View source for Captaincy General of Cuba

{{Short description|1607–1898 Spanish possession in the Caribbean}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name            = {{native name|es|Capitanía General de Cuba}}
| conventional_long_name = Captaincy General of Cuba
| common_name            = Cuba
| iso3166code            = omit
| era                    = [[Early modern Europe]]
| status                 = Colony of the [[Spanish Empire]]
| status_text            = 
| empire                 = Spanish
| government_type        = [[Monarchy]]
| year_start             = 1607
| year_end               = 1898
| year_exile_start       = 
| year_exile_end         = 
| event_start            = Administrative reorganisation
| date_start             = 
| event_end              = [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|Treaty of Paris]]
| date_end               = December 10
| event1                 = 
| date_event1            = 
| event2                 = 
| date_event2            = 
| event3                 = 
| date_event3            = 
| event4                 = 
| date_event4            = 
| event_pre              = 
| date_pre               = 
| event_post             = 
| date_post              = 
| p1                     = Governorate of Cuba
| flag_p1                = Royal Banner of the Crown of Castille (Habsburg Style).svg
| s1                     = Military Government of Cuba
| flag_s1                = US flag 45 stars.svg
| image_flag             = Flag of Spain (1785-1873 and 1875-1931).svg
| flag_alt               = Flag of Spain
| flag                   = Flag of Spain
| flag_type              = Top: Early modern flag<br />
Bottom: Cross of Burgundy
| image_flag2            = Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of the Captaincy General of Cuba.svg
| coat_alt               = Coat of arms of Cuba
| symbol                 = 
| symbol_type            = [[Coat of arms of Cuba|Coat of arms]]<br />(19th century)
| other_symbol           = 
| other_symbol_type      = 
| image_map              = Mapa del Virreinato de la Nueva España (1794).svg
| image_map_alt          = 
| image_map_caption      = Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1794, with the Captaincy General of Cuba shown in purple
| image_map2             = 
| image_map2_alt         = 
| image_map2_caption     = 
| capital                = [[Havana]]
| capital_exile          = 
| national_motto         = 
| national_anthem        = [[Marcha Real]]<br />(Royal March)
| official_languages     = [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
| religion               = [[Roman Catholicism]]
| currency               = [[Spanish dollar]], [[Spanish peseta]]
| leader1                = [[Charles III of Spain|Charles III]]
| leader2                = [[Alfonso XIII of Spain|Alfonso XIII]]<br /><small>[[Maria Christina of Austria]] (Regent)</small>
| leader3                = 
| leader4                = 
| year_leader1           = 1759–1788
| year_leader2           = 1886–1898
| year_leader3           = 
| year_leader4           = 
| title_leader           = King
| representative1        = [[Ambrosio de Funes Villalpando|Count of Ricla]]
| representative2        = [[Ramón Blanco, 1st Marquis of Peña Plata|Ramón Blanco y Erenas]]
| representative3        = 
| representative4        = 
| year_representative1   = 1764–1779
| year_representative2   = 1887–1898
| year_representative3   = 
| year_representative4   = 
| title_representative   = Captain General
| deputy1                = 
| deputy2                = 
| deputy3                = 
| deputy4                = 
| year_deputy1           = 
| year_deputy2           = 
| year_deputy3           = 
| year_deputy4           = 
| title_deputy           = 
| legislature            = 
| house1                 = 
| type_house1            = 
| house2                 = 
| type_house2            = 
| stat_year1             = 
| stat_area1             = 
| stat_pop1              = 
| stat_year2             = 
| stat_area2             = 
| stat_pop2              = 
| stat_year3             = 
| stat_area3             = 
| stat_pop3              = 
| stat_year4             = 
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| stat_pop4              = 
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| stat_area5             = 
| stat_pop5              = 
| footnotes              = 
| today                  = [[Cuba]]
}}
{{History of Cuba}}
The '''Captaincy General of Cuba''' ({{langx|es|Capitanía General de Cuba}}) was an administrative district of the [[Spanish Empire]] created in 1607 as part of [[Habsburg Spain]]'s attempt to better defend and administer its Caribbean possessions. The reform also established [[captaincies general]] in [[Captaincy General of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]], [[Captaincy General of Guatemala|Guatemala]] and [[Captaincy General of Yucatán|Yucatán]].

