Florida, April 18 – On April 18, 1819, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes was born, a lawyer from Bayamo who sacrificed his property to fight for the independence of Cuba; he promoted transcendental measures and with his strong revolutionary personality he marked a milestone within the sector of the landowners, which earned him the nickname of Father of the Homeland.
Céspedes, who became Major General of the Liberating Army and first president of the Cuban Republic in Arms, on October 11 after the failed attack on Yara, gave the Cubans a lesson of honor, when he affirmed before the discouraged, «There are still twelve men left; they are enough to make independence!
After being elected president in the Assembly of Guáimaro, Céspedes outlined strategies to take the war to the whole Island, by land or by sea; in the same way he defended the method of irregular fight; he worked for the increase of the armed expeditions from abroad and deployed an extensive diplomatic activity, sending missives to different governments of America in search of recognition, both for the belligerence and for the Republic in Arms, and their support.
Victim of several attacks in the heart of the young Revolution he initiated, he was deposed from his position as president by the members of the House of Representatives and forced to remain in extremely difficult and dangerous conditions, without escort or authorization to travel abroad.
Finally, he was abandoned without any guard in a small village in the Sierra Maestra, where he dedicated himself to writing and teaching children to read until he had his last combat against Spanish troops on February 27, 1874, when he died when he threw himself down a precipice to avoid falling into enemy hands.
