José Antonio Aponte

José Antonio Aponte, often known as “Black” José Aponte, (died April 9, 1812 in Havana) was a Cuban activist, military officer and carpenter of Yoruba origin who organized one of the largest slave conspiracies in his time, known as the Aponte Conspiracy of 1812. He had formally been first corporal in Havana's black militia, and was the leader of his local Yoruba association. His objective was to free people of color in Cuba from Spanish tyranny. He gained a considerable following amongst black Cubans and was proclaimed by some as a suitable King of Cuba. Aponte assumed leadership of the Afro-Cuban religious fraternity, Cabildo de Santa Barnara in around 1810, and they met in his home, plotting to overthrow the Spanish.

Aponte provoked an uprising by the Afro Cubans and those sympathetic to the cause in February 1812. Eight of his cohorts were caught and imprisoned. He was eventually caught and hanged on the gallows on April 9, 1812 and decapitated. His head was placed in an iron cage and showcased in front of the house where he lived and his hand went on display in another street. The heads of his co-conspirators, both black and non-blacks, were also placed around Havana after they were executed.