The restructuring of the Captaincy General in 1764 was the first example of the [[Bourbon Reforms]] in America. The changes included adding the provinces of [[Spanish Florida|Florida]] and [[Louisiana (New Spain)|Louisiana]] and granting more autonomy to these provinces. This later change was carried out by the [[José Moñino, 1st Count of Floridablanca|Count of Floridablanca]] under [[Charles III of Spain|Charles III]] to strengthen the Spanish position vis-a-vis the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] in the Caribbean. A new governor-captain general based in [[Havana]] oversaw the administration of the new district. The local governors of the larger Captaincy General had previously been overseen in political and military matters by the president of the [[Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo|Audiencia of Santo Domingo]]. This ''audiencia'' retained oversight of judicial affairs until the establishment of new ''audiencias'' in [[Camagüey|Puerto Príncipe]] (1800) and Havana (1838).

In 1825, as a result of the loss of the mainland possessions, the Spanish government granted the governors-captain generals of Cuba extraordinary powers in matters of administration, justice and the treasury and in the second half of the 19th century gave them the title of [[Governor General]].

==History==

===Antecedents===
Since the 16th century the island of Cuba had been under the control of the governor-captain general of [[Colony of Santo Domingo|Santo Domingo]], who was at the same time, president of the ''[[Real Audiencia|audiencia]]'' there. He oversaw the local governor and the Santo Domingo Audiencia heard appeals from the island.

The conquest of Cuba was organized in 1510 by the recently restored Viceroy of the Indies, [[Diego Colón]], under the command of [[Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar]], who became Cuba's first governor until his death in 1524. The new settlers did not wish to be under the personal authority of Colón, so Velázquez founded the city of [[Baracoa|Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa]] in 1511 and convoked a general ''[[Cabildo (council)|cabildo]]'' (a [[local government]] council), which was duly authorized to deal directly with Spain. This legal move removed Velázquez and the settlers from under the authority of Colón, their nominal superior. It was a precedent that would come back to haunt Velázquez during [[Hernán Cortés]]'s [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire|conquest of the Aztec Empire]]. Other cities were later founded under Velázquez: [[Bayamo]] in 1513; [[Trinidad, Cuba|Santísima Trinidad]], [[Sancti Spíritus]] and [[Havana|San Cristóbal de La Habana]] in 1514; [[Camagüey|Puerto Príncipe]] and [[Santiago de Cuba]] in 1515. After the [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire]], Cuba experienced an exodus of settlers, and its population remained small for the next two centuries.

In 1565 the ''[[Adelantado]]'' [[Pedro Menéndez de Avilés]], who was also Captain General of the [[Spanish treasure fleet]] which rendezvoused in Havana, established the first permanent Spanish settlement in Florida, [[St. Augustine, Florida|San Agustín]], initially bringing the province under the administrative control of Cuba, although due to distance and sea currents, Florida's government was granted the right to correspond directly with the [[Council of the Indies]].

The Church played an important role in the Spanish settlement of the Americas. Furthermore, since governors, as representatives of the King, oversaw church administration due to the crown's right of [[Ius patronatus|patronage]], the church and state were tightly intertwined in Spanish America. The first diocese was established in 1518 in [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba|Baracoa]] and was made suffragan to the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville|Diocese of Seville]]. The seat of the Diocese was transferred to Santiago de Cuba in 1522. In 1520 [[Pope Leo X]] established the short-lived Diocese of Santiago de la Florida (or "Santiago de la Tierra Florida"). In 1546 the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santo Domingo|Diocese of Santo Domingo]] was elevated to an Archdiocese and the Diocese of Santiago de Cuba was made [[Suffragan bishop|suffragan]] to it.

