Arsenio Martínez-Campos y Antón

Arsenio Martínez-Campos y Antón (né Martínez y Campos; 14 December 1831 – 23 September 1900), was a Spanish officer who rose against the First Spanish Republic in a military revolution in 1874 and restored Spain's Bourbon dynasty. Later, he became Captain-General of Cuba where he was tasked with stopping pro-independence rebels. Martínez Campos took part in wars in Africa, Mexico and Cuba and in the Third Carlist War.

Education and early military career In 1860, he was sent to Africa to take part in the Tetuán War in Morocco, and distinguished himself in 16 actions, obtaining the Cross of San Fernando and the rank of lieutenant colonel. He also took part in the second French intervention in Mexico under General Juan Prim in a joint expedition along with France and Britain. Perceived as too soft to win, he was displaced by Blas Villate, Count of Balmaceda, who proceeded with a brutal campaign.

Political and military intrigue in Spain In 1872, Martínez Campos returned to Spain and supported the coup d'état led by Manuel Pavía. There, he commanded several brigades against the Carlist uprisings with little success. He was later placed in charge of the Valencian army, where he fought independent forces in Alicante and Cartagena.

The chaotic situation in Spain pushed him to plot against the Spanish Republic in favor of restoring Alfonso XII, the son of the exiled Queen Isabella II.

Although he made little effort to hide his monarchist intentions, Marshal Serrano appointed him to command of a division in 1874. WIth it, he took part in the relief of Bilbao on 2 May and in the operations around Estella-Lizarra in June. On both occasions he unsuccessfully attempted to persuade fellow commanders to proclaim Alfonso XII. He was placed under surveillance in Ávila but managed to escape and took refuge in Madrid. Photograph of General Martínez-Campos in his old age, Days after the defeat, Campos sent a letter to the Spanish prime minister outlining a strategy to ‘reconcentrate’ hundreds of thousands of rural Cubans behind trenches and barbed wire in Spanish-held towns. The plan aimed to isolate the insurgents and cut off the widespread rural support that had sustained them throughout the war. However, Campos refused to implement the policy himself or to escalate the conflict further, and offered to relinquish his imperial post. where he was named president of the Supreme War and Navy Council but resigned after a month in office. He died on September 23, 1900, at Zarauz.