1890's Cuban Revolution
... until the Treaty of El Zanjun was signed. This agreement promised the government would reform and abolish slavery and the tyrannical rule it held over the Cubans. The treaty was not honored however, and resistance was again put up in 1885. The Spanish king at the time Alfonso XIII, encouraged the use of concentration camps for revolutionaries caught in battle. The Cuban Revolution became extremely bloody due to the use of Guerrilla warfare. This military operation, conducted on its home terrain, consisted of inhabitants fed up with oppressive rule. The men involved operated from bases located deep in the jungle, dense forests, and high rocky elevations. Guerrillas depended on natives for food, shelter, and useful information. While striking swiftly was a must, the bands of men were specialized in the undetected raiding of enemy camps. They could ambush a patrol, kill the soldiers, and supply their entire company in a matter of hours. Cutting communication between enemy lines became a prime target, once severed from the army, a battalion could be attacked, disarmed, and their reserves used for the revolutionaries. It was the unfortunate, destitute populace that rebelled. Having little to lose they could fight on home turf and soon, much to there delight had help from the United States. While in port in Havana on February 15, 1898 the U.S...