===Establishment===
In 1607 [[Philip III of Spain|Philip III]] created the Captaincy General of Cuba as part of larger plans to defend the Caribbean against [[Piracy in the Caribbean|foreign threats]]. The first captain general was Pedro Valdés. Around the same time other captaincies general were established in [[Captaincy General of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]] (1580) and [[Captaincy General of Guatemala|Central America]] (1609). Cuba was divided into two governorships with capitals in Havana and Santiago de Cuba. The governor of Havana was Captain General of the island. In 1650 Cuba received a large influx of refugees when the English [[Invasion of Jamaica|captured]] [[Colony of Santiago|Jamaica]] and expelled the Spanish settlers in the colony.

In 1756 the construction of ships for the [[Spanish Navy]] began with the establishment of an Intendancy of the Navy in Havana, which functioned as a [[Royal Shipyard of Havana|royal shipyard]].

[[File:Dominic Serres - The Capture of Havana, 1762, Taking the Town, 14 August.jpg|210px|thumb|left|[[Havana]] after the [[Siege of Havana|successful British siege]] in 1762]]
The [[Siege of Havana|British capture of the island]] in 1762 during the [[Seven Years' War]] proved to be a turning point in the history of Cuba and Spanish America in general. The British captured Havana after a three-month siege and controlled the western part of the island for a year. Britain returned Cuba in exchange for Florida in the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]]. The events revealed not only the weaknesses of the region's defenses but also proved just how much the Cuban economy had been neglected by the Spanish. During the year they controlled Cuba, the British and their [[British America|American colonies]] conducted an unprecedented amount of trade with the island.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Hugh |title=Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom |edition=2nd |location=New York |publisher=Da Capo Press |year=1998 |isbn=0-306-80827-7 }}</ref> A year earlier France had secretly ceded [[Louisiana Territory]] to Spain in compensation for its losses as its ally during the war.

As a sign of the seriousness with which the government took the problems, the very year the Spanish retook control of Havana construction began on what would become the largest Spanish fort in the New World, [[La Cabaña|San Carlos de la Cabaña]] on the eastern side of the entrance to harbor of Havana.

===The Bourbon Reforms===
Starting in 1764 the government apparatus of Cuba was completely restructured. A report on the island was created by [[Alejandro O'Reilly]], which provided the basis for the changes. A new emphasis was placed on appointing military men to the governorship-captaincy general of Cuba, many of whom were later rewarded with the post of [[Viceroyalty of New Spain|Viceroy of New Spain]]. To aid the captain general of Cuba, the governor of Santiago was made captain general of the province and given command of the military forces there. At the same time a new institution, which up until now had only been used in Spain, was introduced into Cuba: the [[Intendant|intendancy]]. An ''intendencia de hacienda y guerra'' was set up in Havana to oversee government and military expenditures and to promote the local economy. The first Intendant, Miguel de Altarriba arrived on March 8, 1765. Other intendancies soon followed: Louisiana (1766), Puerto Príncipe (1786) and Santiago de Cuba (1786). In 1774 the first census of the island was carried out, revealing 171,670 inhabitants, and other measures were taken to improve the local economy.

These reforms, especially the institution of the intendancy, initiated a dramatic social and economic transformation of the island during the last half of the 18th century and early 19th. Cuba went from being a defensive post in the Caribbean sustained by a subsidy from New Spain, the '''''situado''''', to becoming a self-sustaining and flourishing, sugar-, coffee- and tobacco-exporting colony, which also meant that large number of [[Slavery in the Spanish New World colonies|slaves were imported into Cuba]]. The agricultural economy was aided by the gradual opening of Cuban ports to foreign ships, especially after the loss of the mainland due to the independence wars.

