Antillean Confederation
The Antillean Confederation, first proposed April 11, 1868, was the proposed idea of Ramón Emeterio Betances about the need for peoples of the Spanish-speaking Greater Antilles in the Caribbean to unite in a political confederation in order to preserve the sovereignty and interests of Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Supporters of the idea wanted to free the Spanish island possessions of Cuba and Puerto Rico, later uniting them with the Dominican Republic in Hispaniola, creating a political union in the Spanish Caribbean.