The island of Cuba was inhabited by various Amerindian cultures prior to the arrival of the explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492. After his arrival, Spain conquered Cuba and appointed Spanish governors to rule in Havana. The administrators in Cuba were subject to the Viceroy of New Spain and the local authorities in Hispaniola. In 1762–63, Havana was briefly occupied by Britain, before being returned to Spain in exchange for Florida. A series of rebellions between 1868 and 1898, led by General Máximo Gómez, failed to end Spanish rule and claimed the lives of 49,000 Cuban guerrillas and 126,000 Spanish soldiers.[1] However, the Spanish–American War resulted in a Spanish withdrawal from the island in 1898, and following three-and-a-half years of subsequent US military rule,[2] Cuba gained formal independence in 1902.[3]
In the years following its independence, the Cuban republic saw significant economic development, but also political corruption and a succession of despotic leaders, culminating in the overthrow of the dictator Fulgencio Batista by the 26th of July Movement, led by Fidel Castro, during the 1953–1959 Cuban Revolution.[4] The new government aligned with the Soviet Union and embraced communism.[a] In the early 1960s, Castro's regime withstood invasion, faced nuclear Armageddon,[b] and experienced a civil war that included Dominican support for regime opponents.[c] Following the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968), Castro publicly declared Cuba's support. His speech marked the start of Cuba's complete absorption into the Eastern Bloc.[9] During the Cold War, Cuba also supported Soviet policy in Afghanistan, Poland, Angola, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, and El Salvador.[10] The Cuban economy was mostly supported by Soviet subsidies.
With the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 Cuba was plunged into a severe economic crisis known as the Special Period that ended in 2000 when Venezuela began providing Cuba with subsidized oil. The country has been politically and economically isolated by the United States since the Revolution, but has gradually gained access to foreign commerce and travel as efforts to normalise diplomatic relations have progressed.[11][12][13][14][15] Domestic economic reforms are also beginning to tackle existing economic problems which arose in the aftermath of the special period (i.e. the introduction of the dual currency system).
^"Victimario Histórico Militar".
^"CIA World Factbook: Cuba: Introduction: Background". Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
^"A guide to the United States' history of recognition, diplomatic, and consular relations, by country, since 1776: Cuba". US State Department – Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
^Rumbaut, Luis E.; Rumbaut, Rubén G. (2009). "Cuba: The Cuban Revolution at 50". Latin American Perspectives. 36 (1): 84–98. doi:10.1177/0094582x08329137. JSTOR 27648162. S2CID 154491534.
^"Cuba (09/01)".
^ abcdClodfelter 2017, p. 637.
^ abTunzelmann, Alex von (2012). Red Heat: Conspiracy, Murder and the Cold War in the Caribbean.
^""The Assassination of Rafael Trujillo"". Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
^George, Edward (2004). The Cuban Intervention in Angola, 1965-1991: From Che Guevara to Cuito Cuanavale. Routledge. p. 42.
^Cuban Communism. Transaction Publishers. 1995. p. 167.
^"Cuba receives first US shipment in 50 years". Al Jazeera. 14 July 2012. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
^Cite error: The named reference Permit2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Obama hails 'new chapter' in US-Cuba ties". BBC News. 17 December 2014. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
^"Cuba's love for Obama swells: Bay of Pigs veterans reflect on the 'inconceivable'". The Guardian. 17 April 2015. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
^"US flag raised over reopened Cuba embassy in Havana". BBC News. 15 August 2015. Archived from the original on 18 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
The island ofCuba was inhabited by various Amerindian cultures prior to the arrival of the explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492. After his arrival, Spain...
see HistoryofCuba. See also the list of colonial governors ofCuba and list of presidents ofCuba. Cities in Cuba Timeline of Camagüey Timeline of Cienfuegos...
The economy ofCuba is a planned economy dominated by state-run enterprises. Most of the labor force is employed by the state. In the 1990s, the ruling...
Cuba's foreign policy has been fluid throughout history depending on world events and other variables, including relations with the United States. Without...
the most enduring trade embargo in modern history. The US first imposed an embargo on the sale of arms to Cuba on March 14, 1958, during the Fulgencio Batista...
military historyofCuba is an aspect of the historyofCuba that spans several hundred years and encompasses the armed actions of Spanish Cuba while it...
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (Spanish: Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (Russian: Карибский кризис,...
characteristics ofCuba are known through census which have been conducted and analyzed by different bureaus since 1774. The National Office of Statistics ofCuba (ONE)...
Cuba, officially the Republic ofCuba, is an island country, comprising the island ofCuba, Isla de la Juventud, archipelagos, 4,195 islands and cays surrounding...
Women in Cuba have the same constitutional rights as men in the economic, political, cultural and social fields, as well as in the family. Cuba is regarded...
Jewish Cubans, Cuban Jews, or Cubansof Jewish heritage, have lived in the nation ofCuba for centuries. Some Cubans trace Jewish ancestry to Marranos...
most widely professed religion in Cuba, with Catholicism being its largest denomination. A significant share of the Cuban population is either non-religious...
The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias; FAR) are the military forces ofCuba. They include Revolutionary Army,...
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Cuba have significantly varied throughout modern history. Cuba is now considered generally progressive, with...
The Communist Party ofCuba (Spanish: Partido Comunista de Cuba, PCC) is the sole ruling party ofCuba. It was founded on 3 October 1965 as the successor...
Cuban Americans (Spanish: cubanoestadounidenses or cubanoamericanos) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba, regardless...
The Cuban Revolution (Spanish: Revolución cubana) was a military and political effort to overthrow the government ofCuba between 1953 and 1959. It began...
The Cuban War of Independence (Spanish: Guerra de Independencia cubana), also known in Cuba as The Necessary War (Spanish: La Guerra Necesaria), fought...
The population ofCuba was 11,167,325 inhabitants in 2012. The largest urban populations ofCubans in Cuba (2012) are to be found in Havana (2,106,146)...
The national flag ofCuba (Spanish: Bandera de Cuba) consists of five alternating stripes (three blue and two white) and a red equilateral triangle at...
For most of its history, Cuba was controlled by foreign powers. The country was a Spanish colony from approximately 1511 until 1898. The United States...
The Cuban intervention in Angola (codenamed Operation Carlota) began on 5 November 1975, when Cuba sent combat troops in support of the communist-aligned...
Education in Cuba has been a highly ranked system for many years. The University of Havana was founded in 1727 and there are a number of other well-established...