ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

Type a location (e.g. Barcelona), or a year (e.g. 1638) or a category of event (e.g. uprising) to filter the corresponding results.

Separatist insurrection of Puerto Principe 1826

Synopsis
Following Fernando VII’s revocation of the 1812 Constitution, groups of freemasons and liberals struggled against the absolutist faction backed by the colonial government of Cuba. At the same time, the liberal Cubans increasingly aspired for an independent Cuba. On 20th January 1826 Francisco Agüero Velazco and Manuel Andrés Sanchéz arrived in Cuba and attempted to reactivate the network of a previous unsuccessful conspiracy named “Soles y Rayos de Bolívar” (1823). Based in Puerto Principe (nowadays Camagüey) they quickly started making contacts and funded a new society named “La Globa, Orden Chimborrajana y Circulo de la Esfera” that would combine philanthropic actions with the aspirations of independence through insurrection in support of a possible Colombian invasion. Their efforts were unsuccessful and within a month they were discovered by colonial government agents hiding on the ‘Las Cuevas’ plantation. Simultaneously, the 'Expedición de los Trece', a group of thirteen Cuban exiles embarked in Jamaica led by two Colombian army officers. But upon arrival near Puerto Principe, they were confronted with the trial of Agüero and Sanchéz for propaganda and recruitment. Both were convicted and hanged, becoming the first casualties for the cause of Cuban independence. The Thirteen then decided to return to Jamaica, as they had no hope of carrying out their insurrection plans. An armed intervention by Bolivar was uncertain, as was Cubans’ support for an armed insurrection.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 5 weeks. Name in sources: Expedición de los Trece. Location: Camagüey Country (current): Cuba. Monarchy: Spanish. Main participants: Local elites. Number of participants: <50. Main reasons & motivations: Anti-colonial, Political. Leadership: Francisco Agüero Velazco, Manuel Andrés Sanchéz . Relevance: low.

Further reading
CAMAGUËY y su Historia, Apuntes históricos desde la etapa precolombiana hasta 1987 (1989). Camangüey: Comité Provincial del PCC. INDICE histórico de la província de Camagüey (1968). Camagüey: Archivo Historico Provincial. NAVARRO GARCÍA, Luís (1992). La independencia de Cuba. Madrid: Mapfre.
Cite this entry

(2023) "Separatist insurrection of Puerto Principe 1826", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. (accessed on ).