Miguel Aldama (October 4, 1821 - March 5, 1888) was a Cuban revolutionary, merchant, and politician.
Early life Miguel de Aldama y Alfonso was born in Havana, Spanish Cuba on October 4, 1821. He was born to Domingo Aldama y Arrechaga and Rosa Alfonso y Soler. Aldama was described as Criollo. As a successful merchant, he led one of the island's most affluent families. Alongside his mansion, the Palacio de Aldama, in PradoSeitz, D. C. (1926). The Dreadful Decade: Detailing Some Phases in the History of the United States from Reconstruction to Resumption, 1869-1879. United States: Bobbs-Merrill Company. and a considerable stake in the Havana Railroad, he owned five of Cuba's largest estates.
Ten Years' War
Aldama became part of a reformist delegation led by José Morales Lemus in late 1866, traveling to Madrid, Spain to negotiate reforms with the Spanish government.Boykin, J. H. (1979). World Blacks, Self Help and Achievement: Handbook of Some of the Achievements of Black People. United States: J.H. Boykin. With the failure of these negotiations, the delegates aligned themselves with those who initiated the Ten Years' War in 1868.
Aldama served on the Revolutionary Committee of Havana with fellow members José Morales Lemus, Antonio Fernández Bramosio, José Manuel Mestre, and José Antonio Echeverría.Astolpho, oder, Die Räuberhöhle. (1804). Germany: Bey Karl Christoph Stiller.
His property was seized by Spanish authorities on the orders of Spanish Military Governor Domingo Dulce, who mandated an embargo on April 1, 1869, against Cuban properties and assets.
On May 10, 1869, Aldama arrived at the Port of New York in the United States after departing Cuba's capital on board the steamship S.S. Morro Castle.
In November 1869, the revolutionary Cuban Junta was reorganized in New York City and Aldama assumed the role of the president of the Cuban Junta.The American Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events: Embracing Political, Civil, Military, and Social Affairs: Public Documents; Biography, Statistics, Commerce, Finance, Literature, Science, Agriculture, and Mechanical Industry. (1870). United States: D. Appleton & Company.Correspondence Between the Department of State and the United States Minister at Madrid, and the Consular Representatives of the United States in the Island of Cuba: And Other Papers Relating to Cuban Affairs, Transmitted to the House of Representatives in Obedience to a Resolution. (1870). United States: U.S. Government Printing Office. The Cuban Junta in New York was formed to finance the uprising against the colonial regime of Spain in Cuba. A court-martial was held on November 9, 1870, in which Aldama and others associated with the second junta of New York were convicted of treason and rebellion, with a death sentence by garrote awaiting them if they fell into Spanish hands.Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States. (1871). United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.
In 1878, following the Pact of Zanjón, his palatial residence, near Plaza del Vapor, was returned by the colonial government but never again occupied by the Aldama family.
Death Miguel Aldama died on March 15, 1888, in Havana, Cuba. His remains were sailed to New York on the steamer City of Washington. Upon arrival of his body, he was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.
Honors In 1956, he was commemorated on a 4¢ postage stamp in Cuba.The New World-wide Postage Stamp Catalog. (1961). United States: Minkus Publications..
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