Cuba was inhabited by Arawak, Taino, and Guanahatabey Tribes. As with the rest of the North American Indians, they used stone tools, and lived simple lives like them. They grew yuca, cotton, tobacco, maize/corn and sweet potatoes. In 1492, the Christopher Columbus made his legendary voyage to the Americas. He landed in the Bahamas, and sailed to Cuba. He believed Cuba was Japan. Cuba was claimed for Spain, and became an important starting point for future Expansion, as well as Puerto Rico. Cuba however, was not fully conquered or mapped out. The natives there slowly died from disease, slavery, wars and etc. Spain converted the natives to Roman Catholicism immediately. In 1509, Sebastian de Ocampo mapped out Cuba, and in 1511, Diego Velazquez de Cuellar fully conquered the Island and made many new settlements. In 1514, a settlement was founded that was to become Havana one day. Santiago de Cuba was the first capital of Cuba.
Spanish rules, customs and religion were brought to Cuba, and the Spanish put it to use and stopped rebellions from the natives. The Taino people by now
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were almost wiped out, but there many of there words, culture and tradition remained in Cuba. Since there was not that much gold in Cuba, agriculture became important in Cuba. However, the natives labor force was disappearing quickly, like stated before, so they made to find new sources of labor. Cuba became part of the slave trade in 1513. Ponce de Leon also set out from Cuba and explored Florida for Spain at this time.By 1557, it is estimated that only 2,000 native Indians were left in Cuba. During 1524-1550 slave trading was on large scale in Cuba. Slavery would not end in Cuba until 1886. The Spanish became making a big profit on sugar and coffee from Cuba. Its sugar trade was probably the most prosperous trade at THIS time. Cuba was a constant target of pirates, privateers, buccaneers and many more. Spanish had to defend itself from pirates, the French and Spanish, and they built forts, one of them is the Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro in Havana. Havana grew to be an important port for Spain, and for the Spanish Empire. A Lot of ships were made here, and alot of trade passed through Havana. However, the English, Dutch and French Pirates caused almost all the problems at this time. They constantly attacked Cuba and Havana. Havana became the capital of Cuba, and Havana was starting to become the third largest city in the Spanish Empire. Cuba developed in the 18th century more, and translation and more roads were made. Cuba was prosperous. Cuba tried to take better steps to defend Cuba, and it worked some what. Cuba's attacks and raids climaxed in 1762 when the English captured and looted Havana. Havana was an important part of the Spanish Empire and the Spanish needed in back. They traded Florida for Havana in 1763.. Later, during the revolutionary war, Spain would get Cuba back. Florida was England, and Haiti was for France, so thousands moved to Cuba. Cuba grew more, and its trade grew more. When the United States revolted, Cuba kept relations and trade with the USA. A census of Cuba in 1774 said that the population was 161,670 and by 1817 it had grown to 553,033. During that time, Cuba developed and piracy slowly stopped. Cuba was more safe. In the 1810-1830s, the Spanish Empire revolted and Cuba tried to revolt. In the 19th century, Cuba was influenced by revolution ideas of the Americans and France.
Cuba tried to rule itself, but it failed and clashes were common during the Latin American Wars of Independence. The 19th century was about to be one of political upheaval and chaos. Cuba continued to grow, but now the Spanish were focused on stopping these "reform, autonomy and separatist" movements. Cuban nationalism rose during this time. Then the Spanish Empire all got its independence, only Cuba and Puerto Rico were stuck struggling with Spain. Spain executed all main indepedent leaders and were determined to keep Cuba for Spain. In the Ten Years' War, it was the most bloody war in which Cuba struggled for independence. The United States began putting interests, businesses, and industries in Cuba. The United States began to rule the economy of Cuba, while Spain ruled the government and land
itself. Cuba was a country that could have become great, however it was plagued by chaos most of there history. From Independence to the Cuban Revolution during the 1950s. In 1886, the Spanish finally abolished slavery after decades and decades of the people pestering spain. Cuba was the second to last country in the Americas to abolish slavery. Troubles did not stop, in 1895, the Cuban War of Independence began. Cuba successfully and finally broke away from Spanish rule. However due to US intervention, the war became the Spanish-American War. The United States fought Spain, and won. They made Cuba there protectorate (no more independence), and Philippines and Puerto Rico also went to the USA. (A bit over the future, 1901 and up) The USA had a law in which Cuba could not be annexed. Cuba they said was "free" but it wasn't at all. The USA was actually not clear about the future of the administration. Cuba was filled with US companies, and the military was there. The US actually ran the place and it was like a US territory, however they could not officially include in due to the Teller Amendment. The US and the companies worked to develop Cuba and built translation. The US decided to leave Cuba, however in reality they didn't. In 1902, Cuba was officially independent! 40% of Cuba's sugar was controlled by the Americans, 80% of ore and tobacco was controlled by the US, and 10% of Cuba's land (most of it the good land) was controlled by the USA. After cuban President Thomas Estrada Palma's term was over in 1904, the USA invaded Cuba "to prevent fighting" between the Cubans, "to protect North American economic interests", and "to hold free" elections. In 1908, the US withdrawed. Cuba was then ruled by 3 previous indepedence leaders, and the US just kept coming in when one of the cuban presidents did something they did not like. Gradually, it became less and less. In 1917, one day after the US entered the war, Cuba joined. Cuba did not really do anything and couldn't send troops due to distance. They only guarded the Caribbean from German attacks. So ends history of Cuba from before 1492 to now 1918.
