Pact of Zanjón

The Pact of Zanjón was an armistice signed in February 1878 that ended the Ten Years' War, Cuba's first major uprising against Spanish rule. The war began in 1868 when Carlos Manuel de Céspedes declared Cuban independence, seeking political and economic autonomy from Spain. While Céspedes had support from some landowners, many Cubans, including laborers and slaves, were concerned about the pace of emancipation and annexation by the United States.12

The pact promised amnesty and political reforms from Spain, but many of these promises were not fulfilled. Nationalist leader Antonio Maceo and others refused to accept the Spanish terms, leading to a second, smaller uprising known as La Guerra Chiquita. Spain eventually abolished slavery in 1886 but failed to implement other promised reforms, which contributed to further unrest and the eventual outbreak of the Cuban War of Independence in 1895.12