L’indipendenza di Cuba nella coscienza dell’“estrema sinistra” italiana (1895-1898)

Abstract

The Cuban independence in the consciousness of the Italian “extreme-left” (1895-1898)

This research, mainly based on unpublished archive documents, brings out how and why the Italian “extreme-left” (socialist, republican and radical party) supported the Cubans during their second uprising against the Spanish rule star- ted in February 1895 and culminated in the north-America intervention in 1898. It focuses on the lively propaganda carried on by this political sector, shedding light on those who tried to enlist as volunteers, in the “ejército libertador cubano”, stirred by the myth of Garibaldi, inspite of the stern control of the Italian government (eager to abide by a strict neutrality in front of the confict and to pre- serve good diplomatie relations with Spain), and the hostility and distrust of the Cuban revolutionary forces.