A sunken ship memorializes America's failure to annex Cuba

Cuba

THE WRECK OF the steamship Black Warrior sits in just 45 feet of water off Rockaway Bar near the entrance to New York Harbor. It is one of the most visited dive sites in that area. Artifacts still  can be found hidden in the sand, and blackfish swim nearby making tempting targets for spear fishermen as well as anglers. Owned by the New York and New Orleans Steamship Line, it called regularly at Havana in the mid-19th Century. During one visit there, the governor general of Cuba seized the ship and set off a diplomatic incident that effectively derailed President Pierce's scheme to buy the island.

The Black Warrior (click to enlarge)

Seizing ships. Confiscating cargoes. Jailing crews. These were nothing new in Cuba under Spanish rule. However, the incident with the Black Warrior just happened at the wrong time. American ministers were hard at work in Europe setting up their proposal to purchase the island from Spain. The ministers in England and France were insuring that any request from Spain to help protect their interests in Cuba would be rebuffed. The American minister in Spain was attempting to convince the government there that that had no hope of surviving the revolution that was bound to come. Selling Cuba to the Americans, he argued, would at least provide them with some value before the Cuban creoles simply took control without paying for it. Unfortunately, the cabal of American ministers was too ham-handed and the Spaniards, though they had no reasonable expectation of resisting the American offer, had their pride hurt.

Then came word of the Black Warrior incident. It was an opportunity for the Americans to shift gears and try a more diplomatic approach. Had they, there is a chance that it would have put the deal over the top. Instead, they became even more belligerent and the Spaniards dug their heels in.

Click to enlarge

The Americans demanded an excessive indemnity for the ship and the Spaniards responded that they were not accustomed to the “haughty and abusive” attitude of the Americans. Intemperate letters were exchanged. In addition to the indemnification of the ship's owners, the American ministers began to demand a formal apology for the disrespect shown towards the ship's ensign, the American flag. The Spanish retorted that they were not obliged to salute a nation's flag when flown on a mere merchant ship. The Americans responded by tripling the indemnification claim.

Then came world that an insurrection against the royal family in Spain was brewing. The American minister, Pierre Soulé, met with the opposition leaders and became convinced that he could negotiate with them even more favorable terms for the sale of Cuba. Convinced that they were on the verge of a break through, Soulé called for a meeting of the American ministers from England and France. They assembled in Germany to plot their final strategy. Soulé's communications with the Secretary of State became overconfident. 

Pierre Soulé (click to enlarge)

Then came one of the most notorious incidents in the diplomatic history of the United States. All Europe was watching the Americans. It seemed that everyone had some friend within the inner circles of the American embassies and newspaper reports of the planned meeting began to appear. Although the Secretary of State fretted that prospects looked bleak for the effort to secure the deed to Cuba because of all the publicity, the ministers pressed ahead full of confidence. They went so far as to draft the Ostend Manifesto. In it, they spelled out everything, not only the justifications for the island to be annexed to America, but also the price they were willing to pay and, most improvidently, the consequences if Spain should refuse. It wasn't actually a manifesto. If was intended for public consumption, but it became public.

Spain's pride was hurt. They complained bitterly of the affair, and other European powers took up their cause, castigating the American President and his administration for their uncouth behavior towards a sovereign nation. The Secretary of State sent a note to the American ministers in Europe, rebuking them all. He reaffirmed the President's interest in purchasing Cuba but directed them to never raise the issue again unless Spain initiated the conversation.

With the issue behind them and their pride somewhat mollified, the Spaniards released the Black Warrior and paid its owners indemnification, but only a fraction of that which had been demanded. The ship returned to service until it sank in a gale as it attempted to find refuge in New York Harbor.