Máximo Gómez
Encyclopedia
Máximo Gómez y Báez was a Major General
in the Ten Years' War
(1868–1878) and Cuba
's military commander in that country's War of Independence
(1895–1898).
, in the province of Peravia
, in the Dominican Republic
. When he was a teenager, he joined in the battles against the Haitian invasions of Faustine Soulouque in the 1850s. He was trained as an officer of the Spanish Army
at the Zaragoza Military Academy . He had arrived originally in Cuba as a cavalry
officer - a Colonel
- in the Spanish Army and fought alongside the Spanish forces in the Dominican Annexation War
(1861–1865). After the Spanish forces were defeated and fled the Dominican Republic in 1865 by order of Queen Isabel II
, many supporters of the Annexionist cause left with them, and Maximo Gomez moved his family to Cuba in disgrace.
Charge".
On October 26, 1868 at Pinos de Baire, Gomez led a Machete Charge on foot, ambushing a Spanish column and obliterating it. The Spanish Army was terrified of these charges because the majority (there were at least 200 Spanish casualties in the attack) were infantry troops, mainly conscripts, who were fearful of being cut down by the machetes. Because the Cuban Army always lacked sufficient munitions, the usual combat technique was to shoot once and then charge the Spanish.
In 1871 Gómez led a campaign to clear Guantánamo
from forces loyal to Spain, in particular the rich coffee growers - mostly of French descent whose their ancestors had fled from Haiti after the Haiti
ans ousted the French.
Gómez carried out a bloody but successful campaign, and most of his officers went on to become high ranking officers, including Antonio and José Maceo, Adolfo Flor Crombet, Policarpo Pineda "Rustán", and many others.
Following the death in combat of Major General Ignacio Agramonte y Loynáz in May 1873, Gómez assumed the command of the military district of the province of Camaguey and its famed Cavalry Corps. Upon first inspecting the corps he concluded they were the best trained and disciplined in the Cuban Army.
and Panama
(among them, he supervised a laborers' brigade during the construction of the Panama Canal
), but remained as an active player for the cause of Cuban independence, as well as that for the rest of the Antilles
). For example, when Puerto Rico
experienced a period of severe political repression in 1887 by the Spanish governor of the time, Romualdo Palacio (which led to the arrest of many local political leaders, including Román Baldorioty de Castro
), Gómez offered his services to Ramón Emeterio Betances
, the previous instigator of the island's first pro-independence revolution, the Grito de Lares
, and who was exiled in Paris
at the time. Gómez sold most of his personal belongings to finance a revolt in Puerto Rico, and volunteered to lead any Puerto Rican troops had such revolt occur. The revolt was deemed unnecessary later in the year, when the Spanish government recalled Palacio from office to investigate charges of abuse of power from his part, but Gómez and Betances established a friendship and logistical relationship that lasted until Betances' death in 1898.
or in modern terms that of General of the Army
- due to his superior military leadership.
He adapted and formalized the improvised military tactics that had first been used by Spanish guerrillas against Napoleon Bonaparte's Armies into a cohesive and comprehensive system at both the tactical and strategic level. The concept of insurrection and insurgency, and the asymmetric nature thereof can be traced intellectually to him.
He was shot in the neck in 1875, while crossing the fortified line or Trocha from Júcaro in the south to Morón
in the North; while leading the failed attempt to invade Western Cuba. After that he always wore a kerchief around his neck to cover the bullet hole, which remained open after healing (he usually plugged it with a wad of cotton). His second and last wound came in 1896 while fighting in the rural areas outside Havana while completing a successful invasion of Western Cuba.
,Francisco Gómez y Toro - nicknamed "Panchito" - was killed trying to recover Maceo's dead body in combat, December 7, 1896.
