Puerto Rican-Cuban Revolutionary Solidarity (1868-1898)

The independence movements of Puerto Rico and Cuba — Spain's last two colonies in the Americas — were inextricably linked throughout the 19th century. This solidarity was not merely symbolic; it was organizational, financial, and military.

Key Connections:

• Ramón Emeterio Betances (Puerto Rico, 1827-1898): Organized the Grito de Lares (1868) from exile. He also supported Cuban independence and worked to coordinate simultaneous uprisings in both islands. His vision was of Antillean confederation — an independent political union of the Caribbean islands.

• Eugenio María de Hostos (Puerto Rico, 1839-1903): Traveled throughout Latin America advocating for Caribbean independence. He proposed an Antillean Federation linking Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic as independent sovereign states.

• José Martí (Cuba, 1853-1895): The leader of Cuba's independence movement explicitly included Puerto Rican liberation in his vision. In 1892, he founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party with a clause committing to the independence of Puerto Rico as well. Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, the Puerto Rican historian, was a co-founder of the New York revolutionary club Las Dos Antillas (The Two Islands), which worked with Martí.

• Las Dos Antillas: The revolutionary society founded in New York brought together Puerto Rican and Cuban exiles in the shared cause of Caribbean independence. The organization raised funds, coordinated logistics, and published revolutionary literature.

• The Puerto Rican Section of the Cuban Revolutionary Party: Formally established within Martí's party, this section included many Puerto Rican independence leaders. The Puerto Rican flag was designed in 1895 within this context — its inverted colors mirroring the Cuban flag to symbolize the unity of the two movements.

The Tragedy of 1898: The U.S. intervention in the Cuban war of independence, and the subsequent Treaty of Paris, separated the fates of the two islands. Cuba achieved nominal independence (under the Platt Amendment), while Puerto Rico was transferred directly to U.S. control. The dream of an independent Antillean federation was shattered by American imperialism.

The Puerto Rican-Cuban solidarity represents one of the great "what ifs" of Caribbean history: had the independence movements succeeded without U.S. intervention, the political map of the Caribbean might look very different today.