Ten Year War, 1868-1878.

the first volume containing transcripts of telegrams, dispatches, decrees, orders and official letters sent between the office of the Governor General of Cuba and various Spanish ministries and government officials, covering the entire duration of the war and the successive tenures of General Lersundi, General Domingo Dulce, el Conde de Valmaseda, General Ceballos, General Jovellar, etc., and ending with a summary of casualties; the second volume chiefly containing copies of documents relating to the peace negotiations masterminded by General Arsenio Martínez Campos; over 500 leaves in all, folio, written in various secretarial hands, both volumes bound in contemporary blue roan gilt, 1868-1878

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Despite salient differences in the approach of each Governor General to the rebellion, similar concerns run through the entire correspondence between Cuba and the Spanish government: the requirement for more troops (e.g. a request at the beginning of the uprising for 20,000 men and 20,000 rifles); examinations of the origin and ideology of the rebellion; tactics for its suppression; the effect of the war on the slave population; the inclination of some rebels towards a peaceful resolution.

Distinct events which are reported on include, for example, the burning of the city of Bayamo in January 1869 before its recapture by the Spanish (it had been the centre of Céspedes' first Republican government), and the arrest and execution by the Cuban administration of eight university students on 27 November 1871 ("...Profanados en el Cementerio los restos mortales de Gonzalo Castañón por los estudiantes del primer año de Medicina, este suceso excitó vivamente el sentimiento público español...") and the Spanish government's reaction ("...el Ministerio llama la atención del Gobernador acerca de la necesidad de evitar hechos de semejante índole, que solo con verificarse, y sea cualquiera su terminación, traen consigo desagradables consecuencias..."). A chilling series of telegrams between the Governor General Jovellar and the Spanish Ministry of War traces the fate of the steamship Virginius, captured on 31 October 1873 by the Cuban steamship Tornado one league from the coast of Jamaica, in international waters. Jovellar reports that c.170 crew members, including a brother of Céspedes and other rebel leaders and several British and American citizens, have been made prisoner, and justifies the execution of 37 crew members and 12 passengers by arguing that the ship was carrying military supplies and that this measure would prove to be an important setback for the rebels; the Spanish government's warnings ("Por Dios no más ejecuciones") arrive too late, and there follow long discussions about the consequences for relations with Britain and America.

an important and highly informative account, from spain's perspective, of one of the most significant independence and anti-slavery movements in the history of cuba.