122-577: The Ostend Manifesto , also known as the Ostend Circular , was a document written in 1854 that described the rationale for the United States to purchase Cuba from Spain while implying that the U.S. should declare war if Spain refused. Cuba's annexation had long been a goal of U.S. slaveholding expansionists. At the national level, American leaders had been satisfied to have the island remain in weak Spanish hands so long as it did not pass to
244-402: A Cuban uprising, President James K. Polk refused solicitations from filibuster backer John L. O'Sullivan and stated his belief that any acquisition of the island must be an "amicable purchase". Under orders from Polk, Secretary of State James Buchanan prepared an offer of $ 100 million, but "sooner than see [Cuba] transferred to any power, [Spanish officials] would prefer seeing it sunk into
366-453: A Medici son-in-law. This was a history of the invasion of Italy by Charles VIII of France , and introduced the phrase balance of power to historical analysis. Internationalism , which was the dominant direction of European international relations prior to the Peace of Westphalia , gave way to the doctrine of the balance of power. While the balance of power was not explicitly mentioned in
488-724: A balance of power is unsound. We cannot afford … to work on narrow margins, offering temptations to a trial of strength." If the Western Democracies do not stand together "then indeed catastrophe may overwhelm us all." If, however, "the population of the English-speaking Commonwealths be added to that of the United States with all that such co-operation implies in the air, on the sea, all over the globe and in science and in industry, and in moral force, there will be no quivering, precarious balance of power to offer its temptation to ambition or adventure. On
610-503: A cargo manifest, Cuban officials seized the ship, its cargo, and its crew. The so-called Black Warrior Affair was viewed by Congress as a violation of American rights; a hollow ultimatum issued by Soulé to the Spanish to return the ship served only to strain relations, and he was barred from discussing Cuba's acquisition for nearly a year. While the matter was resolved peacefully, it fueled the flames of Southern expansionism. Meanwhile,
732-540: A debate about whether to annex the Yucatán portion of Mexico that year included significant discussion of Cuba. Even John C. Calhoun , described as a reluctant expansionist who strongly disagreed with intervention on the basis of the Monroe Doctrine , concurred that "it is indispensable to the safety of the United States that this island should not be in certain hands", likely referring to Britain. In light of
854-484: A decade after the end of US-Soviet bipolarity to balance against the United States. Contrary to realist predictions, unipolarity has not provided the global alarm to restore a balance of power. Resistance has in fact appeared and may be growing. But it is remarkable that despite the sharp shifts in the distribution of power, the other great powers have not yet responded in a way anticipated by balance-of-power theory. Historically, major powers have rarely balanced against
976-712: A definite pro-independence movement had coalesced, and Cuba experienced three civil wars in thirty years that culminated in a US intervention and the island's eventual independence: the Ten Years' War (1868–78), the Little War (1879–80) and the War of Independence, which became the Spanish–American War . During the last war the issue of autonomy came to a head. In 1895 the Overseas Minister, with approval from
1098-467: A dispatch at Aachen , Prussia . The document was sent to Washington in October 1854, outlining why a purchase of Cuba would be beneficial to each of the nations and declaring that the U.S. would be "justified in wresting" the island from Spanish hands if Spain refused to sell. To Marcy's chagrin, Soulé made no secret of the meetings, causing unwanted publicity in both Europe and the U.S. The administration
1220-463: A fact of life … into a guiding principle of world order." Earlier, political scientist Martin Wight had drawn a conclusion with unambiguous implication for the modern world: Most states systems have ended in the universal empire, which has swallowed all the states of the system. The examples are so abundant that we must ask two questions: Is there any states system which has not led fairly directly to
1342-514: A hegemon arose. A collaboration between nine scholars ( William Wohlforth , Richard Little, Stuart J. Kaufman, David Kang, Charles A. Jones, Victoria Tin-Bor Hui, Arthur Eckstein , Daniel Deudney , and William L. Brenner) pointed to the failure of state-like units to balance against Assyria in the first millennium BCE; the Hellenic successor states of Alexander the Great to balance against Rome ;
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#17327647954351464-753: A large influx of refugees when the English captured Jamaica and expelled the Spanish settlers in the colony. In 1756 the construction of ships for the Spanish Navy began with the establishment of an Intendancy of the Navy in Havana, which functioned as a royal shipyard . The British capture of the island in 1762 during the Seven Years' War proved to be a turning point in the history of Cuba and Spanish America in general. The British captured Havana after
1586-607: A possible slave revolt in Cuba parallel to the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) in the absence of U.S. intervention. The Manifesto urged against inaction on the Cuban question, warning, We should, however, be recreant to our duty, be unworthy of our gallant forefathers, and commit base treason against our posterity, should we permit Cuba to be Africanized and become a second St. Domingo (Haiti), with all its attendant horrors to
1708-620: A pro-Southern Democrat, Southern expansionists called for acquiring Cuba as a slave state , but the outbreak of violence following the Kansas–Nebraska Act left the administration unsure of how to proceed. At the suggestion of Secretary of State William L. Marcy , American ministers in Europe— Pierre Soulé for Spain, James Buchanan for Britain, and John Y. Mason for France—met to discuss strategy related to an acquisition of Cuba. They met secretly at Ostend , Belgium , and drafted
1830-533: A puzzle for the balance of power theory. Whether or not realists got the Cold War right, they have most certainly got the warm peace wrong. A decade after the Berlin Wall collapsed… their dark vision of the future has not come to pass. The United States remains the world’s only superpower; unipolarity was not a fleeting moment ... Most importantly, despite its continued predominance and political activism, and
