Cuba: Its Past, Present, and Future

by A. D. Hall

The sad fate of Crittenden aroused the greatest indignation and bitterness in the United States, but the tenets of international law forbade anything to be done in the case.

During the administration of President Pierce, there occurred an incident which threatened at one time to lead to hostilities, and which was one of the first of the many incidents that have embittered the United States against Spain as regards its administration of Cuba.

This was the firing on the American steamer, Black Warrior, by a Spanish man-of-war.

The Black Warrior was a steamer owned in New York, and plying regularly between that city and Mobile. It was her custom both on her outward and homeward bound trips to touch always at Havana. The custom laws were then very stringent, and she ought each time to have exhibited a manifest of her cargo. But still this was totally unnecessary, as no portion of her cargo was ever put off at Havana.

She was therefore entered and cleared under the technical term of "in ballast." This was done nearly thirty times with full knowledge and consent of the Spanish revenue officers; and, moreover the proceeding was in accordance with a general order of the Cuban authorities.

But in February, 1850, the steamer was stopped and fired upon in the harbor of Havana. The charge brought against her was that she had an undeclared cargo on board. This cargo was confiscated, and a fine of twice its value imposed. The commander of the vessel, Captain Bullock, refused to pay the fine, and declared that the whole proceeding was "violent, wrongful and in bad faith."

But, obtaining no redress, he hauled down his colors, and, carrying them away with him, left the vessel as a Spanish capture. With his crew and passengers, he made his way to New York, and reported the facts to the owners.

The latter preferred a claim for indemnity of three hundred thousand dollars. After a tedious delay of five years, this sum was paid, and so the matter ended.

The affair of the Black Warrior was one of the cases that led to the celebrated Ostend Conference.

This conference was held in 1854 at Ostend and Aix-la-Chapelle by Messrs. Buchanan, Mason and Soule, United States ministers at London, Paris and Madrid, and resulted in what is known as the Ostend manifesto.