Agramonte, Ignacio

(1841–1873) was a Cuban revolutionary who played an important role in the Ten Years’ War. Born to a wealthy family, he went to Spain to study law and graduated in 1865. When the War of Independence against the Spanish broke out in 1868, he played a pivotal role in the uprising of the province of Camagüey. Agramonte was among the signatories of the act that freed the slaves on the island, and was the driving force in drafting the first constitution in Cuban history. He organized the best cavalry troops in the Cuban Liberation Army. Showing great vision, in spite of his lack of formal military training, his troops terrified the Spanish Army. The Spaniards nicknamed him ‘The Young Bolívar’. Agramonte was killed at the Battle of Jimaguayú in 1873.