1952-499: A special Junta Informativa de Reformas de Ultramar (Overseas Informative Reform Board), with representatives from Cuba and Puerto Rico, was convened in 1865. Even then its proposals were never made into laws. In the 1830s, judicial affairs were restructured. An Audiencia of Havana was created in 1838, with the jurisdiction of the Puerto Príncipe Audiencia limited to the east and center of the island. (The latter
2074-467: A stronger power such as Britain or France. The Ostend Manifesto proposed a shift in foreign policy, justifying the use of force to seize Cuba in the name of national security. It resulted from debates over slavery in the United States , manifest destiny , and the Monroe Doctrine , as slaveholders sought new territory for the expansion of slavery. During the administration of President Franklin Pierce ,
2196-536: A three-month siege and controlled the western part of the island for a year. Britain returned Cuba in exchange for Florida in the Treaty of Paris . The events revealed not only the weaknesses of the region's defenses but also proved just how much the Cuban economy had been neglected by the Spanish. During the year they controlled Cuba, the British and their American colonies conducted an unprecedented amount of trade with
2318-758: A tyrant city from emerging within the society of Greek city-states." It resurfaced among the Renaissance Italian city-states in the 15th century. Francesco Sforza , Duke of Milan , and Lorenzo de' Medici , ruler of Florence , were the first rulers to actively pursue such a policy, with the Italic League , though historians have generally attributed the innovation to the Medici rulers of Florence. Discussion of Florence's policy can be found in De Bello Italico , by Bernardo Rucellai ,
2440-673: A week to prepare a report of the proceedings. The resulting dispatch, which would come to be known as the Ostend Manifesto, declared that "Cuba is as necessary to the North American republic as any of its present members, and that it belongs naturally to that great family of states of which the Union is the Providential Nursery". Prominent among the reasons for annexation outlined in the manifesto were fears of
2562-437: Is "no more sterile, illusory, fantastic, exploded and explosive peace policy than the balance of power." In 1953, Ernst B. Haas criticized balance of power theory, arguing that international relations works that used the concept were plagued with "philological, semantic, and theoretical confusion." Since 1945, the arguments of Streit and Earle has prevailed over that of Taylor. Atomic scientists launched an all-out attack on
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#17327647954352684-412: Is clear: we are going forward. According to historian Sverre Bagge , a balance of power logic may have prevented unification of the three Scandinavian kingdoms (Norway, Sweden and Denmark), as balancing coalitions formed to prevent one kingdom from conquering the other kingdoms. It has been argued by historians that, in the sixteenth century, England came to pursue a foreign policy which would preserve
2806-424: Is likely under two historically common conditions: First when the rising hegemon develops the ability to incorporate and effectively administer conquered territories. And second, when the boundaries of the international system remain stable, and no new major powers emerge from outside the system. When the leading power can administer conquests effectively so they add to its power and when the system's borders are rigid,
2928-428: Is little sign of a serious effort to forge a meaningful anti-American alliance ... From the traditional perspective of balance-of-power theory, this situation is surely an anomaly. Power in the international system is about as unbalanced as it has ever been, yet balancing tendencies are remarkably mild. It is possible to find them, but one has to squint pretty hard to do it. [N]o peer competitor has yet emerged more than
3050-569: The situado , to becoming a self-sustaining and flourishing, sugar-, coffee- and tobacco-exporting colony, which also meant that large number of slaves were imported into Cuba . The agricultural economy was aided by the gradual opening of Cuban ports to foreign ships, especially after the loss of the mainland due to the independence wars. During the American Revolutionary War Spain recaptured colonial Florida (which at that time included Gulf Coast lands extending all
3172-440: The Kansas–Nebraska Act . During internal discussions, supporters of gaining Cuba decided that a purchase or intervention in the name of national security was the most acceptable method of acquisition. Marcy suggested Soulé confer with Buchanan and John Y. Mason , Minister to France, on U.S. policy toward Cuba. He had previously written to Soulé that, if Cuba's purchase could not be negotiated, "you will then direct your effort to
3294-711: The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , Cuba experienced an exodus of settlers, and its population remained small for the next two centuries. In 1565 the Adelantado Pedro Menéndez de Avilés , who was also Captain General of the Spanish treasure fleet which rendezvoused in Havana, established the first permanent Spanish settlement in Florida, San Agustín , initially bringing the province under
3416-599: The Warring States to balance against the Qin dynasty in ancient China and five other cases. This cross-cultural research concludes: Given that the version of the theory we are testing is universalistic in its claims – that 'hegemony leads to balance … through all of the centuries we can contemplate' – case selection is unimportant. Any significant counterexample falsifies the universal claim; eight such examples demolish it. Wohlforth et al. state that systemic hegemony
3538-516: The Wehrmacht , a "wave would have swept over Europe that would have taken no care of the ridiculous British idea of the balance of power in Europe in all its banality and stupid tradition—once and for all." In fact, Churchill shortly adopted a similar view: Our Russian friends and Allies, he spoke in 1946, most admire strength and least respect military weakness. "For that reason the old doctrine of
3660-756: The "puzzle" of the unipolar stability. Elsewhere, Richard Little wrote: Events since the end of the Cold War "create a potential anomaly" for the theory because the outcome has "left the United States as the sole superpower in a unipolar world ... A major puzzle for realists ... is the fact that unipolarity has not provoked a global alarm to restore a balance of power." The same anomaly stressed seventeen other experts on alliances, Stephen Walt , Randall Schweller , Xiaoyu Pu, John Ikenberry , Robert Pape , T. V. Paul , Jack S. Levy, William R. Thompson, John Lewis Gaddis , David A. Lake, Campbell Craig, Fareed Zakaria , John M., Owen, Michael Mastanduno, Thomas S. Mowle, David H. Sacko and Terry Narramore: To date, at least, there