Soon after, Gómez implemented another warfare technique that proved to be very successful for crippling Spanish economic interests in Cuba at the time: torching sugar cane haciendas and other strategic agricultural assets. He personally abhorred the idea of "setting to fire the product of our laborers' work over more than 200 years in a few hours", but countered that, given the state of misery most of these laborers still experienced, if that was the price to pay to redeem them from the economic system that enslaved them, then "¡Bendita sea la tea!" ("Blessed be the torch!")
, proposed that Gómez and his Cuban troops join him and the Spanish army in repelling the United States
in the face of the Spanish-American War
. Blanco appealed to the shared heritage of the Cubans and Spanish, and promised the island autonomy if the Cubans would help fight the Americans. Blanco had declared: "As Spaniards and Cubans we find ourselves opposed to foreigners of a different race, who are of a grasping nature... The supreme moment has come in which we should forget past differences and, with Spaniards and Cubans united for the sake of their own defense, repel the invader. Spain will not forget the noble help of its Cuban sons, and once the foreign enemy is expelled from the island, she will, like an affectionate mother, embrace in her arms a new daughter amongst the nations of the New World, who speaks the same language, practices the same faith, and feels the same noble Spanish blood run through her veins." Gómez refused to adhere to Blanco's plan.
. He refused the presidential nomination that was offered to him in 1901, and which he was expected to win unopposed, mainly because he always disliked politics and after 40 years of living in Cuba he still felt that being Dominican
-born he should not be the civil leader of Cuba.
He died in his villa in 1905 and was interred in the Colon Cemetery, Havana
.
Maximo Gomez Park, a park in Miami, Florida
, United States
, – better known as Domino Park – was named in his honor.
Gómez's portrait graces Cuban currency on the 10 pesos bill.
He influenced British
alternative rock
band Maxïmo Park
's name.
The main avenue in the city of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is named after him.
Secondary Education school named after him in his home town of Bani, Dominican Republic.
The current Dominican Republic Senator for the Peravia Province, Senator Wilton Guerrero, has proposed changing the name of the province to "Maximo Gomez Province."
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
in the Ten Years' War
Ten Years' War
The Ten Years' War , also known as the Great War and the War of '68, began on October 10, 1868 when sugar mill owner Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and his followers proclaimed Cuba's independence from Spain...
(1868–1878) and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
's military commander in that country's War of Independence
Cuban War of Independence
Cuban War of Independence was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War and the Little War...
(1895–1898).
Early life and changes in allegiance
Gómez was born in the town of BaníBaní
Baní is a capital town of the Peravia Province, Dominican Republic. It is the commercial and manufacturing center in a region producing bananas and coffee.- Overview :...
, in the province of Peravia
Peravia
Peravia is a province of the Dominican Republic. Before January 1, 2002 it was included in what is the new San José de Ocoa province, and published statistics and maps generally relate it to the old, larger, Peravia. It is named after the Peravia Valley. Along the Azua Province, Peravia is...
, in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. When he was a teenager, he joined in the battles against the Haitian invasions of Faustine Soulouque in the 1850s. He was trained as an officer of the Spanish Army
Spanish Army
The Spanish Army is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies - dating back to the 15th century.-Introduction:...
at the Zaragoza Military Academy . He had arrived originally in Cuba as a cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
officer - a Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
- in the Spanish Army and fought alongside the Spanish forces in the Dominican Annexation War
Dominican Restoration War
The Dominican Restoration War was a guerrilla war between 1863 and 1865 in the Dominican Republic between nationalists and Spain, who had recolonized the country 17 years after its independence...
(1861–1865). After the Spanish forces were defeated and fled the Dominican Republic in 1865 by order of Queen Isabel II
Isabella II of Spain
Isabella II was the only female monarch of Spain in modern times. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, who refused to recognise a female sovereign, leading to the Carlist Wars. After a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of...
, many supporters of the Annexionist cause left with them, and Maximo Gomez moved his family to Cuba in disgrace.
Cuban War of Independence
He retired from the Spanish Army and took up the rebel cause in 1868, helping transform the Cuban Army's military tactics and strategy from the conventional approach favored by Thomas Jordan and others. He gave the Cuban Mambises their most feared tactic: The "MacheteMachete
The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
Charge".
