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Biography of Máximo GómezName: Máximo GómezBirth Date: November 18, 1836 Death Date: June 17, 1905 Place of Birth: Baní, Dominican Republic Nationality: Dominican, Cuban Gender: Male Occupations: general, commander in chief Máximo Gómez A Dominican by birth, Máximo Gómez (1836-1905) became a general in Cuba's independence army and a hero of the struggle which ended Spanish domination over Cuba.Máximo Gómez was born in the small town of Baní in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 18, 1836. The son of a lower-middle-class family, he entered a religious seminary, but his religious instruction was soon interrupted by a Haitian invasion of the Dominican Republic in the mid-1850s. Joining the forces of Dominican patriots, he fought bravely in the battle of Santomé in 1856 and in numerous subsequent battles. When Dominican general Pedro Santana invited Spain to reestablish control over the Dominican Republic in 1861, Gómez accepted a commission as captain in the Dominican army reserve. He retained that post until the end of the Spanish domination in 1865, when he moved to Santiago de Cuba.Cuba's Ten …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…for the presidential election of 1901, Gómez was the most popular figure. Yet the old general refused to be considered, claiming, "I would much rather liberate men than govern them." Instead, he campaigned for and helped elect Tomás Estrada Palma, former rebel president and delegate-in-exile of the Cuban Republic in Arms. Gómez supported Estrada Palma's administration, but when the President announced his intention to reelect himself, he met with Gómez's stiff opposition. Old and sick, Gen. Gómez went on a speaking tour but could do little, for he died on June 17, 1905. Associated Events Cuban Insurrection, 1868-1878, Spanish American War, 1898 Further Reading Valuable information on Gómez as well as on Cuba's wars for independence is in Charles E. Chapman, A History of the Cuban Republic (1927), and Philip Sheldon Foner, A History of Cuba and Its Relations with the United States, vol. 2 (1963). |