3782-837: The Balance of Power , is as old as history, and was used by Greeks such as Thucydides both as political theorists and as practical statesmen. A 2018 study in International Studies Quarterly confirmed that "the speeches of the Corinthians from prior to the Persian Wars to the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War reveal an enduring thesis of their foreign policy: that imperial ambitions and leveling tendencies, such as those of Athens , Sparta , and Thebes , should be countered in order to prevent
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3904-531: The Balance of Power . The principle formed the basis of the coalitions against Louis XIV and Napoleon , and the occasion (or excuse) for most of the European wars between the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the Congress of Vienna (1814). It was especially championed by Great Britain , even up to World War I , as it sought to prevent a European land power from rivaling its naval supremacy. During
4026-665: The Brigands." During the period of Bleeding Kansas , as anti- and pro-slavery supporters fought for control of the state, the Ostend Manifesto served as a rallying cry for the opponents of the Slave Power . The incident was one of many factors that gave rise to the Republican Party , and the manifesto was criticized in the Party's first platform in 1856 as following a " highwayman 's" philosophy of "might makes right." But,
4148-616: The Captaincy General of Cuba as part of larger plans to defend the Caribbean against foreign threats . The first captain general was Pedro Valdés. Around the same time other captaincies general were established in Puerto Rico (1580) and Central America (1609). Cuba was divided into two governorships with capitals in Havana and Santiago de Cuba. The governor of Havana was Captain General of the island. In 1650 Cuba received
4270-454: The Cuban people for independence, and a series of reforms on the island made Southerners apprehensive that slavery would be abolished. They believed that Cuba would be "Africanized," as the majority of the population were slaves, and they had seen the Republic of Haiti established by former slaves . The notion of a pro-slavery invasion by the U.S. was rejected in light of the controversy over
4392-465: The European states formed a sort of federal community , the fundamental condition of which was the preservation of a balance of power, i.e., such a disposition of things that no one state, or potentate, should be able absolutely to predominate and prescribe laws to the rest. And, since all were equally interested in this settlement, it was held to be the interest, the right , and the duty of every power to interfere, even by force of arms, when any of
4514-465: The Metropolis, who will carry out his duties in its name, the supreme Authority." The new government functioned only for a few months before the United States took control of the island. The population of Cuba in 1899 when the Spanish rule had ended was 1,572,797 which was 9.2 times larger than the population in 1775 and during that year 171,620 people were reported living on the island. In Cuba,
4636-595: The Peace of Westphalia, it was referenced during the negotiations. Subsequent behavior by states reflected the balance of power. In the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the doctrine was explicitly referenced multiple times. It was not until the beginning of the 17th century, when Grotius and his successors developed the idea of international law, that the balance of power was formulated as a fundamental principle of diplomacy , although this formulation must have reflected existing practices. In accordance with this new discipline,
4758-510: The President feared they were based on leaks, as indeed they may have been". Pierce feared the political repercussions of confirming such rumors, and he did not acknowledge them in his State of the Union address at the end of 1854. The administration's opponents in the House of Representatives called for the document's release, and it was published in full four months after being written. When
4880-571: The Prime Minister, took the extra-constitutional step in 1897 of writing the Constitución Autonómica , which granted the Caribbean islands autonomy, technically bringing the Captaincy General to an end. Given the urgency of the movement, the government approved this unusual measure. The new government of the island was to consist of "an Island Parliament, divided into two chambers and one Governor-General , representative of
5002-712: The Two Floridas was established. Both were suffragan to the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, but after the Treaty of Basel, it disappeared, so Santiago de Cuba was elevated to an Archdiocese with the above-mentioned dioceses suffragan to it, as well as the Diocese of Puerto Rico . The Spanish Constitution of 1812 , enacted by the Cortes of Cádiz – which served as a parliamentary Regency after Ferdinand VII
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5124-470: The US constitutes a serious anomaly for neorealist theory. Fareed Zakaria asks, "Why is no one ganging up against the United States?" And John Ikenberry and John M. Owen ask the same question. Prominent Historian of the Cold War, John Lewis Gaddis , poses a more general question and replies: Do the weak always unite against the strong? "In theory, yes, but in practice and in history, not necessarily." One of
5246-564: The US was cut off from its previous supply in the British West Indies and Hispaniola . Initially, sugar plantations were built around ports and in particular Havana because overland transport was costly, slow and difficult taking the form of large ox-cart trains transporting sugar. A railroad network was developed as a result of overland limitations with the first railroad line being built in 1837 between Havana and Güines spanning 82 kilometres (51 mi). The railroad allowed for
5368-452: The US, such as China, Russia, or the EU to develop military capabilities that come anywhere close to those of the US seems to have defied this prediction. Despite the apparently radical imbalance of the international political system, smaller states are not trying to build up their military power to match that of the US or forming formal alliance systems to oppose it… The absence of balancing against
5490-630: The United States and not at all since the 1990s when it has become the sole superpower. Traditional balance of power theory … fails to explain state behavior in the post-Cold War era. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been expanding its economic and political power. More recently, it has begun to engage in increasingly unilateralist military policy… [Y]et despite these growing material capabilities, major powers such as China, France, Germany, India, and Russia have not responded with significant increases in their defense spending. Nor have they formed military coalitions to countervail US power, as
