About Cuba
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CubaCuba is the largest island in the Caribbean Ocean, located close to the American mainland, 150km from the coast of Florida (USA). Like most other islands in the Caribbean, it is blessed with year-round fine weather (apart from the occasional tropical cyclone) and beautiful white-sand beaches. Cuba is famous for many things, including
Discovery and HistoryCuba was the first, and last, Spanish colony in the Americas. The first European to discover Cuba was Christopher Columbus, who landed there on October 28, 1492. Colonies were established, partly because of the friendly reception given to the Europeans by the Arawak Indians living there, but mostly because of gold which had been discovered in Cuba's riverbeds. Columbus had originally set out to discover the route to Asia, and mistakenly believed that Cuba was Japan. The first permanent European settlement was established in 1510, when the conquistador Diego Velßzquez established the town of Baracoa. Velßzquez later founded several other settlements, including Santiago de Cuba (1514) and Havana (1515). Cuba's IndiansCuba's Indians, who initially welcomed the Europeans, suffered terribly. They were the among first to experience European culture, and were among the first to disappear as a result of it. It is estimated that there were 200,000 Indians in 1492, but only 50,000 Indians left fifty years later. By the year 1600 this was down to about 5,000. Today, the Indians are extinct and very little trace of their culture remains. The Europeans killed many Indians directly as a result of various cruelty and tortures, or by forcing them to work as slaves all day and all night mining for gold and minerals. Many more Indians died as a result of imported European diseases to which they had no natural immunity. The pattern was soon repeated elsewhere in the New World. One Indian chief, called Hatuey, fled to Cuba from the neighbouring island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) to escape the cruelties of the Spanish settlers. On discovering that the Spanish also occupied Cuba, he organised the local Indians and fought a war against the Spanish – but was eventually defeated and captured. The Spanish sentenced Hatuey to be burnt at the stake. Some Spanish priests offered Hatuey the chance to convert to Christianity before he was burnt because, they said, when Christians die they go to Heaven. When Hatuey asked who he would meet in Heaven, the priests told him that he would meet other Christians – who were mainly Europeans. Hatuey replied that, if that was case, he'd rather not go to Heaven because he didn't want to spend eternity with such cruel and unjust people as the Europeans. The Spanish Main, Gold Galleons, and PiratesThe Spanish colony in Cuba grew quickly because it was a good place for ships to stop on the way from Spain to colonies in Mexico and South America – and again when they returned to Spain laden with gold, silver, spices, and other treasure. The prospect of treasure also attracted many pirates to the Caribbean. The coastline of Cuba with its many small bays and inlets, and nearby Jamaica, provided the perfect hiding place for ships belonging to pirates and privateers (Privateers were people granted special licences to capture ships belonging to foreign powers with whom the licencing power was at war. England granted many licences to privateers in the Caribbean when it was at war with Spain during the late 16th Century). The area around the islands of the Caribbean, nearby coasts of the American mainland from Venezula to North Carolina, were notorious for pirates and privateers in the 16th to 18th Centuries. The area was known as the Spanish Main. Pirates and Privateers not only attacked ships, but sometimes also attacked settlements on land, looting them then burning them to the ground. This is why many cities in the Caribbean (notably Havana and Santiago de Cuba) have fortresses built overlooking the harbour to protect the city from attack. Famous pirates/privateers of the period included Blackbeard, Sir Henry Morgan, and Sir Francis Drake. Plantations and SlaveryShips from Cuba also returned to Spain carrying tobacco and sugar which were grow on plantations. Sugar was introduced to Cuba by the Spanish, and quickly became a valuable export due to its increasing demand in Europe. Plantations required a lot of work – work that Europeans were unwilling to do for themselves. The first plantations were tended by Indian slaves, but as Indians became scarcer, they were replaced by slaves brought from Africa. African slaves were very popular in the New World because they were stronger and hardier than the local Indian population – Indians generally died very quickly, either because the were prone to imported European disease, or because the loss of their freedom depressed them so much that they lost the will to live. As a result, large numbers of African slaves were brought across to the New World, and provided most of the labour for the colonies. Sugar plantations required the most slaves, which is why most of Cuba's black population today is concentrated in the sugar-producing areas in the south of the country. The importing of new slaves from Africa was stopped in the 19th century. Slavery was finally abolished in Cuba in 1880. The Africa cultures brought to Cuba, and other countries in the New World, had a profound influence. Today, Cuban music and festivals owes much of its origin to African traditions. African religious beliefs also blended with Christianity to form cults commonly known as voodoo. Voodoo cults involve the worship