===Territorial gains and losses===
{{See also|Spanish American wars of independence|Louisiana Purchase|Adams–Onís Treaty}}
During the [[American Revolutionary War]] Spain recaptured colonial Florida (which at that time included [[Gulf Coast]] lands extending all the way to the [[Mississippi River]]) from Great Britain, which was ratified in the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|1783 Treaty of Paris]]. But, within about 35 years, all of this territory was incrementally obtained by the U.S.; this was due in part to boundary disputes.

The transfer of the Spanish part of [[Colony of Santo Domingo|Santo Domingo]] to [[France]] in 1795 in the [[Peace of Basel|Treaty of Basel]], made Cuba the main Spanish possession in the Caribbean. The Audiencia of Santo Domingo was formally moved to Santa María del Puerto Príncipe (today, [[Camagüey]]) five years later, after temporarily residing in Santiago de Cuba. (It resided in Havana for a few years starting in 1808 before returning to Camagüey.)

The Church also experienced growth. In 1787 a [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Cristóbal de la Habana|Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Habana]] was established, which included Florida and Louisiana in its territory. In 1793 the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans|Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas]] was established. Both were [[Suffragan bishop|suffragan]] to the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, but after the Treaty of Basel, it disappeared, so Santiago de Cuba was elevated to an Archdiocese with the above-mentioned dioceses suffragan to it, as well as the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico|Diocese of Puerto Rico]].

===The 19th century===
{{See also|Mid-nineteenth century Spain}}
[[File:1814 Thomson Map of the West Indies %5E Central America - Geographicus - WestIndies-t-1814.jpg|thumb|left|1814 map of the West Indies, including Cuba.]]
The [[Spanish Constitution of 1812]], enacted by the [[Cortes of Cádiz]]{{snd}}which served as a parliamentary Regency after [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand VII]] was deposed{{snd}}declared the territory of the Captaincy General an integral part of the Spanish Monarchy and transformed it into a province with its own elected ''diputación provincial'', a governing board with joint administrative and limited legislative powers. Municipalities were also granted locally elected ''[[Cabildo (council)|cabildos]]''. The provincial deputation and ''cabildos'' functioned while the Constitution was in force from 1812 to 1814 and 1820 to 1823. Ultimately the Constitution was abolished by [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand VII]].

The death of Ferdinand VII brought about new changes. [[Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies|Regent María Cristina]] reconvened the [[Cortes Generales|Cortes]], in its traditional form with three [[Estates of the realm|estates]]. In 1836, Constitutional government was reestablished in Spain, except this time the government in Spain, despite its liberal tendencies, defined the overseas territories as [[Colony|colonies]], which should be governed by special laws. The democratic institutions, such as the ''Diputación Provincial'' and the ''cabildos'', established by the 1812 Constitution were removed. The new Constitution of 1837 ratified Cuba's demoted status. However, the "special laws" by which the overseas areas would be governed were not drafted until three decades later, when a special ''Junta Informativa de Reformas de Ultramar'' (Overseas Informative Reform Board), with representatives from Cuba and Puerto Rico, was convened in 1865. Even then its proposals were never made into laws.

In the 1830s, judicial affairs were restructured. An Audiencia of Havana was created in 1838, with the jurisdiction of the Puerto Príncipe Audiencia limited to the east and center of the island. (The latter was temporarily abolished from 1853 to 1868.)

In 1851 the [[filibuster (military)|filibustering]] [[Lopez Expedition]] from the United States led by [[Narciso López]] and [[William Logan Crittenden|William Crittenden]] failed with many of the participants being executed. Three years later the territory was the subject of the [[Ostend Manifesto]] by which several American diplomats discussed a scheme to purchase Cuba from Spain, or even take it by force.

