Arsenio Martínez Campos
Arsenio Martínez-Campos y Antón, born Martínez y Campos (14 December 1831, in Segovia, Spain – 23 September 1900, in Zarauz, Spain), was a Spanish officer who rose against the First Spanish Republic in a military revolution in 1874 and restored Spain's Bourbon dynasty. Later, he became Captain-General of Cuba. Martínez Campos took part in wars in Africa, Mexico and Cuba and in the Third Carlist War. Education and early military career In 1860, he was sent to Africa to take part in the Tetuán War in Morocco, and he distinguished himself in 16 actions, obtaining the Cross of San Fernando and the rank of lieutenant colonel. He also took part in the Mexican 1861 campaign against urban rebels under General Juan Prim in a joint expedition along with France and Britain. Ten Years' War After the Revolution of 1868, Martínez Campos requested a posting to Cuba, where he fought against the rebels in 1869 in the Ten Years' War, gaining the rank of brigadier general. Success in this war was often a matter of perception. The Spanish Army, after taking massive losses, would take the field in bayonet charges. Despite technically winning, the Spanish losses against the Cuban rebels would make the Cubans consider the action to be a victory for the body count and then withdraw. The Cubans also knew that movements of Spanish in the field raised the exposure of the Spanish forces to yellow fever and other tropical diseases, which would hurt the enemy even further. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4210 Perceived as too soft to win, he was displaced by the ruthless Blas Villate, Count of Balmaceda, who proceeded with a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing, "The Rising Flood of Valmaseda." Political and military intrigue in Spain In 1872, Martínez Campos returned to Spain, where he backed the coup d'état led by Manuel Pavía. There, he took charge of several brigades to fight the Carlist uprisings with little success. Then, he was put in charge of the Valencian army, fighting independent forces in Alicante and Cartagena. The chaotic situation in Spain caused him to plot against the Republic and for Alfonso XII, son of the exiled Isabel II. Though Martínez Campos made no secret of his designs, Marshal Serrano in 1874 appointed him to the command of a division, which took part in the relief of Bilbao on 2 May and in the operations around Estella-Lizarra in June. On both occasions, Martínez Campos tried in vain to induce the other commanders to proclaim Alfonso XII. He was quartered in Ávila under surveillance but managed to escape and hid in Madrid. On 29 December 1874, Martínez Campos led a coup d'état in Sagunto to restore the throne to Alfonso XII. Later, he was named Captain General of Catalonia after defeating the Carlists there, ending the civil war, and in Navarre in the Restoration. Governor of Cuba He was made captain general (governor) of Cuba in 1876. His reputation as a noble warrior allowed him to arrange a peace treaty (Paz de