 He was educated first in New York City until 1885, when his mother took him and his twin sister to Germany.He later earned degrees in international law and diplomacy from the "Instituto Stanislas" in Paris, France.In 1895, he returned to Cuba and from 1895 to 1898 he fought in the War of Independence, becoming a "teniente coronel" (lieutenant colonel) and the revolutionary post of governor of the Province of Santiago de Cuba.