5612-439: The United States to be balanced" but "we find very little balancing." French academic Michel Winock said: "Before we could say we were on American side. Not Now. There is no counterbalance." Two American Neoconservative thinkers, Robert Kagan and William Kristol , completely agree: "Today’s international system is built not around a balance of power but around American hegemony." Christopher Layne published two articles on
5734-548: The actions and counsels of all the Christian kings of your time". Thomas Carlyle referred to statesmen "in shadow-hunting, shadow-hunted hour ... looking with intense anxiety into a certain spectral something they call the Balance of Power." Statesman Richard Cobden labeled the balance of power "a chimera" due to its unclear meaning: "It is not a fallacy, a mistake, an imposture—it is an undescribed, indescribable, incomprehensible nothing." The only point on which writers on
5856-593: The administration had abandoned thoughts of declaring war over Cuba. But Robert May writes, "the instructions for the conference had been so vague, and so many of Marcy's letters to Soulé since the Black Warrior incident had been bellicose, that the ministers misread the administration's intent." After a minor disagreement about their meeting site, the three American diplomats met in Ostend , Belgium from October 9–11, 1854, then adjourned to Aachen , Prussia , for
5978-755: The administrative control of Cuba, although due to distance and sea currents, Florida's government was granted the right to correspond directly with the Council of the Indies . The Church played an important role in the Spanish settlement of the Americas. Furthermore, since governors, as representatives of the King, oversaw church administration due to the crown's right of patronage , the church and state were tightly intertwined in Spanish America. The first diocese
6100-452: The ancient Chinese and Roman civilizations, Quincy Wright added: Balance of power systems have in the past tended, through the process of conquest of lesser states by greater states, towards reduction in the number of states involved, and towards less frequent but more devastating wars, until eventually a universal empire has been established through the conquest by one of all those remaining. The post-Cold War period represents an anomaly to
6222-490: The balance did not exist after 1919; and British policy, based on a false premise, ended in disaster. In 1941, Winston Churchill was criticized by his rival, Adolf Hitler , for his adherence to the balance of power: Churchill is a man with an out-of-date political idea—that of the European balance of power. It no longer belongs to the sphere of realities. And yet it's because of this superstition that Churchill stirred England up to war. On another occasion he added: Without
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#17327647954356344-417: The balance of power agree "is in the fundamental delusion that such a system was ever acceded to by the nations of Europe." They imply long, uninterrupted, peaceful and prosperous co-existence. Instead, for centuries "Europe has (with only just sufficient intervals to enable the combatants to recruit their wasted energies) been one vast and continued battle-field…" He criticized Lord Bacon for his adherence to
6466-430: The balance of power as "a cornerstone of English policy, unconsciously during the sixteenth, subconsciously during the seventeenth, and consciously during the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, because for England it represented the only plan of preserving her own independence, political and economic". With the coming of World War II , however, Edward Carr found that today the balance of power badly preserves
6588-427: The balance of power as a universal rule: As for the rule of Lord Bacon: were the great enemy of mankind himself to summon a council, to devise a law of nations which should convert this fair earth, with all its capacity for life, enjoyment, and goodness, into vast theater of death and misery, more dismal than his own Pandemonium , the very words of the philosopher would compose that law! It would reduce us even below
6710-401: The balance of power in world history : The predominance of the balance of power in the practice of statesmen for three centuries … should not obscure the fact that throughout world history periods dominated by the balance-of-power policies have not been the rule. The balance of power scarcely existed anywhere as a conscious principle of international politics before 1500… Evoking examples of
6832-418: The balance of power theory too. Rousseau defined the theoretical limit how far balance of power can be altered: "Will it be supposed that two or three potentates might enter into an agreement to subdue the rest? Be it so. These three potentates, whoever they may be, will not possess half the power of all Europe." In 2009, Stephen Walt observed, "Within two-and-a-half centuries, only one potentate possessed half
6954-407: The balance of power. But the confusion of thought resulting from the attempt to brand it as a morally reprehensive policy has been less serious than the confusion resulting from the assumption that it is a policy which can be applied at all times and in all circumstances. The principal military reason why … is that the balance of power in Europe has hopelessly broken down... The possibility of restoring
7076-417: The balance-of-power concept: The balance-of-power system is discredited today. References to it, even by professional historians and international lawyers, commonly imply either that it was a system for war which repeatedly failed or that it was a system for making war which often succeeded in its purpose … During the period of its dominance as a European system, say, 1648 to 1918, its record in preventing war
7198-472: The balance." NATO Secretary General, Manfred Wörner , outlined the European alternative at the end of the Cold War: Europe has a basic choice: either it lapses back into the old power politics and balance of power diplomacy of past centuries or it moves ahead along the road leading to a new order of peace and freedom, whether this be based on multinational or supranational cooperation. Our choice
7320-547: The colonial power refused to sell it. Soulé was a former U.S. Senator from Louisiana and member of the Young America movement, who sought a realization of American influence in the Caribbean and Central America. He is credited as the primary architect of the policy expressed in the Ostend Manifesto. The experienced and cautious Buchanan is believed to have written the document and moderated Soulé's aggressive tone. Soulé highly favored expansion of Southern influence outside
