Alfredo Zayas y Alonso
Encyclopedia
Alfredo de Zayas y Alfonso (February 21, 1861, Havana
, Cuba
– April 11, 1934, Havana
, Cuba
) was a Cuba
n lawyer, poet and political figure. He served as prosecutor, judge, mayor of Havana, secretary of the Constitutional Convention, Senator 1905, president of the Senate 1906, vice-president 1908–1913 and President of Cuba
from May 20, 1921 to May 20, 1925.
. When deported (September 20. 1896), while in transit in Spain's Cárcel Modelo of Madrid
, he wrote some of his best poetry, like "Al Caer la Nieve" subsequently published in his Obras Completas, Vol. 1, Poesia. Zayas was sometimes referred to as the "erudite civilian president", because unlike his predecessor and his successor he did not have experience in the field of battle.
), he became acting mayor of Havana
. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention 1901 and became its secretary. A vocal leader of the opposition against U.S.
annexation of Cuba
, he voted against the Platt Amendment
and against granting naval bases to the United States
in Guantánamo
and Bahia Honda.
Zayas became leader of the Liberal Party (left-wing) and was elected Vice-President 1908. In the contested, 1916 presidential election in which the populist Liberal Party used violent tactics, he obtained more votes than the pro-US candidate, Cornell graduate General Mario García Menocal. The Chambelona War ensued, which after some reverses, was won by the Conservative Forces of Garcia Menocal with the covert support of the United States. Zayas surrendered in Cambute near Guanabacoa where it was said he was hiding. The United States
provided military support to García Menocal
from Guantánamo Naval Base, without formally invoking its right of intervention pursuant to the Platt Amendment
, incorporated in the US-Cuba Treaty of 1903. However, US only deployed forces in Oriente Province.
Reelected in 1920, Zayas became President in 1921. He served only one term, during which he started the process to give the vote to Cuban women (resolution in the Senate, 1921), negotiated the return of Cuban sovereignty over the Isle of Pines
(Isla de la Juventud, 110.86 square kilometers) which had been occupied by the US since 1898 (Hay-Quedada Treaty of 1925), obtained a 50 Million US loan from J.P. Morgan, and for the first time allowed full freedom of expression and of the press. On 10 October 1922 he launched PWX, the first Cuban radio station.
Although his administration was systematically defamed by the opposition as corrupt, it actually was less corrupt that preceding and subsequent administrations, and Zayas, refrained from censoring the press or arresting critics, unlike prior and later Cuban presidents. This brought him the nickname "el Chino" (the Chinaman), because of his stoicism ("la flema de Zayas") and his "oriental patience". Sometimes he was also nicknamed "pesetero", because since his imprisonment in Madrid he had always carried a Spanish Peseta coin in his vest pocket. When he took office in 1921, the country was in bankruptcy, with debts exceeding 40 million US Dollars, and sugar prices plummeting from 22 cents to 3 cents per pound. In spite of this, he carried out a number of reforms, particularly in the field of education.
His great grandnephew is the lawyer and historian Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
, great grandson of José María Zayas Alfonso.
was elected, but turned dictatorial, and after a series of coups that followed when Machado
was forced to step down Fulgencio Batista
rose to power.
See also the respective entries in the "Enciclopedia universal Espasa Calpe" and in Merriam Webster "New Biographical Dictionary".
Waldemar Leon Caicaje: Batalla Final de una Revuelta. pp. 100–103, 113
Morales y Morales, Vidal 1959 (printed 1962) Sobre la guerra civil de 1917. Documentos del Siglo XX, Boletín del Archivo Nacional. Volume 58 pp. 178–256.
Portell Vila, Herminio La Chambelona en Oriente. pp. 12–13, 112-125.
Diccionario de la literatura Cubana
Timetables:
Havana
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...
, 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...
– April 11, 1934, Havana
Havana
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...
, 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...
) was a 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...
n lawyer, poet and political figure. He served as prosecutor, judge, mayor of Havana, secretary of the Constitutional Convention, Senator 1905, president of the Senate 1906, vice-president 1908–1913 and President of Cuba
President of Cuba
--209.174.31.28 18:43, 22 November 2011 The President of Cuba is the Head of state of Cuba. According to the Cuban Constitution of 1976, the President is the chief executive of the Council of State of Cuba...
from May 20, 1921 to May 20, 1925.
