Diego Valesquez followed Columbus in the Spanish Conquest

Cuba “held an economical potential that attracted American business interests and a strategic significance for any Central American canal” (Goldfield, Abbott and Anderson, p 638). Cuban rebellion “erupted again in 1895 in a classic guerrilla war… [and] American economic interests were seriously affected” (book pg638). The Spaniards started confining the locals to concentration camps “where tens of thousands died of starvation and disease” (book pg 638). This gained a lot of publicity throughout America as journalist’s were reporting the harsh treatment, which helped persuade our nation to intervene. Furthermore, this led to growing tension between Spain and

After it became officially globally acknowledged that Cuba was in fact a communist state and was being led through a dictatorship run by Castro, it did not take long before powerful enemies and essential allies were formed. The act of seizing all foreign land with none or very little compensation was received with great hostility amongst those who lost in their property through this process, and probably the reaction that had the biggest impact on Cuba’s economy was that of the US. Castro’s communistic policies did not of course help calm this resentment and also took part in leading to the establishment of trade embargos with Cuba from the US. This meant that Cuba would now lose a very valuable buyer of their precious sugar, [5] but they did however gain another one, a powerful nation that shared quite similar Marxist ideals and were quick to form an alliance with the Cubans, the USSR.

The sugar trade succeeded due to the increasing demand for the product, along with the advent of European colonization of the Caribbean, and the use of slavery as an efficient workforce. The rise in demand for sugar was partially a result of the addictive properties it had, which caused people to want more of it. The islands on which the Europeans were colonizing were ideal for the growth of cane sugar, the plant that is processed into the finished sugar product. With the use of slaves, the production of sugar was happening at a much quicker and cheaper rate than before, thus creating more sugar to supply the demand. During the sixteenth century, the Europeans colonized the Caribbean islands, which were perfect for running sugar plantations.

To begin, it is important to know about the history of Cuba to fully comprehend how things came to be as they are today. Since the Conquest and Colonization Era (1492-1898), many of the prominent European countries and the powerful neighbor to the north of Cuba, the United States of America, have attempted to take control of the land. It first began with the Spanish conquistadors, specifically Diego Velázquez, who was the first to explore and settle the land. Up until the end of the 19th century, the Spanish monarch was the authoritative figure overseeing the land and

Due to the efforts to colonize the Caribbean islands, by 1750 they were almost all owned by Spain, France, or England, meaning these countries now had access to and control over this area that they did not previously; they took advantage of this newfound power (Doc 1). Sugar requires a specific climate to grow plentifully (i.e. 68°-90°F) and this was something the Caribbean islands provided the Europeans with; if European countries had not had taken control in the Caribbean islands the sugar industry would not have survived (Doc 2). At this time, the Caribbean islands were the only location that the Europeans had access to that provided the correct climate. The landscape was ideal and led to a high crop yield and without it the consumers would be at a loss (Doc 8). Through the 1700s and into the 1800s, in Barbados, Jamaica, Saint-Domingue, and Cuba, sugar production rates escalated, but this vast increase was made possible only by the natural conditions of the Caribbean islands (Doc 10).

Cuba was one of the territories that United States imperialized. The US was a heavy consumer of the sugar produced in Cuba but didn’t meet the sugar industry demands. The international market collapsed, and the US used this opportunity to purchase the sugar mills in Cuba “Cuban sugar mills into bankruptcy … sensing an opportunity, investors from the United States

Cuba first gained importance in the 1560s, when the Spanish built Havana as a center to keep and build navy ships. During the 1700s, it primarily profited from sugar plantations, though it also made money from cattle farming, tobacco, and coffee. Cuba primarily exported the sugar it produced to Spain, but

During the Cold War, a new leader of Cuba rose to the top. Fidel Castro threw Barista out of power and began to lead the Cuban people with flying colors. Little did these citizens know, was he was leading them into bad relations with his many Soviet ties. But before Cuba was touched upon by Castro, the U.S. had gained the territory from Spain in 1898, in the end of the Spanish-American War. Gaining Cuba as a territory to the U.S., it was then in charge of the country's affairs and leased its naval base at Guantanamo Bay. Cuba was also one of the largest sugar producers in the century. The U.S. saw the sugar business was essential for trade profit. Between Cuba's agriculture, while growing tobacco Cuba could partner with southern U.S. to harvest and export many

Before Cuba became a nation, Cuba was first a Spanish colony. In 1492, Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, claimed Cuba as a colony of Spain after he was sent by the Spanish monarchy to find a route to Asia, specifically Southeast Asia. Columbus enlisted the help of the native people in Cuba, known as the Taino, to find consequential resources on the island for Spain. The Tainos’ willingness to aid Columbus caused the native people to become enslaved under Spanish rule. Despite the encouragement from Hatuey, a Taino leader who tried warning fellow Taino the horrors of Spanish subjugation, uprisings to remove the Spanish failed. In 1570’s, the economic success of the farming industry fueled Spain to import Africans to work as slaves.

Within a decade, sugar was harvested on Hispaniola, and by the 1520s, Spaniards established sugar refineries on Cuba

Cuba, a “Spanish colony ninety miles south of Florida”, was under Spain’s imperialism (Tindall and Shi, 669). There were many revolts against Spain, but they could not win their independence, primarily due to being a large export market for Spain. American sugar plantations in Cuba and mining companies were very concerned with the Spanish control. More importantly, the Americans did more trade business in Cuba than Spaniards. The Spanish-American War of 1898 may have begun as a war to free Cuba from Spanish rule, but was soon turned into an opportunity for America to gain more lands and

Although both Cuba and Mexico have Spaniard influence that is the most they have in relation to each other historically. Not much of Cuba is known before the arrival of the Spaniards in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, upon arrival there were no indigenous peoples on the island. Where in Mexico there plenty of indigenous people from Aztecs, Mayans, to Tzotzil. When the Spaniards arrived in Mexico in 1529 there were natives roaming around everywhere. After the arrival of the Spaniards in Cuba, the island was being used as a slave stop before

Eric William in chapters seven and nine of his book, “From Columbus to Castro”, provides his readers with an in-depth knowledge about the political and economic history of the Caribbean. Eric William gives his readers the story of how Europeans “discovered” the Caribbean and how they governed it. Thus the various events that took place right from the time of Christopher Columbus, focusing on the colonial sweepstakes pursued by France, England, the Netherlands, Spain, and Denmark. The main idea of chapter seven is how the Caribbean came to be the cock pit of European rivalry and wars in the latter parts of the fifteenth century up to the eighteenth century, an interesting tale of adventure, greed and cruelty. What William offers

Before the revolution was taken place, Cuba had received very little attention during colonial years. The lack of minerals and very little agricultural production prevented Cuba from its economic advancement. In the 19th century Cuban Sugar industry began to improvement by adopting new technological developments and became a well-known country for producing sugar. Later, United States attempted to buy the island to set the basic process for the independence in Cuba. Spain also offered to grant greater political and social autonomy to the island in the convention of Zanjon, in 1878. However, many Cubans, including Antonio Maceo, refused to accept the offer and demanded to declare independence by its own.

In the early 1900’s, Cuba was a stomping ground for many of the rich and famous from the United States. Many famous movies stars and wealthy business entrepreneurs spend their vacations there along with a substantial amount of money. Trade and commerce between the United States and Cuba flowed freely and abundantly. Even with the Dictatorship-like regime of Batista, the countries benefited from the economic trade between them. This was all about to come crashing down as revolts against Batista occurred and Fidel Castro came to power within Cuba.