[[File:Estados_República_Federal_Española_1873.jpg|thumb|States proposed in the [[Spanish Draft Constitution of 1873|Spanish Draft Federal Constitution of 1873]], among which Cuba was included.]]
By mid-century a definite pro-independence movement had coalesced, and Cuba experienced three civil wars in thirty years that culminated in a US intervention and the island's eventual independence: the [[Ten Years' War]] (1868–78), the [[Little War (Cuba)|Little War]] (1879–80) and the War of Independence, which became the [[Spanish–American War]]. During the last war the issue of autonomy came to a head. In 1895 the Overseas Minister, with approval from the Prime Minister, took the extra-constitutional step in 1897 of writing the ''[[Autonomic Charter|Constitución Autonómica]]'', which granted the Caribbean islands autonomy, technically bringing the Captaincy General to an end. Given the urgency of the movement, the government approved this unusual measure. The new government of the island was to consist of "an Island Parliament, divided into two chambers and one [[Governor-General]], representative of the Metropolis, who will carry out his duties in its name, the supreme Authority."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/91384955432571617422202/p0000001.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629141711/http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/91384955432571617422202/p0000001.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-06-29 |language=es |title=Autonomic Constitution of 1897 }}</ref> The new government functioned only for a few months before the United States took control of the island.

== Social dynamics ==

=== Population ===
The population of Cuba in 1899 when the Spanish rule had ended was 1,572,797 which was 9.2 times larger than the population in 1775 and during that year 171,620 people were reported living on the island.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Forte |first=Javiher Gutiérrez |title=(Post-)colonial Archipelagos: Comparing the Legacies of Spanish Colonialism in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=2022 |chapter=Chapter 10 Spanish Colonization's Mark on Cuba |doi=10.3998/mpub.11747103 |jstor=10.3998/mpub.11747103 |isbn=978-0-472-03884-8 |chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.11747103.14 }}</ref>

In Cuba, the western part of the island became the most developed due to Havana's port traffic and its ensuing commerce.<ref name=":0" /> By 1763, Havana had a population of around 50,000 which made it comparable to [[Lima]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Corbett |first=Theodore G. |date=1975 |title=Population Structure in Hispanic St. Augustine, 1629–1763 |url=https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3390&context=fhq |journal=Florida Historical Quarterly |volume=54 |issue=3 |via=STARS}}</ref> By the year 1790, Havana and the area surrounding it had a population close to 100,000 which made it the 3rd largest urban area in the Americas and was bigger than other cities in the Caribbean.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Knight |first=Franklin W. |url=https://www.bu.edu/historic/conference08/Knight.pdf |title=Migration and Culture: A Case Study of Cuba, 1750–1900 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University |year=2008}}</ref>

=== Slavery and economics ===
Between 1790 and 1821, 240,721 slaves were imported to Cuba from Africa.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Murray |first=D. R. |date=1971 |title=Statistics of the Slave Trade to Cuba, 1790–1867 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/156557 |journal=Journal of Latin American Studies |volume=3 |issue=2 |page=134 |doi=10.1017/S0022216X00001413 |jstor=156557 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> By the mid-19th century the slave population in Cuba was close to a half of a million with most working in the sugar industry.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Tomich |first=Dale |date=June 1991 |title=World Slavery and Caribbean Capitalism: The Cuban Sugar Industry, 1760–1868 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/657555 |journal=Theory and Society |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=297–319 |doi=10.1007/BF00213549 |jstor=657555 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Slavery in Cuba existed until being abolished in 1886.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schmidt-Nowara |first=Christopher |date=2008 |title=Empires against Emancipation: Spain, Brazil, and the Abolition of Slavery |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40241710 |journal=Review (Fernand Braudel Center) |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=101–119 |jstor=40241710 |quote="In Cuba, planters and their metropolitan allies delayed a final emancipation law until 1886." }}</ref>

Cuba's sugar trade in the 19th century dramatically grew and along with it so did the usage of slavery and number of slaves on the island. By 1830, Cuba was the world's largest producer of sugar. Also in 1830 the United States became Cuba's biggest trading partner as the US was cut off from its previous supply in the [[British West Indies]] and [[Hispaniola]]. Initially, sugar plantations were built around ports and in particular Havana because overland transport was costly, slow and difficult taking the form of large ox-cart trains transporting sugar. A railroad network was developed as a result of overland limitations with the first railroad line being built in 1837 between Havana and [[Güines]] spanning {{Convert|82|km|mi}}. The railroad allowed for the sugar industry to grow farther. The length of Cuba's railroad network grew from {{Convert|618|km|mi}} in the 1850s to {{Convert|1,218|km|mi}} by 1860.<ref name=":1" />

