Abstract:
Jose Martí compels historical interest for various
reasons. Foremost, Cubans recognize Martí as the "Apostle"
of Independence. In 1895 he died in combat at the age of
forty-two. During his short lifetime, Martí contributed
immensely to the corpus of Latin American literature and
political thought. However, Martí is primarily honored for
single-handedly organizing the revolution in which he
perished.
Martí's passage to war, speaking geographically from
where he began to where he landed, should have been a
journey of no great challenge. It deserved no more press
than it received. But as a snapshot in Martí’s life his
eleven-day journey appears intriguingly under-developed.
Historians routinely cite Martí’s departure from
Montecristi, Dominican Republic, on 1 April 1895, and his
eventual arrival in Cuba on 11 April 1895, as if, quite
honestly, they have never looked at a map. From either
Inagua or Hispaniola (islands in the Caribbean), Martí’s
destination, Cuba, was but a mere forty-six miles. Indeed,
concerning his journey, history reflects only brief
descriptions about Martí overcoming improbable odds or, even
less than that, a wisp of dated facts. Therein lies a story.
The methodology for telling this story rests on primary
sources. The story, through comparative analysis,
challenges and seeks to clarify secondary sources. Martí’s untold story is, of course, multidimensional.
Therefore, there are chapters about Martí’s life; Cuba's
revolutionary history; the United States' one-sided posture
toward Cuba (as early as the first decade during the
nineteenth century); Martí’s compatriots; Spanish rule; and,
yachts and ships and starting and stopping. It is an
exciting and bizarre story and one with a happy ending. It
is also true. And, it is a tale from which a legend
emerged.
What originally attracted my interest in Martí’s story
arises from professional experiences as a United States'
Licensed Ship Captain (Master of one hundred gross tons,
sailing and towing endorsements, since 1991). Personal
offshore-sea experiences happen to include all the specific
areas referenced in the primary and secondary sources
covering Martí’s passage (including Cuba).
In historical context Martí’s sea-wise hurdles--
concerning port of departure to port of arrival--seemed
exaggerated. Therein existed the seed from which grew the
logical conclusion that there was more to the story than
initially reported. Furthermore, those readings piqued my
curiosity because of their authors’ off-handed depiction of
a captain's implicit loyalty to ship and crew in contrast
with transporting armed insurgents into dangerous
situations. For not only was the vessel and crew at risk
from the "friendly" governments into whose territories they sailed, but also anxiety had to abound surrounding the onboard
presence of armed insurgents.
In addition to my experiences at sea, there are also my
rather unique experiences from the opposite side from
revolution--having been a two-term elected city commissioner
in Dunedin, Florida (1987-1992). Whereby, in the small
context that it was, I learned to have special appreciation
for civil decorum in the midst of change. In addition to
those real life experiences are also those from owning and
operating a multinational business (1979-1991).
Aside from Martí’s story, which begs to be told, is
that my qualifications impelled me to be the one to attempt
it. On the one hand, Martí’s story satisfies thesis
requirements for a Master's Degree in History. But, I also
bring to the subject the talent to tell a good story. This
I credit to a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from
Indiana University (Bloomington, 1976). Important also is a
Master's Degree in Business Administration from the
University of South Florida (Tampa, 1997). The former
polishes my palate for appreciating and telling the story
while the latter bears upon the material and theoretical
understanding of what motivates societies.
The title to this story did not develop in a vacuum.
On 25 March 1889, Martí’s letter to the editor of the New
York Evening Post defended Cuban patriots of the Ten Years'
War (1868-1878). His letter delineated specifically the Cuban patriots' resolve, which included examples of them
overcoming nearly unbearable hardships. Among the examples
rested especially Cubans’ resolve to engage war in the first
place with Spain, an overwhelming foe. Martí, in response
to “weak Cuban character,” disdainfully expressed to the
editor that the patriots "knew in one day how to rise
against a cruel government, to pay their passages to the
seat of war with the pawning of their watches and trinkets."
With that same kind of fervent resolve--a feeling drawn from
the few historical snippets of his passage to war--Jose
Martí persisted. Thesis or not, Martí’s story has merit.
He was a great American.