The History of Cuba and its Interpreters, 1898-1935
The final years of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth signified a time in which the Cuban people adjusted to a reality for which they were not fully prepared. The world created by centuries of Spanish colonialism crumbled in a spectacular and miserable manner, leaving in its wake a country desolated by war and famine. On January 1, 1899, the Spanish flag was lowered from El Morro in Havana and replaced with the flag of the United States. During this politico-military transition from Spanish rule to U.S. occupation, the defenders of independentismo and Cuba Libre were ignored and humiliated.