On October 26, 1868 at Pinos de Baire, Gomez led a Machete Charge on foot, ambushing a Spanish column and obliterating it. The Spanish Army was terrified of these charges because the majority (there were at least 200 Spanish casualties in the attack) were infantry troops, mainly conscripts, who were fearful of being cut down by the machetes. Because the Cuban Army always lacked sufficient munitions, the usual combat technique was to shoot once and then charge the Spanish.
In 1871 Gómez led a campaign to clear Guantánamo
Guantánamo
Guantánamo is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province.Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port and the site of a famous U.S. Naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton wool...
from forces loyal to Spain, in particular the rich coffee growers - mostly of French descent whose their ancestors had fled from Haiti after the Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
ans ousted the French.
Gómez carried out a bloody but successful campaign, and most of his officers went on to become high ranking officers, including Antonio and José Maceo, Adolfo Flor Crombet, Policarpo Pineda "Rustán", and many others.
Following the death in combat of Major General Ignacio Agramonte y Loynáz in May 1873, Gómez assumed the command of the military district of the province of Camaguey and its famed Cavalry Corps. Upon first inspecting the corps he concluded they were the best trained and disciplined in the Cuban Army.
Puerto Rican conflict
In the interlude between the two Cuban independence wars, Gómez held odd jobs in JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
(among them, he supervised a laborers' brigade during the construction of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
), but remained as an active player for the cause of Cuban independence, as well as that for the rest of the Antilles
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
). For example, when Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
experienced a period of severe political repression in 1887 by the Spanish governor of the time, Romualdo Palacio (which led to the arrest of many local political leaders, including Román Baldorioty de Castro
Román Baldorioty de Castro
Román Baldorioty de Castro distinguished himself as one of Puerto Rico's foremost abolitionists and spokesman for the island's right to self-determination...
), Gómez offered his services to Ramón Emeterio Betances
Ramón Emeterio Betances
Ramón Emeterio Betances y Alacán was a Puerto Rican nationalist. He was the primary instigator of the Grito de Lares revolution, and as such, is considered to be the father of the Puerto Rican independence movement...
, the previous instigator of the island's first pro-independence revolution, the Grito de Lares
Grito de Lares
El Grito de Lares —also referred as the Lares uprising, the Lares revolt, Lares rebellion or even Lares Revolution—was the first major revolt against Spanish rule and call for independence in Puerto Rico...
, and who was exiled in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at the time. Gómez sold most of his personal belongings to finance a revolt in Puerto Rico, and volunteered to lead any Puerto Rican troops had such revolt occur. The revolt was deemed unnecessary later in the year, when the Spanish government recalled Palacio from office to investigate charges of abuse of power from his part, but Gómez and Betances established a friendship and logistical relationship that lasted until Betances' death in 1898.
Promotion to General
Gómez rose to the rank of Generalísimo of the Cuban Army - a rank akin to that of Captain GeneralCaptain General
Captain general is a high military rank and a gubernatorial title.-History:This term Captain General started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term General in military settings...
or in modern terms that of General of the Army
General of the Army
General of the Army is a military rank used in some countries to denote a senior military leader, usually a General in command of a nation's Army. It may also be the title given to a General who commands an Army in the field....
- due to his superior military leadership.
He adapted and formalized the improvised military tactics that had first been used by Spanish guerrillas against Napoleon Bonaparte's Armies into a cohesive and comprehensive system at both the tactical and strategic level. The concept of insurrection and insurgency, and the asymmetric nature thereof can be traced intellectually to him.