of gods or saints often represented by dolls. In voodoo rituals the worshippers sometimes go into trances where they become "possessed" by spirits and dance to music. Revolts Against the SpanishThe Spanish authorities kept a tight control on all goods being imported into and exported from Cuba. All Cuban products such as sugar and tobacco had to be sold to buyers appointed by the State and purchased at a set price (which was only a fraction of what the product would sell when resold in Spain). Hefty duties also had to be paid for any goods being imported into Cuba, making everything very expensive for colonists living Cuba – while the Spanish officials and traders became very rich. Havana got a brief taste of free trade in 1763 when it was captured and governed by the English, but it was returned to Spain the following year and the old laws were reinstituted. Because they were so far from Spain, the officials in Cuba were able to do whatever they wanted and were often ruthless in dealing with anyone who disagreed with them or stood in their way. Growing unrest, particularly among the plantation owners and workers in the south, led to calls for independence from Spain. There were several small uprising against Spanish authorities in the mid-19th Century, then an open rebellion in 1868. The Spanish authorities (who had already lost their colonies on the American mainland) were determined to crush the rebellion and responded ruthlessly. When the rebellion finally ended 10-years later with signing of the Treaty of El Zanj≤n, the Spanish granted some concessions such as the abolition of slavery, but remained firmly in control of Cuba. During the war, 80,000 Spanish soldiers and 250,000 Cuban rebels had been killed. Cuban dissatisfaction with Spanish rule continued, and a number of Cubans remained in exile, helping the effort towards independence. The most well-known of these was JosΘ Martφ, a Cuban poet and writer who spent much of his time in exile in the United States. In 1895 he returned to Cuba with a small force of fighters, and began a second revolution. Unfortunately the sickly writer was not very successful as a fighter, and was killed in battle after only two months – but the revolution was continued by others, such as General Mßximo G≤mez y Bßez. The fighting was continuing in 1898, without any clear winner, when the United States intervened during the Spanish-American War. The Spanish-American War, and US Invasion of CubaThe Spanish-American War began in 1898 as a result of the sinking of the United States battleship USS Maine in Havana harbour. The Maine had been sent to protect US citizens and property in Cuba during the fighting between the Spanish and Cuban rebels. No one knows for sure how the Maine was sunk – simply that a mysterious explosion ripped through the hull on the night of February 15, 1898, sinking the ship and killing 260 sailors on board. The United States blamed the Spanish, and public outrage in the United States over the sinking brought a declaration of war on Spain. Others said that the Cuban rebels had planted the bomb as a means to bring the United States into the war against Spain, and it has even been suggested that the United States sabotaged the battleship themselves as a pretext to begin the war and capture Cuba (The United States had long been interested in Cuba, with some US Senators having called for Cuba to be annexed, and offers to purchase Cuba from Spain had also been made). However, research carried out in the US in 1969 says that a defective boiler plate was really to blame. The United States was well prepared for the conflict, with large numbers of well-trained men and equipment quickly overwhelming the ill-prepared Spaniards. Cuba, and other Spanish colonies in the Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Phillippines, were soon in the hands of the Americans. IndependenceFollowing the Spanish-American War, a United States military government ruled over Cuba from 1899 to 1902. Independence was granted to Cuba in 1902, but the Constitution granted to Cuba included a clause called the Platt amendment (named after the US Senator who introduced it). This amendment gave the United States a strong say in Cuban politics and granted them the right to invade Cuba again at any time to "preserve its independence". The amendment also granted the United States military the use of Guantßnamo Bay area on a 99-year lease for use as a military base. Cuban independence was never very successful. The country was extremely dependent on access to US markets for sugar, and large chunks of the Cuban economy (notably the sugar plantations) were purchased cheaply by American investors. There were a series of ineffective Presidents who primarily looked after only their own interests while conditions for most Cuban people (especially in rural area) remained extremely poor. US troops were sent again to Cuba on several occasions, governing from 1906 to 1909, and again in 1912. In 1933, the US right to re-invade was removed from the Constitution, although the lease period for the Guantanßmo Bay naval base was extended to 2033 – with a nominal rent of $2,000 per year for the 49 square kilometre area (113 sq. km if you count include the bay itself). During this period, tourism developed as Cuba became a popular holiday destination for American tourists.In fact, Havana was the original Las Vegas – with casinos and large-scale gambling. Unfortunately, most of the hotels and casinos were owned and controlled by the American Mafia (including notables such as Lucky Luciano), so the influx of tourists generally had a bad effect for the Cuban locals.