The Spanish American war had a complex beginning. By the 1890’s, Cuba had unsuccessfully battled Spain for its independence for many years. Due to the US’s economic interests in Cuba, the US government sought to stabilize the situation. The United States and Cuba negotiated an agreement that Cuba would become self-governing on January 1, 1898. But
For four hundred years Spain ruled over an immense and profitable global empire that included islands in the Caribbean, Americas, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. After the Napoleonic Wars (1808-1815) many of Spain’s colonies followed the US’s lead, fighting and winning their independence. These revolts, coupled with other nations chipping away at Spain’s interests, dwindled Spain’s former Empire. By 1860, only Cuba and Puerto Rico were what remained of Spain’s former Empire. Following the lead of other former Spanish colonies, Cuban fighters started their campaign for independence, known as the Ten year war (1868-1878). This war developed into a Cuban insurgency which fought a guerilla war against the Spanish occupation.2
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, tensions in Cuba were rapidly rising. The Cuban Ten Year’s War from 1868 to 1878 had sparked a fire for independence from Spain with the natives. In 1892, José Julián Martí y Pérez formed El Partido Revolucionario Cubano, or the Cuban Revolutionary party. The Cuban independence movement known as Ejército Libertador de Cuba began in February of 1895 with the motto, “Independencio o Muerte” (Independence or Death). Multiple minor battles between Cuba and Spain took place that year. (Library of Congress)
Long before our involvement, the Cubans had been leading revolts and revolutions against Spain. The Spanish empire considered Cuba to be its jewel, not only for its beauty but also for its economics. Cuba’s main source of income was from its expansive sugar plantations that greatly contributed to its wealth (more so to the Spanish Empires wealth). Ironically, even due to the high regard to Cuba, it was neglected and oppressed, as the Spanish Empire began its decline in the middle of the nineteenth century. The Empire was falling due to it slowly loosing its control over its territories, closer to the US then to Spain, because of a lack of industrializing. The Spanish would claim ownership, but never contribute back to their land. This opened the door for what is known as the 10-year war and the struggle for Cuban Independence. The United States never got directly involved, but it sympathized greatly with the Cuban’s cause, for ...
Cuba had a long history regarding its countries state from the Cuban revolution till now. To start off, Cuba is the biggest island in the Caribbean and one of the closest to the United States. Because of its location it played an important role for America. The revolution lasted for 7 years but eventually the Cuban people were successful.
Rohter, Larry. "After the Visit: Mission Lies Now With Cuban Church." The New York Times. 27 Jan. (1998): A3.
The United States was interested in attaining Cuba for economic purposes and eventually they did. This created chaos between Cuban elites/whites and Americans. Americans brought back the Cubans that had been in exile in .America to rule the country. Their policies discriminated against the Afro-Cubans. In a way all Cubans were discriminated against by the Americans.
The Americans were losing patience over the whole Cuban affair because Spain cut shipping and economic interests from Cuba. Americans wanted the economic situation resolved so they could get back to the economic fortunes they were used to; therefore, the worsening economy was one of the main causes of the War of 1898. When the United States finally denounced the dominance of the Spanish government in Cuba, Spain cut its economic ties with the United States. Trade for the United States was impacted greatly. Due to the sharp drop of sugar prices that took place from early 1884, the old Cuban “sugar nobility,” unable to mechanize and cut costs, began to disintegrate and lose its dominant role in the island’s economy and society (Hernandez). This facilitated the United States’ penetration of the Cuban economy, and the United States took over sugar estates and mining interests. It was American machinery, technicians, and capital that helped save the Cuban sugar mills.