7442-466: The commercial and political interests of our Union". He later described Cuba and Puerto Rico as "natural appendages to the North American continent"—the former's annexation was "indispensable to the continuance and integrity of the Union itself". As the Spanish Empire had lost much of its power, a no-transfer policy began with Jefferson whereby the U.S. respected Spanish sovereignty, considering
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#17327647954357564-517: The conditions of this settlement were infringed upon, or assailed by, any other member of the community . This balance-of-power principle, once formulated, became an axiom of political science . Fénelon , in his Instructions , impressed the axiom upon the young French Dauphin . Frederick the Great , in his Anti-Machiavel , proclaimed the principle to the world. In 1806, Friedrich von Gentz re-stated it with admirable clarity, in Fragments on
7686-464: The contrary, there will be an overwhelming assurance of security." A 2021 assessment by Morten Skumsrud Andersen and William C. Wohlforth concluded that balance of power is not a universal empirical law and that it does not merit explanatory precedence in international relations research. In an attempt to disprove the balance of power theory, some realists have pointed to cases in international systems other than modern Europe where balancing failed and
7808-483: The current Union of States. His belief in Manifest Destiny led him to prophesy "absorption of the entire continent and its island appendages" by the U.S. Mason's Virginian roots predisposed him to the sentiments expressed in the document, but he later regretted his actions. Buchanan's exact motivations remain unclear despite his expansionist tendencies, but it has been suggested that he was seduced by visions of
7930-437: The doctrine of manifest destiny had become increasingly sectionalized as the decade progressed. While there were still Northerners who believed the United States should dominate the continent, most were opposed to Cuba's annexation, particularly as a slave state. Southern-backed filibusters, including Narciso López , had failed repeatedly since 1849 to 1851 to overthrow the colonial government despite considerable support among
8052-547: The document was published, Northerners were outraged by what they considered a Southern attempt to extend slavery. American free-soilers , recently angered by the strengthened Fugitive Slave Law (passed as part of the Compromise of 1850 and requiring officials of free states to cooperate in the return of slaves), decried as unconstitutional what Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune labeled "The Manifesto of
8174-504: The equilibrium between Spain and France, which evolved into a balance-of-power policy: The continental policy of England [after 1525] was fixed. It was to be pacific, mediating European affairs, favorable to a balance which should prevent any power from having a hegemony on the continent or controlling the Channel coasts. The naval security of England and the balance of power in Europe were the two great political principles which appeared in
8296-417: The establishment of a world empire? Does the evidence rather suggest that we should expect any states system to culminate in this way? …It might be argued that every state system can only maintain its existence on the balance of power, that the later is inherently unstable, and that sooner or later its tensions and conflicts will be resolved into a monopoly of power. Still earlier, Quincy Wright , concluded on
8418-596: The event of an invasion or attack... In fact the intent of Article X was to mantain a Balance of power (international relations) by preventing one nation from attacking another (i.e. Germany attacking Belgium and France in 1914). Only the combination of power of the United States and the British Empire could have empowered the League of Nations . The balance of power theory prepared catastrophe in 1939 as in 1914, wrote Clarence Streit in his famous Union Now . There
8540-422: The first census of the island was carried out, revealing 171,670 inhabitants, and other measures were taken to improve the local economy. These reforms, especially the institution of the intendancy, initiated a dramatic social and economic transformation of the island during the last half of the 18th century and early 19th. Cuba went from being a defensive post in the Caribbean sustained by a subsidy from New Spain,
8662-545: The first rumbling of international opposition in response to missteps in Kosovo, no coalition has emerged to balance against it … [T]he United States today defies the supposedly immutable laws of realpolitik". The persistence of American unipolar predominance in the international system since the end of the Cold War has caused a rupture in the American school of Realist … theory ... Yet the ongoing failure of potential rivals to
8784-426: The government apparatus of Cuba was completely restructured. A report on the island was created by Alejandro O'Reilly , which provided the basis for the changes. A new emphasis was placed on appointing military men to the governorship-captaincy general of Cuba, many of whom were later rewarded with the post of Viceroy of New Spain . To aid the captain general of Cuba, the governor of Santiago was made captain general of
8906-498: The greater part of the 19th century, the series of national upheavals which remodeled the map of Europe obscured the balance of power. Yet, it underlaid all the efforts of diplomacy to tame the forces of nationalism let loose by the French Revolution . In the revolution's aftermath, with the restoration of comparative calm, the principle once more emerged as the operative motive for the various political alliances, of which
9028-404: The independence of England: The size of the units which count effectively in international politics grows steadily larger. There is no longer room in Europe today for those three or four important and strong countries whose more or less equal rivalries enabled Great Britain in the past to secure herself through the policy of the balance of power. Much nonsense has been talked in recent years about
9150-552: The institution of slavery. James Buchanan was easily elected President in 1856. Although he remained committed to Cuban annexation, he was hindered by popular opposition and the growing sectional conflict. It was not until thirty years after the Civil War that the so-called Cuban Question again came to national prominence. Footnotes Citations Captaincy General of Cuba The Captaincy General of Cuba ( Spanish : Capitanía General de Cuba )
9272-526: The island's eventual absorption inevitable. The U.S. simply wanted to ensure that control did not pass to a stronger power such as Britain or France. Cuba was of special importance to Southern Democrats, who believed their economic and political interests would be best served by the admission of another slave state to the Union. The existence of slavery in Cuba , the island's plantation economy based on sugar, and its geographical location predisposed it to Southern influence; its admission would greatly strengthen