The Cuban RevolutionOn July 26, 1953, Fidel Castro and 150 other rebels attacked the Cuban army barracks at Moncada in Santiago de Cuba. The attack wasn't well planned, with some of the rebels (who were running late) arrived part way through the battle in a taxi. The attack was unsuccessful and the rebels were captured and put on trial. Fidel Castro, who had trained as a lawyer, conducted his own defence in court which he concluded with the famous words "History Will Absolve Me". Castro and other rebels were imprisoned, but were eventually released and sent into exile in 1955. In Mexico, Castro gathered together a small force of Cubans (and an Argentine doctor, Che Guevara), arming and training them to return to Cuba and overthrow the government in what is now commonly referred to as the Cuban Revolution. The rebels returned to Cuba in 1956, and although most of them were killed in the initial landing, they managed to gather enough popular support to pose a real threat to the government. The rebels built a stronghold in the Sierra Maestra mountains near Santiago de Cuba and won over the local population to their cause. The President, Fulgencio Batista, sent a massive force of 10,000 men to attack the force of 250 rebels based in the mountains – but the rebels won, and (with the help of the local population, and defecting soldiers) soon went on to control other parts of Cuba. Batista fled the country on December 31, 1958, and the government fell to the rebels. Castro's government introduced sweeping changes – they lowered household rents, closed down the casinos, and introduced universal free education and healthcare. Properties which formerly belonged to wealthy landowners and foreign companies were confiscated and opened up for local farmers or made into community facilities. Thus began a series of confrontations with the United States. When Che Guevara, made Cuba's Minister of Industry, negotiated a sugar-for-oil deal with the USSR (thereby rescuing Cuba's shattered Cuban economy) the American-owned oil refinery in Cuba refused to process the Russian oil. This problem was solved by Cuba nationalising the refinery, along with other American-owned assets in Cuba. Following the revolution, the Cuban government introduced huge community work schemes in which people volunteered to help build new houses for the poor. A literacy campaign was also organised to make sure that everyone knew had to read and write. As a result of its focus on education, Cuba now has one of the highest literacy rates in the world. The Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile CrisisNot all Cubans agreed with new regime, and many fled to the United States. The United States Central Intelligence Agency trained Cuban some of the in secret military camps, arming them and helping them to launch an invasion to overthrow the new government. The forceof 1,300 armed men landed in Cuba on April 17, 1961 at a place called Bahφa de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). However, the invasion was a poorly organised and was crushed by the Cuban army within two days, with 1,200 of the men taken prisoner. Afraid of another American or American-backed invasion, Cuba turned to the USSR for help. The United States had recently installed nuclear-capable missiles in Europe, close to USSR, so the Russians considered Cuba a perfect opportunity to locate some of its missiles close to the United States. Soviet soldiers arrived in Cuba in 1962 to manage construction of the new facilities, with missiles arriving from Russia later that same year. The prospect of missiles pointing towards the United States, and based just a 150 km way, was not welcomed by the American government. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev began a war of words, which terrified many people who thought that the crisis might degenerate into a real war between the two countries, involving nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, the United States imposed a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent any more Soviet missiles from arriving. Eventually, the USSR backed down and agreed to remove its missiles in return for assurances never to invade Cuba and a secret agreement to remove American missiles from Turkey.
Cuba TodayFrom 1959 to the late 1980s, Cuba relied on its close relationship the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe for its trade. The Eastern Block bought sugar and other goods that the Cubans produced, and in return Cuba was able to import oil, cars, machinery and food. These relationships resulted in a huge increase in living standards for most Cubans – with better housing, jobs, and healthcare. However, the relationships ended with the sudden collapse of Eastern Europe in 1989 – and Cuba was left to fend for itself. Most people expected the Cuban collapse also, but it continued despite the sudden changes. With no-one to provide Cuba with the goods it needed, and few countries buying the products that Cuba produced, the country was is great economic difficulties. Radical changes were quickly introduced to help Cuba survive through what it calls the "special period" (a time marked with severe shortages of fuel, materials, spare parts, and sometimes even food). Fidel Castro and the Cuban government told everyone about the difficulties ahead, about the need for Cuba to become more self-sufficient, and the need to find new sources of income so that Cuba could afford to buy the fuel and materials it still needed to import from other countries. In the early days of the "special period", power blackouts were common in most Cuban cities and towns, due to the power stations having insufficient fuel to keep them running all day. Factories closed because they could no longer get the materials that they needed to keep running (although the workers still got paid), and many basic necessities were strictly rationed to ensure that they got distributed fairly. At the same time, Cuba introduced many economic reforms – allowing limited private enterprise and removing the restrictions on Cubans holding foreign currency. Other reforms included the promotion of joint-ventures with foreign companies, resulting in the modernisation and expansion of Cuba's mining, telecommunications, and tourism industries. United States law bans US citizens and companies from investing in Cuba, so the majority of investment has come from other sources in Canada, Mexico, Spain, and Germany. In 1994, while these reforms were taking place and while the shortages in Cuba were at their worst, at mass exodus of Cubans jumped into boats and rafts headed for Florida. Tourism is Cuba's greatest hope for the future. Cuba has built new hotels and tourist facilities, as well as entering joint ventures with Spanish and Canadian tourist operators. Cuba's beautiful beaches, tropical weather, history, and attractions such as Old Havana are attracting visitors from Latin America, Canada, and Europe. Canada is probably the biggest source of tourists, with over 50,000 Canadians arriving in Cuba every week. Compared to other places in the Caribbean, Cuba is safe, cheap, and not swamped with Americans. Despite the opening up of the Cuban economy, and the end of the Cold War, the United States has recently strengthened its laws against Cuba, even threatening to impose sanctions on foreign companies and individuals investing there. It is still illegal for Americans to trade with or travel to Cuba. With over one million Cubans living in the United States, US policy towards Cuba remains a topical political issue.
Cuban PeopleCuban people are undoubtedly the best reason for visiting Cuba. They are helpful, very friendly, and have a wonderful sense of humour. The "special period" is a very difficult time for the Cubans, but despite it all they remain proud of their accomplishments and positive about the future. The streets are still filled with laughter, music, and wonderful people. |