For 113 days during the summer of 1898, the United States was at war with Spain. Neither the president of the United States, nor his cabinet, nor the the queen of Spain, nor her ministers wanted the war wanted the war. It happened eventhough they made their best efforts to prevent it. It happened because of ambition, miscalculation, and stupidity; and it happened because of kindness, wit, and resourcefulness. It also happened because some were indifferent to the suffering of the world’s wretched and others were not (O’Toole 17). By winning the war the United States proved the the rest of the world and to itself that it could and would fight against foreign nations. For many years, world power had been concentrated in the countries in Europe. Nations such as Great Britain, France, Germany, and Spain had the most influence in global affairs. But a shift in power was gradually taking place as the United States matured. The young nation gained wealth and strength. Its population grew immensely, and many people believed it would become a major world power (Bachrach, 11) Spain was one of the many European countries that had territory in the United States. Spain controlled mostly some islands off the coast of Central America. The most important of these were Cuba and Puerto Rico. The United States was led to believe that the Spanish mosgoverned and abused the people of these islands. In fact, Spain did overtax and mistreat the Cubans, who rebelled in 1868 and again in 1895. Thus, the American people felt sympathetic toward the Cuban independence movement. In addition, Spain had frequently interfered with trade between its colonies and the United States. Even though the United States had been a trading partner with Cuba since the seventeenth century, Spain sometimes tried to completely stop their trade with Cuba. In Spain doing so, this sometimes caused damage to U.S. commercial interests. The United States highly disagreed with Spain’s right to interfere with this trade relationship. (Bachrach, 12) The United States was also concerned that other trading and commercial interests were threatened by the number of ships and soldiers Spain kept in the area. If the United States had to fight a war with Canada or Mexico, these Spanish forces could quickly mobilize against the United States.
For the rest of the people still in Cuba, life was and still is not easy. The everyday necessities are not always available and their technology is not that advanced. in fact, it is
Cuba. The well-known island all over the world and located ninety miles south of Florida is the largest island of the West Indies. The island is popular for its natural beauty and cultural heritages. After the Cuban revolution that took place in 1950s, Batista regime was overthrown and new government was formed which was led by Fidel Castro. Since then Cuba was ruled by Fidel Castro until recently. In 2008, because of Fidel Castro’s illness, his brother Raul Castro replaced him. Many Cubans supported the Cuban revolution in the hope of seeing changes in Cuba; however after Castro seized the power in 1959, many left Cuba to find the better life and live free from the communist government in Cuba.
In 1959, Fidel Castro had become the powerful leader of Cuba. Castro was a communist and became hostile to the Unite States two years after he became Cuba’s leader (Encarta). People associated with Castro had taken ownership over United States companies and Eisenhower was forced to put in place a trade embargo. Cubans during this time had gone to the United States to escape the communist leadership that Castro was imposing on people. When Eisenhower had told the CIA to train Cuban exiles, they were planning on an invasion when Kennedy became president (Encarta).
The Cuban revolution was one that transformed Cuba into an independent socialist society. This revolution sent a message around the globe. The message: “ Socialism can be achieved and capitalism, with its culture stripping mechanism’s can be supplemented”. However, the revolution did leave its mark on Cuba. This can be seen in the events that took place during the early stages of the revolution. The effects of the revolution were positive for certain sections of the population and negative for others.
Cuba is an island located in the Caribbean Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida. Before the revolution, Cuba was stepping foot into democratic territory, allowing the people more freedom and respect for human rights. Fidel Castro, the future leader of Cuba, had other plans, soon to be assuming leadership of Cuba. He revolted against the current Fulgencio Batista in 1959. Though it was not successful the first time around, Castro took power of the government from Fulgencio. Soon after, Cuba became communist country under Castro’s rule, thus severing ties with the United States. The majority of Cubans did not want communism yet, it brought more order and less civilian crimes. Despite the U.S government’s wishes, Cuba’s leaders chose to become a communist country versus a democratic one, however it was more beneficial for the people of Cuba.
Whether it 's for the music, people or food, Cuba is a popular and interesting place to visit. Cuba is located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. At 42,426 square miles, Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and the 105th largest country in the world. Cuba has a population of 11.1 million. Out of that 11.1 million, Havana is home to 2.1 million (Nation Facts). The official language of Cuba is Spanish, but English and French are spoken throughout the country. The most practiced religion of Cuba is Roman Catholicism, but a large number of people follow the Afro-Cuban and Protestant religions. The president of Cuba is currently Raúl Castro, which is Fidel Castro 's brother. The currency of Cuba is the Cuban peso (Cuba).