9394-500: The island. A year earlier France had secretly ceded Louisiana to Spain in compensation for its losses as its ally during the war. As a sign of the seriousness with which the government took the problems, the very year the Spanish retook control of Havana construction began on what would become the largest Spanish fort in the New World, San Carlos de la Cabaña on the eastern side of the entrance to harbor of Havana. Starting in 1764
9516-403: The issues the discipline of political science "has been wrestling with recently is why there is still no anti-American coalition despite the overwhelming dominance of the United States since the end of the Cold War." French or Chinese officials publicly denounce "hyperpower" and aspire for "multipolarity" but refrain from forming a counterbalancing coalition. "Rhetorically, leaders and public want
9638-411: The level of animals… [T]his rule would, if acted upon universally, plunge us into a war of annihilation … nor would the leveling strife cease until either the rule were abrogated, or mankind had been reduced to the only pristine possessions—teeth and nails! [Under such grounds] the question of the balance of power might be dismissed from further considerations. Sir Esme Howard wrote that England adopted
9760-450: The mid-19th century the slave population in Cuba was close to a half of a million with most working in the sugar industry. Slavery in Cuba existed until being abolished in 1886. Cuba's sugar trade in the 19th century dramatically grew and along with it so did the usage of slavery and number of slaves on the island. By 1830, Cuba was the world's largest producer of sugar. Also in 1830 the United States became Cuba's biggest trading partner as
9882-594: The movement to annex Cuba did not fully end until after the American Civil War . The Pierce Administration was irreparably damaged by the incident. Pierce had been highly sympathetic to the Southern cause, and the controversy over the Ostend Manifesto contributed to the splintering of the Democratic Party. Internationally, it was seen as a threat to Spain and to imperial power across Europe . It
10004-548: The next slave state . If Cuba were admitted to the Union as a single state, the island at the time would have sent two senators and up to nine representatives to Washington. In the Democratic Party , the debate over the continued expansion of the United States centered on how quickly, rather than whether, to expand. Radical expansionists and the Young America movement were quickly gaining traction by 1848, and
10126-571: The next desirable object, which is to detach that island from the Spanish dominion and from all dependence on any European power"—words Soulé may have adapted to fit his own agenda. Authors David Potter and Lars Schoultz both note the considerable ambiguity in Marcy's cryptic words, and Samuel Bemis suggests he may have referred to Cuban independence, but acknowledges it is impossible to know Marcy's true intent. In any case, Marcy had also written in June that
10248-536: The ocean". The Whig administrations of presidents Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore did not pursue the matter and took a harsher stand against filibusters such as Venezuelan Narciso López , with federal troops intercepting several expeditions bound for Cuba. When Franklin Pierce took office in 1853, however, he was committed to Cuba's annexation. At Pierce's presidential inauguration , he stated, "The policy of my Administration will not be controlled by any timid forebodings of evil from expansion." While slavery
10370-457: The ostensible object was the preservation of peace. Regarding the era 1848–1914, English diplomatic historian A.J.P. Taylor argued: Regarding the last quarter-century of the period outlined by Taylor, his American colleague, diplomatic historian Edward Mead Earle , argued: "During the quarter-century beginning about 1890, Europe and the Far East lived under a precarious balance of power with
10492-473: The overseas territories as colonies , which should be governed by special laws. The democratic institutions, such as the Diputación Provincial and the cabildos , established by the 1812 Constitution were removed. The new Constitution of 1837 ratified Cuba's demoted status. However, the "special laws" by which the overseas areas would be governed were not drafted until three decades later, when
10614-419: The plantations and working under similar conditions to slaves whom previously worked their. When completing their contracts, some opted to stay in Cuba while others decided to return home to China. The practice of importing Chinese laborers lasted until the 1880s and 1890s. The telegraph was introduced to Cuba in 1851 and a telegraph network was soon made covering the whole island. An underwater telegraph cable
10736-571: The position of Southern slaveholders, whose economic position was under threat from abolitionists . Whereas immigration to Northern industrial centers had resulted in Northern control of the population-based House of Representatives , Southern politicians sought to maintain the balance of power in the Senate , where each state received equal representation. As slavery-free Western states were admitted, Southern politicians increasingly looked to Cuba as
10858-460: The power of all the world, including Europe. In 2008, US military expenditures, including supplemental spending, exceeded those of the rest of the world combined." Since 2000, the founder of Neorealism , Kenneth Waltz , confessed that "the present condition of international politics is unnatural." "Clearly something has changed." Wohlforth, Little and Kaufman undertook the above-mentioned historical study after they had coped with what they called
10980-401: The presidency, which he would go on to win in 1856 . One historian concluded in 1893, "When we take into account the characteristics of the three men we can hardly resist the conclusion that Soulé, as he afterwards intimated, twisted his colleagues round his finger." To Marcy's chagrin, the flamboyant Soulé made no secret of the meetings. The press in both Europe and the U.S. were well aware of
11102-534: The president of the Audiencia of Santo Domingo . This audiencia retained oversight of judicial affairs until the establishment of new audiencias in Puerto Príncipe (1800) and Havana (1838). In 1825, as a result of the loss of the mainland possessions, the Spanish government granted the governors-captain generals of Cuba extraordinary powers in matters of administration, justice and the treasury and in
11224-424: The prevailing threat; or bandwagoning , aligning themselves with the threatening power. Other alliance tactics include buck-passing and chain-ganging . Realists have long debated how the polarity of a system impacts the choice of tactics; however, it is generally agreed that in bipolar systems, each great power has no choice but to directly confront the other. Along with debates between realists about