With the elimination of the slave trade, [[Coolie|imported Chinese Chinese contract laborers]] functioned as a replacement similar to other locations in the Caribbean. These laborers were exclusively male and recruited between the ages of 16 and 40 to serve for contracts ranging from 4 to 10 years. When Chinese laborers arrived in Cuba starting in 1847 they found themselves practically bound to the plantations and working under similar conditions to slaves whom previously worked their. When completing their contracts, some opted to stay in Cuba while others decided to return home to China. The practice of importing Chinese laborers lasted until the 1880s and 1890s.<ref name=":2" />

The telegraph was introduced to Cuba in 1851 and a telegraph network was soon made covering the whole island.<ref name=":1" /> An underwater telegraph cable was installed between Florida and Cuba in 1867.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hambright |first=Tom |date=2010 |title=Key West & Cuba Become Link for International Communications: International Ocean Telegraph Co. in Key West  |url=https://atlantic-cable.com/CableCos/KeyWest/index.htm |access-date=October 1, 2023 |website=History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network}}</ref>

Havana functioned as a port city and military outpost with several thousand soldiers and sailors being stationed there permanently.<ref name=":2" />

==Gallery==
<gallery>
file:Coat of arms of the Captaincy General of Cuba.svg|Coat of arms of the Captaincy General of Cuba (Savoyard rule, 1870 – 1873)
file:Royal Coat of Arms of Spain (1761-1868 and 1874-1931) Golden Fleece Variant.svg|Royal Arms of Spain<ref>Zamora y Coronado, José María (1846). [https://books.google.com/books?id=UMY0AQAAMAAJ&pg=PP9 ''Biblioteca de Legislación Ultramarina'' (Vol. 5)]. Madrid: Imprenta de J. Martín Alegría. p. 105.</ref><ref>Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía (1993). [https://books.google.com/books?id=nZAHZS1wzWIC&pg=PA44 ''Pendón de la Banda'']. Madrid: Instituto de España. p. 44.</ref>{{NoteTag|As depicted on the main portal of the Palace of the Captains General in Havana, arms in use until the transfer of the island to the US}}
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of colonial governors of Cuba]]
* [[Piracy in the Caribbean]]
* [[British expedition against Cuba]]
* [[History of Cuba]]

==Notes==
{{NoteFoot}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |author-link=Allan J. Kuethe |last=Kuethe |first=Allan J. |title=Cuba, 1753–1815: Crown, Military, and Society |url=https://archive.org/details/cuba17531815crow0000kuet |url-access=registration |location=Knoxville |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |year=1986 |isbn=0-87049-487-2 }}

{{Spanish Empire}}
{{Thirteen Colonies}}
{{Former sovereign or unrecognized states within the United States}}
{{Authority control}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuba, Captaincy General of}}
[[Category:Spanish colonial period of Cuba|Captaincy General of Cuba]]
[[Category:Captaincies General of the Spanish Empire]]
[[Category:New Spain]]
[[Category:Spanish West Indies]]
[[Category:Former countries in the Caribbean]]
[[Category:Government of Cuba|Captaincy General of Cuba]]
[[Category:History of New Spain]]
[[Category:1600s establishments in the Spanish West Indies]]
[[Category:1607 establishments in the Spanish Empire]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1607]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1898]]
[[Category:1890s disestablishments in the Spanish West Indies]]
[[Category:1898 disestablishments in the Spanish Empire]]
[[Category:1898 disestablishments in Cuba|Captaincy General of Cuba]]
[[Category:Spanish-speaking countries and territories]]
[[Category:Former Spanish colonies]]