Arsenio Martínez Campos
Arsenio Martínez-Campos y Antón, 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 second French intervention in Mexico 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. 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 and supported the coup d'état led by Manuel Pavía. There, he commanded several brigades against the Carlist uprisings with little success. He was later placed in charge of the Valencian army, where he fought independent forces in Alicante and Cartagena.The chaotic situation in Spain pushed him to plot against the Spanish Republic in favor of restoring Alfonso XII, the son of the exiled Queen Isabella II.
Although he made little effort to hide his monarchist intentions, Marshal Serrano
On 29 December 1874, Martínez Campos led a coup d'état in Sagunto that restored the Bourbon monarchy under Alfonso XII. Following this, he was appointed Captain General of Catalonia, where he defeated the Carlists and ended the civil war, as well as in Navarre during the early Restoration period.
Governor of Cuba
He was made captain general of Cuba in 1876. His reputation as a noble warrior allowed him to arrange a peace treaty with the war-weary Cuban rebels in 1878. The treaty granted more autonomy to Cuba and freedom to rebels who had been slaves, and, a few years afterward, it led to the complete abolition of slavery on the island.Returning to Spain, after presiding over a conservative government in 1879 as Cánovas's puppet, he was forced to leave the Conservative Party since he favoured granting total freedom to all races in Spain.
He turned to the Liberals. As Minister for War under Sagasta, he founded the General Military Academy. After the death of King Alfonso in 1885, Martínez Campos steadily supported the regency of Queen Maria Christina and held high commands but declined to take office.
Cuban War of Independence
Two years later at age 53, he was sent to Cuba as the first general to face down a Cuban attempt at independence. His campaign faced difficulties from the very beginning, with much of the imperial force suffering from malaria and yellow fever during the first summer in the swamps. Moreover, the insurgents' use of dynamite and ambush proved effective in pushing back against the superior numbers of the Spanish force. After months of rebel raids and the capture of poorly defended towns, Campos attempted to force a decisive engagement in July.The battle ended in a humiliating defeat for the Spanish, whose troops fled the field in the face of the rebels more advanced tactics. With increasing pressure from both the rebels and his own government, Campos began considering more extreme measures. Facing an incorrectly perceived need to toughen measures against the rebels, he refused to authorize ethnic cleansing. Instead, he resigned his post and was replaced by Valeriano Weyler.
Days after the defeat, Campos sent a letter to the Spanish prime minister outlining a strategy to ‘reconcentrate’ hundreds of thousands of rural Cubans behind trenches and barbed wire in Spanish-held towns. The plan aimed to isolate the insurgents and cut off the widespread rural support that had sustained them throughout the war. However, Campos refused to implement the policy himself or to escalate the conflict further, and offered to relinquish his imperial post.