He was shot in the neck in 1875, while crossing the fortified line or Trocha from Júcaro in the south to Morón
Morón, Cuba
Morón is one of ten municipalities in province Ciego de Ávila in central Cuba. It is the second in importance and the oldest. Morón is the closest city to the tourist resorts on Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo.- Geography :...
in the North; while leading the failed attempt to invade Western Cuba. After that he always wore a kerchief around his neck to cover the bullet hole, which remained open after healing (he usually plugged it with a wad of cotton). His second and last wound came in 1896 while fighting in the rural areas outside Havana while completing a successful invasion of Western Cuba.
Fabian strategy
He was wounded only twice during 15 years of guerilla warfare against an enemy far superior in manpower and logistics. In contrast, his most trusted officer and second-in-command, Lt. General Antonio Maceo y Grajales, was shot 27 times in the same span of time, with number 26 being the mortal wound. Gómez' son and Maceo's aide-de-campAide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
,Francisco Gómez y Toro - nicknamed "Panchito" - was killed trying to recover Maceo's dead body in combat, December 7, 1896.
Soon after, Gómez implemented another warfare technique that proved to be very successful for crippling Spanish economic interests in Cuba at the time: torching sugar cane haciendas and other strategic agricultural assets. He personally abhorred the idea of "setting to fire the product of our laborers' work over more than 200 years in a few hours", but countered that, given the state of misery most of these laborers still experienced, if that was the price to pay to redeem them from the economic system that enslaved them, then "¡Bendita sea la tea!" ("Blessed be the torch!")
Proposal to join the Spanish-American War
On March 5, 1898, the Captain-General of Cuba, Ramón Blanco y ErenasRamón Blanco y Erenas
Ramón Blanco y Erenas, marqués de Peña Plata was a Spanish brigadier and colonial administrator. Born in San Sebastián, he was sent to the Caribbean in 1858 and governed Cuba and Santo Domingo...
, proposed that Gómez and his Cuban troops join him and the Spanish army in repelling the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the face of the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
. Blanco appealed to the shared heritage of the Cubans and Spanish, and promised the island autonomy if the Cubans would help fight the Americans. Blanco had declared: "As Spaniards and Cubans we find ourselves opposed to foreigners of a different race, who are of a grasping nature... The supreme moment has come in which we should forget past differences and, with Spaniards and Cubans united for the sake of their own defense, repel the invader. Spain will not forget the noble help of its Cuban sons, and once the foreign enemy is expelled from the island, she will, like an affectionate mother, embrace in her arms a new daughter amongst the nations of the New World, who speaks the same language, practices the same faith, and feels the same noble Spanish blood run through her veins." Gómez refused to adhere to Blanco's plan.
Retirement
At the end of the Cuban Independence War in 1898 he retired to a villa outside of HavanaHavana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
. He refused the presidential nomination that was offered to him in 1901, and which he was expected to win unopposed, mainly because he always disliked politics and after 40 years of living in Cuba he still felt that being Dominican
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
-born he should not be the civil leader of Cuba.
He died in his villa in 1905 and was interred in the Colon Cemetery, Havana
Colon Cemetery, Havana
The Colon Cemetery or more fully in the Spanish language Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón was founded in 1876 in the Vedado neighbourhood of Havana, Cuba on top of Espada Cemetery. Named for Christopher Columbus, the 140 acre cemetery is noted for its many elaborately sculpted memorials...
.
Maximo Gomez Park, a park in Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, – better known as Domino Park – was named in his honor.
Gómez's portrait graces Cuban currency on the 10 pesos bill.
He influenced British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Maxïmo Park
Maxïmo Park
Maxïmo Park are a British alternative rock band, formed in 2000. They are signed to Warp Records. The band consists of Paul Smith , Duncan Lloyd , Archis Tiku , Lukas Wooller and Tom English...
's name.
The main avenue in the city of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is named after him.
Secondary Education school named after him in his home town of Bani, Dominican Republic.
The current Dominican Republic Senator for the Peravia Province, Senator Wilton Guerrero, has proposed changing the name of the province to "Maximo Gomez Province."
External links
- Horas de Tregua by Máximo Gómez and Néstor Carbonell in the Digital Library of the Caribbean