Background
Born in Havana into an aristocratic family with old sugar plantations, he was the 5th child of Dr. José María de Zayas y Jiménez (1824–1887), a noted lawyer and educator, and Lutgarda Alfonso y Espada (1831–1898). He was brother to Dr. Juan Bruno de Zayas y Alfonso (1867–1896), a medical doctor and revolutionary hero who died in the war for Cuba's independence, and of Dr. Francisco de Zayas y Alfonso (1857–1924), Cuba's long-time Minister to Paris and Brussels. As one of the leaders of the Cuban insurrection of 1895, he ceased using the noble-sounding "de" in his name and became known simply as Alfredo Zayas. Besides his successful legal practice, he was active in Cuban literary circles and was co-editor of the journal "Cuba Literaria".During the last Cuban war for independence
Zayas was an intellectual, not a military leader, and during the 1895-1898 Cuban war of independence, he was arrested and sent to prison in the African posetion of CeutaCeuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
. When deported (September 20. 1896), while in transit in Spain's Cárcel Modelo of Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, he wrote some of his best poetry, like "Al Caer la Nieve" subsequently published in his Obras Completas, Vol. 1, Poesia. Zayas was sometimes referred to as the "erudite civilian president", because unlike his predecessor and his successor he did not have experience in the field of battle.
Political career
Upon his return to Cuba after the Spanish-Cuban-American War (known in the U.S. as Spanish-American WarSpanish-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...
), he became acting mayor of Havana
Havana
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 was a member of the Constitutional Convention 1901 and became its secretary. A vocal leader of the opposition against U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
annexation of 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...
, he voted against the Platt Amendment
Platt Amendment
The Platt Amendment of 1901 was a rider appended to the Army Appropriations Act presented to the U.S. Senate by Connecticut Republican Senator Orville H. Platt replacing the earlier Teller Amendment. Approved on May 22, 1903, it stipulated the conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops...
and against granting naval bases to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 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...
and Bahia Honda.
Zayas became leader of the Liberal Party (left-wing) and was elected Vice-President 1908. In the contested, 1916 presidential election in which the populist Liberal Party used violent tactics, he obtained more votes than the pro-US candidate, Cornell graduate General Mario García Menocal. The Chambelona War ensued, which after some reverses, was won by the Conservative Forces of Garcia Menocal with the covert support of the United States. Zayas surrendered in Cambute near Guanabacoa where it was said he was hiding. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
provided military support to García Menocal
Mario García Menocal
Aurelio Mario García Menocal y Deop was President of Cuba, from 1913 to 1921...
from Guantánamo Naval Base, without formally invoking its right of intervention pursuant to the Platt Amendment
Platt Amendment
The Platt Amendment of 1901 was a rider appended to the Army Appropriations Act presented to the U.S. Senate by Connecticut Republican Senator Orville H. Platt replacing the earlier Teller Amendment. Approved on May 22, 1903, it stipulated the conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops...
, incorporated in the US-Cuba Treaty of 1903. However, US only deployed forces in Oriente Province.
Reelected in 1920, Zayas became President in 1921. He served only one term, during which he started the process to give the vote to Cuban women (resolution in the Senate, 1921), negotiated the return of Cuban sovereignty over the Isle of Pines
Isle of Youth
Isla de la Juventud is the second-largest Cuban island and the seventh-largest island in the West Indies . The island has an area and is 100 km south of the island of Cuba, across the Gulf of Batabanó...
(Isla de la Juventud, 110.86 square kilometers) which had been occupied by the US since 1898 (Hay-Quedada Treaty of 1925), obtained a 50 Million US loan from J.P. Morgan, and for the first time allowed full freedom of expression and of the press. On 10 October 1922 he launched PWX, the first Cuban radio station.
Although his administration was systematically defamed by the opposition as corrupt, it actually was less corrupt that preceding and subsequent administrations, and Zayas, refrained from censoring the press or arresting critics, unlike prior and later Cuban presidents. This brought him the nickname "el Chino" (the Chinaman), because of his stoicism ("la flema de Zayas") and his "oriental patience". Sometimes he was also nicknamed "pesetero", because since his imprisonment in Madrid he had always carried a Spanish Peseta coin in his vest pocket. When he took office in 1921, the country was in bankruptcy, with debts exceeding 40 million US Dollars, and sugar prices plummeting from 22 cents to 3 cents per pound. In spite of this, he carried out a number of reforms, particularly in the field of education.
Family life
In 1884, Zayas married Margarita Teresa Claudia del Carmen Arrieta y Diago and they had four children, Margarita (1886–1964), Alfredo (1888–1929), Francisco (1889–1934), and Maria-Teresa Zayas Arrieta (1892–1952). In 1914, he married a second time to Maria de la Asuncion Jaen y Planas. He, additionally, had one other child out of wedlock, Alfredo Zayas y Mendez (1916- ).His great grandnephew is the lawyer and historian Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas is an American lawyer, writer, historian, a leading expert in the field of human rights, as well as a former high-ranking United Nations official...
, great grandson of José María Zayas Alfonso.
Later life
He did not run for reelection and devoted his last years to giving conferences and pursuing his manifold literary and historical interests, including the publication of his major work, the 2-volume "Lexicografia Antillana", which had seen an earlier edition in 1914, and occupying the post of President of the "Academia de la Historia" until his death. In the next election Gerardo MachadoGerardo Machado
Gerardo Machado y Morales was President of Cuba and a general of the Cuban War of Independence...
was elected, but turned dictatorial, and after a series of coups that followed when Machado
Gerardo Machado
Gerardo Machado y Morales was President of Cuba and a general of the Cuban War of Independence...
was forced to step down Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....
rose to power.
