2-612-951 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

La Demajagua, an old sugar mill near Manzanillo (currently in eastern Granma province), became a landmark in Cuba's history. The place where the people's uprising began, leading to an armed struggle between Cubans and Spaniards. On October 10 1868, a date that marks for all Cubans the beginning of the Island's wars for independence, the bell of La Demajagua called workers - both slaves and free people - to gather as in times of danger, although on that occasion there was another reason: a general call to fight. Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, who was the owner of the sugar mill and is regarded as the Father of the Homeland, announced his decision to free its slaves, whom he invited to join the struggle for independence. Cigar card from the History of Cuba, Geografico Universal, Propaganda de los Cigarros Susini y La Corona, Tabacalera Cubana.