11346-411: The prevalence of balancing in alliance patterns, other schools of international relations, such as constructivists , are also critical of the balance of power theory, disputing core realist assumptions regarding the international system and the behavior of states. The principle involved in preserving the balance of power as a conscious goal of foreign policy, as David Hume pointed out in his Essay on
11468-559: The probability of hegemony is high. The argument of universal reproduction of anarchy can be correct in the European context, "whereas a systematic survey of world history reveals that multipolarity has frequently given way to unipolarity or hegemony." Henry Kissinger , historian by profession, noted that "theories of the balance of power often leave the impression that it is the natural form of international relations. In fact, balance-of-power systems have existed only rarely in history." Yet based on these rare occurrences, many realists "elevate
11590-546: The proceedings if not their outcome, but were preoccupied with wars and midterm elections. In the latter case, the Democratic Party became a minority in the United States Congress , and editorials continued to chide the Pierce administration for its secrecy. At least one newspaper, the New York Herald , published what Brown calls "reports that came so close to the truth of the decisions at Ostend that
11712-560: The province and given command of the military forces there. At the same time a new institution, which up until now had only been used in Spain, was introduced into Cuba: the intendancy . An intendencia de hacienda y guerra was set up in Havana to oversee government and military expenditures and to promote the local economy. The first Intendant, Miguel de Altarriba arrived on March 8, 1765. Other intendancies soon followed: Louisiana (1766), Puerto Príncipe (1786) and Santiago de Cuba (1786). In 1774
11834-624: The provinces of Florida and Louisiana and granting more autonomy to these provinces. This later change was carried out by the Count of Floridablanca under Charles III to strengthen the Spanish position vis-a-vis the British in the Caribbean. A new governor-captain general based in Havana oversaw the administration of the new district. The local governors of the larger Captaincy General had previously been overseen in political and military matters by
11956-400: The recently restored Viceroy of the Indies, Diego Colón , under the command of Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar , who became Cuba's first governor until his death in 1524. The new settlers did not wish to be under the personal authority of Colón, so Velázquez founded the city of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa in 1511 and convoked a general cabildo (a local government council), which
12078-569: The reign of Henry VIII and which, pursued unwaveringly, were to create the greatness of England. In 1579, the first English translation of Francesco Guicciardini 's Storia d'Italia ("History of Italy") popularised the Italian balance of power theory in England. This translation was dedicated to Elizabeth I of England and claimed that "God has put into your hand the balance of power and justice, to poise and counterpoise at your will
12200-406: The result … that the world moved crazily from one crisis to another and finally to catastrophe". Earle concludes: "The balance of power may well land us all in crematory". Despite Henry Cabot Lodge hypocrital whining Article X Treaty of Versailles did not infringe on the right of the United States to make war; Article X "...required [but did not force] members to assist any other member nation in
12322-482: The second half of the 19th century gave them the title of Governor General . Since the 16th century the island of Cuba had been under the control of the governor-captain general of Santo Domingo , who was at the same time, president of the audiencia there. He oversaw the local governor and the Santo Domingo Audiencia heard appeals from the island. The conquest of Cuba was organized in 1510 by
12444-560: The sugar industry to grow farther. The length of Cuba's railroad network grew from 618 kilometres (384 mi) in the 1850s to 1,218 kilometres (757 mi) by 1860. With the elimination of the slave trade, imported Chinese Chinese contract laborers functioned as a replacement similar to other locations in the Caribbean. These laborers were exclusively male and recruited between the ages of 16 and 40 to serve for contracts ranging from 4 to 10 years. When Chinese laborers arrived in Cuba starting in 1847 they found themselves practically bound to
12566-419: The theory predicts it will take advantage of its weaker neighbors, thereby driving them to unite in a defensive coalition . Some realists maintain that a balance-of-power system is more stable than one with a dominant state, as aggression is unprofitable when there is equilibrium of power between rival coalitions. When threatened, states may seek safety either by balancing , allying with others against
12688-471: The traditional balance of power theory would predict. The end of the Cold War and the emergence of the "unipolar moment" have generated considerable debate about how to explain the absence of a great-power balancing coalition against the United States… That the United States, which is generally regarded as the "greatest superpower ever", has not provoked such a balancing coalition is widely regarded as
12810-492: The way to the Mississippi River ) from Great Britain, which was ratified in the 1783 Treaty of Paris . But, within about 35 years, all of this territory was incrementally obtained by the U.S.; this was due in part to boundary disputes. The transfer of the Spanish part of Santo Domingo to France in 1795 in the Treaty of Basel , made Cuba the main Spanish possession in the Caribbean. The Audiencia of Santo Domingo
12932-474: The western part of the island became the most developed due to Havana's port traffic and its ensuing commerce. By 1763, Havana had a population of around 50,000 which made it comparable to Lima . By the year 1790, Havana and the area surrounding it had a population close to 100,000 which made it the 3rd largest urban area in the Americas and was bigger than other cities in the Caribbean. Between 1790 and 1821, 240,721 slaves were imported to Cuba from Africa. By
13054-420: The white race, and suffer the flames to extend to our own neighboring shores, seriously to endanger or actually to consume the fair fabric of our Union. Racial fears, largely spread by Spain, raised tension and anxiety in the U.S. over a potential black uprising on the island that could "spread like wildfire" to the southern U.S. The Manifesto stated that the U.S. would be "justified in wresting" Cuba from Spain if
