|
 General Ramón Blanco was the man chosen to take the place of Valeriano Weyler in Cuba. Taking over Weyler's post, Blanco faced many difficulties.
Blanco had been in charge of Cuba years before the War of Independence. It was he who had José Martí sent into exile.
The new Spanish leaders were strongly opposed to the actions of "Butcher" Weyler, so Blanco had to end the concentration camps and win the war at the same time. On top of all of this, he also had to prepare for an invasion of Cuba by the Americans.
General Blanco's idea was to join forces with the Cuban revolutionary army. Together, they would fight off any invaders. However, Máximo Gómez refused this offer and kept on fighting.
Blanco attempted ending the hostilities with the revolutionaries, but had to restart them again. Then his problems grew worse.
When the USS Maine was destroyed in a Havana harbor, America blamed Spain. The sensationalist media coverage given to the Maine's destruction in the U.S. whipped up an anti-Spain ferver. General Blanco remarked, "This is the saddest day Spain ever saw." Soon the U.S. declared war on Spain and invaded Cuba.
The war went very badly for Spain. General Blanco and his Chief of Staff differed over Blanco's reluctance to reinforce Santiago. Rather than surrender, Blanco sent out his fleet under Admiral Pascual Cervera, which was destroyed by the American navy.
General Blanco quit his position as the Governor General of Cuba. Spain was forced to surrender to the United States. |
