by the Aldama family. [9]
Miguel Aldama died on March 15, 1888, in Havana, Cuba. His remains were sailed to New York on the steamer City of Washington . [10] Upon arrival of his body, he was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.
In 1956, he was commemorated on a 4¢ postage stamp in Cuba. [11]
The national flag of Cuba consists of five alternating stripes and a red equilateral triangle at the hoist, within which is a white five-pointed star. It was designed in 1849 and officially adopted May 20, 1902. The flag is referred to as the Estrella Solitaria, or the Lone Star flag. It is in the stars and stripes flag family.
Eugenio María de Hostos y de Bonilla, known as El Gran Ciudadano de las Américas, was a Puerto Rican educator, philosopher, intellectual, lawyer, sociologist, novelist, and Puerto Rican independence advocate.
The Museum of the Revolution is located in the Old Havana section of Havana, Cuba, in what was the Presidential Palace of all Cuban presidents from Mario García Menocal to Fulgencio Batista. The building became the Museum of the Revolution during the years following the Cuban Revolution. The palace building was attacked by the Directorio Revolucionario 13 de Marzo in 1957.
Ambrosio José Gonzales was a Cuban revolutionary general who became a colonel in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Gonzales, as a revolutionary, wanted the United States to annex Cuba.
The Captaincy General of Cuba was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire created in 1607 as part of Habsburg Spain attempt to better defend and administer its Caribbean possessions. The reform also established captaincies general in Puerto Rico, Guatemala and Yucatán.
Domingo del Monte was a writer, lawyer, arts patron, and literary critic, known primarily for contributing to Cuban literature and advocating for public education throughout the country.
The Castillo del Príncipe is a military fort located in the Loma de Aróstegui, in Havana, Cuba. In 1982, the fort was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, along with other historic sites in Old Havana, because of the city's importance in the European conquest of the New World, its fortifications, and its unique architecture.
The following is a timeline of the history of Havana, Cuba.
The Palacio de Aldama is a neoclassical mansion located diagonally opposite to the old Plaza del Vapor, and in front of the old Campo de Marte; present day Parque de la Fraternidad, in Havana, Cuba. Built in 1840 by the Dominican architect and engineer Manuel José Carrera, its main facade of columns spans one block on Calle Amistad between Calles Reina and Estrella.
The Cuban Junta was a group of Cuban nationalists that advocated for Cuban independence before and during the Spanish-American War. The Junta was primarily made up of naturalized Cubans located in the United States. The main goal of the Junta was to free Cuba from the Spanish Empire by securing financial and military aid from the United States. The Junta used the American press as a device to distribute propaganda on Spanish rule in Cuba, fostering support among American citizens. The deciding factor that sent the United States into the Spanish-American War was the publication of the De Lôme Letter by the revolutionaries of the Cuban Junta. The letter was written by the Spanish ambassador to the United States, Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, and was very critical of President William McKinley The publication of the letter heightened tensions between the United States and Spain, and President McKinley was forced to confront Spain; he did so in demanding that Cuba be granted independence, which resulted in the beginning of the Spanish-American War on April 21, 1898.
Bernabé Varona, also known as Bembetta, was a Cuban revolutionary and mambí General who was executed during the Ten Years' War in 1873.
Gaspar Betancourt y Cisneros, also known as "El Lugareño", was a Cuban revolutionary, writer, and pioneer of Cuban journalism.
Domingo de Goicouria was a Cuban revolutionary and army general who was executed during the Ten Years' War.
Manuel de Quesada y Loynaz was a Cuban revolutionary and the first General-in-Chief of the Cuban Liberation Army who fought against Spain in the Ten Years' War.
Antonio Zambrana was a Cuban lawyer, jurist, writer, and politician.
José Francisco Lemus was a Cuban revolutionary and businessman who led one of the earliest secret societies advocating for Cuban independence and sought to align with Bolivar's revolutionary efforts in Latin America.
Miguel Jerónimo Gutiérrez was a Cuban revolutionary, politician, and military officer who played a significant role in the Ten Years' War (1868) and served as the Vice President of the Chamber of Representatives of the Republic in Arms in 1869.
José Morales Lemus was a Cuban revolutionary, merchant, and lawyer.