13176-519: Was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire created in 1607 as part of Habsburg Spain attempt to better defend and administer its Caribbean possessions. The reform also established captaincies general in Puerto Rico , Guatemala and Yucatán . The restructuring of the Captaincy General in 1764 was the first example of the Bourbon Reforms in America. The changes included adding
13298-413: Was certainly not striking. Indeed, it probably was itself responsible for starting more wars than it prevented. Former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer interpreted the core of the concept of Europe after 1945 as the rejection of the European balance-of-power principle and the hegemonic ambitions of individual states that had emerged following the Peace of Westphalia in 1648: "European integration
13420-540: Was deposed – declared the territory of the Captaincy General an integral part of the Spanish Monarchy and transformed it into a province with its own elected diputación provincial , a governing board with joint administrative and limited legislative powers. Municipalities were also granted locally elected cabildos . The provincial deputation and cabildos functioned while the Constitution
13542-479: Was duly authorized to deal directly with Spain. This legal move removed Velázquez and the settlers from under the authority of Colón, their nominal superior. It was a precedent that would come back to haunt Velázquez during Hernán Cortés 's conquest of the Aztec Empire . Other cities were later founded under Velázquez: Bayamo in 1513; Santísima Trinidad , Sancti Spíritus and San Cristóbal de La Habana in 1514; Puerto Príncipe and Santiago de Cuba in 1515. After
13664-471: Was effectively set aside until the late 19th century, when support grew for Cuban independence from Spain. Located 90 miles (140 km) off the coast of Florida , Cuba had been discussed as a subject for annexation in several presidential administrations. Presidents John Quincy Adams and Thomas Jefferson expressed great interest in Cuba, with Adams observing during his Secretary of State tenure that it had "become an object of transcendent importance to
13786-552: Was established in 1518 in Baracoa and was made suffragan to the Diocese of Seville . The seat of the Diocese was transferred to Santiago de Cuba in 1522. In 1520 Pope Leo X established the short-lived Diocese of Santiago de la Florida (or "Santiago de la Tierra Florida"). In 1546 the Diocese of Santo Domingo was elevated to an Archdiocese and the Diocese of Santiago de Cuba was made suffragan to it. In 1607 Philip III created
13908-431: Was finally forced to publish the contents of the dispatch, which caused it irreparable damage. The dispatch was published as demanded by the House of Representatives. Dubbed the "Ostend Manifesto", it was immediately denounced in both the Northern states and Europe. The Pierce administration suffered a significant setback, and the manifesto became a rallying cry for anti-slavery Northerners. The question of Cuba's annexation
14030-479: Was formally moved to Santa María del Puerto Príncipe (today, Camagüey ) five years later, after temporarily residing in Santiago de Cuba. (It resided in Havana for a few years starting in 1808 before returning to Camagüey.) The Church also experienced growth. In 1787 a Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Habana was established, which included Florida and Louisiana in its territory. In 1793 the Diocese of Louisiana and
14152-406: Was in force from 1812 to 1814 and 1820 to 1823. Ultimately the Constitution was abolished by Ferdinand VII . The death of Ferdinand VII brought about new changes. Regent María Cristina reconvened the Cortes , in its traditional form with three estates . In 1836, Constitutional government was reestablished in Spain, except this time the government in Spain, despite its liberal tendencies, defined
14274-574: Was installed between Florida and Cuba in 1867. Havana functioned as a port city and military outpost with several thousand soldiers and sailors being stationed there permanently. 23°07′N 82°21′W / 23.117°N 82.350°W / 23.117; -82.350 Balance of power in international relations The balance of power theory in international relations suggests that states may secure their survival by preventing any one state from gaining enough military power to dominate all others. If one state becomes much stronger,
14396-567: Was made Minister to Great Britain after a failed bid for the presidency at the Democratic National Convention , and Secretary of State William L. Marcy , whose appointment was also an attempt to placate the "Old Fogies." This was the term for the wing of the party that favored slow, cautious expansion. In March 1854, the steamer Black Warrior stopped at the Cuban port of Havana on a regular trading route from New York City to Mobile, Alabama . When it failed to provide
14518-567: Was not the stated goal nor Cuba mentioned by name, the antebellum makeup of his party required the Northerner to appeal to Southern interests, so he favored the annexation of Cuba as a slave state. To this end, he appointed expansionists to diplomatic posts throughout Europe, notably sending Pierre Soulé , an outspoken proponent of Cuban annexation, as United States Minister to Spain. The Northerners in his cabinet were fellow doughfaces (Northerners with Southern sympathies) such as Buchanan, who
14640-505: Was quickly denounced by national governments in Madrid , London , and Paris . To preserve what favorable relations the administration had left, Soulé was ordered to cease discussion of Cuba; he promptly resigned. The backlash from the Ostend Manifesto caused Pierce to abandon expansionist plans. It has been described as part of a series of "gratuitous conflicts ... that cost more than they were worth" for Southern interests intent on maintaining
14762-485: Was temporarily abolished from 1853 to 1868.) In 1851 the filibustering Lopez Expedition from the United States led by Narciso López and William Crittenden failed with many of the participants being executed. Three years later the territory was the subject of the Ostend Manifesto by which several American diplomats discussed a scheme to purchase Cuba from Spain, or even take it by force. By mid-century
14884-537: Was the response to centuries of a precarious balance of powers on this continent which again and again resulted in terrible hegemonic wars and culminated in the two World Wars between 1914 and 1945." Former US Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney expressed the same for Europe and other democracies: "It is not in our interest or those of the other democracies to return to earlier periods in which multiple military powers balanced one against another in what passed for security structures, while regional, or even global peace hung in
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