2-612-084 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Carlos Manuel de Cespedes (1819-1874), President of the Republic of Cuba in Arms, c1910. Known as Padre de la Patria (Father of the Country) Céspedes was a Cuban planter who freed his slaves and made the declaration of Cuban independence in 1868 which started the Ten Years' War. In April 1869 he was chosen President of the Republic of Cuba in Arms. He was deposed in 1873 in a leadership coup. Spanish troops killed him in February 1874 in a mountain refuge, as the new Cuban government would not let him go into exile and denied him an escort. Cigar card from the History of Cuba, Geografico Universal, Propaganda de los Cigarros Susini y La Corona, Tabacalera Cubana.