Alfredo Zayas
- :Alfredo Zayas, "Obras Completas", Vol.I: Poesías, Vol.2 Discursos y Conferencias, La Habana 1941-42.
- :Alfredo Zayas, "Un Capítulo de la Historia de Cuba", La Habana, 1916.
- :Alfredo Zayas, "Lexicografía Antillana", Bd. 1-2, La Habana, 1931-32.
- :Alfredo Zayas, "La Poesía Patriótica en Cuba hasta 1868", Academia Nacional de Artes y Letras, La Habana, 1931.
- :Alfredo Zayas, "El presbiterio don José Augustin Caballero y su vida y sus obras", La Habana, 1891.
- :Alfredo Zayas, "La Evolución Social" La Habana, 1891.
- :Alfredo Zayas, "Por la Gloria de Luz y Caballero" La Habana 1909.
Other authors
- :Juan Bruno Zayas de la Portilla: "Orígenes. Compendio Histórico-Genealógico del Linaje Zayas, Descendencia del Infante Don Jaime de Aragón". Zayas Publishing, Missouri, EE.UU. 2003, Vol. I, p. 413. www.origenesdezayas.com
- :Nestor Carbonell Cortina: "Perfil Histórico del IV Presidente de Cuba Republicana Alfredo Zayas y Alfonso", San Juan, Puerto Rico 1985.
- :Jose Manuel Carbonell, "Evolución de la Cultura Cubana". La Habana, Imp. Montalvo y Cardenas, 1928, Tomo III (La Oratoria en Cuba) pp. 102–105, Tomo IV, 30f.
- :Juan J. Remos, "Historia de la Literatura Cubana", Miami, Mnemosyne Publishing Co., 136f.
- :Vidal Morales, "Iniciadores y Primeros Mártires de la Revolucion Cubana", La Habana, La Moderna Poesia, 1931 Tomo III, pp. 113ff.
- :Carlos Márquez SterlingCarlos Márquez SterlingDr. Carlos Márquez Sterling y Guiral was a Cuban lawyer, writer, politician and diplomat....
, "Historia de Cuba", Miami, pp. 289ff. - :Carlos Márquez SterlingCarlos Márquez SterlingDr. Carlos Márquez Sterling y Guiral was a Cuban lawyer, writer, politician and diplomat....
& Manuel Márquez Sterling, "Historia de la Isla de Cuba", 1975, New York, Regents Publishing Co. pp 178–181 - :Fernando de Zayas, "Prosa y Versos", La Habana 1909
- :Harry Frank Guggenheim, "The United States and Cuba: A Study in International Relations", New York, Arno Press, 1970, pp. 156ff.
- :Francisco López Leiva: "Juan Bruno Zayas, General de Brigada del Ejército Libertador". La Habana, 1922.
- :Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring, "Historia de la Enmienda Platt: Una Interpretacion de la Realidad Cubana", La Habana, 1935.
- :Francisco Xavier de Santa Cruz, "Historia de Familias Cubanas", Editorial Hércules, La Habana, 1943.
See also the respective entries in the "Enciclopedia universal Espasa Calpe" and in Merriam Webster "New Biographical Dictionary".
Chambelona War
González, Reynaldo 1978 Nosotros los liberales nos comimos la lechona. Editorial de Ciencias Sociales. HavanaWaldemar Leon Caicaje: Batalla Final de una Revuelta. pp. 100–103, 113
Morales y Morales, Vidal 1959 (printed 1962) Sobre la guerra civil de 1917. Documentos del Siglo XX, Boletín del Archivo Nacional. Volume 58 pp. 178–256.
Portell Vila, Herminio La Chambelona en Oriente. pp. 12–13, 112-125.
External links
- Orígenes - Zayas Publishing, Inc.
- Alfredo Zayas at www.latinamericanstudies.org
- Cubafacts.com at www.cubafacts.com
- http://www.cubaheritage.com//subs.asp?sID=103&cID=3
- http://www.cubacultura.org/subs.asp?sID=6&cID=70
- Poemas alfredo zayas, poesia y mas... at www.geocities.com
- http://www.adpuello.com/anecdotario.htm
- Síntomas de la crisis del sistema republicano at www.pdc-cuba.org
- Articles: United States and Cuba, 1903-59 - Historical Text Archive at www.historicaltextarchive.com
Diccionario de la literatura Cubana
- DICCIONARIO DE LA LITERATURA CUBANA at www.cervantesvirtual.com
Timetables:
- History of Cuba Timetable: 1905 thru 1928 at www.historyofcuba.com
- History of Cuban-American Relations at www.ianchadwick.com
- http://www.bnjm.cu/bnjm/espanol/publicaciones/noticias_republica/gobierno_3.htm