Cuba Essay

The once powerful Spanish Empire was hanging onto a thread as Cuba and Puerto Rico were their last two major colonies. Tension between the Cuban people and the Spaniards had been building since the beginning of Spanish reign over the island in 1492. One of the leading issues was the “impact of increased taxation and an international economic crisis” (LOC). Spain was exploiting Cuba for its sugar plantations and treating the locals very poorly. This poor treatment and taxation by Spain would lead to the “Ten Years' War” (LOC), from 1868 to 1878, in which the Cubans

This trade tied the interests of Cubans to Americans, even though the island was under Spanish control. When the Cuban people were fighting Spain for their independence in the 1890's, the U.S. military happily intervened to ensure that the Spaniards would lose of the last remnants of their global empire.

America’s imperial moment arrived when they freed Cuba from Spanish rule. America had to do what was necessary to keep Spain at Bay. President McKinley cautiously lobbied to Spain that they stop destroying American property in Cuba. Since Spain was unwilling to compromise, in 1898, McKinley sent over the battleship Maine, to show that the United

In 1492, Cuba was discovered by Christopher Columbus, and thus became a Spanish colony. The Philippines became a Spanish colony 29 years later, in

In the year 1959 a politician named Fidel Castro led a revolution against the Cuban government under Fulgencio Batista.

Although many Cubans refused to accept any offers, the wars for independence still broke out in 1895. The U.S. declared war on Spain on April 25,1898. The U.S. defeated Spain and Cuba was officially granted independence and lived as an independent republic on January 1st, 1898. Although the taste of freedom might be sweet to many native Cubans, there is no doubt that all Cuban government in

During the early conflict the Spanish colony, rushed to grant Cuba a limited power to govern its self, but soon the U.S. congress issued solutions to that declare independence right to Cuba, demanding to remove the Spanish military from Cuba and liberating them from any territory occupied by the Spanish. This involvement in the Cuban rebellion lead the Spanish to declare war against the United States, so the Spanish fleet did not go too far from the sores of Cuba. In April 24, 1898 Spain declare war on the United States, and the United States declare war on Spain on the very next day April 25, 1898. But Spain was not ready for the battle with the on growing of the American power. The Spanish fleet was anchored in Manila Bay, Philippines the U.S. Navy lead by commandant George Dewey sailed to Manila, and engage the Spanish fleet destroying the Spanish ships, on an early morning of May 1, 1898, and by the same year on the month of August U.S. troops were in manila.

The island of Cuba has an abundant history in politics, religion and Politeness. Cuba is the largest island of the West Indies group is the same size of Pennsylvania, Cuba is west of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and 90 miles south of Key West, Fla., Cuba’s island is at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico. Arawak or Taino Indians were the indigenous land owner of Cuba before Columbus landed on the island 1492. Arawak or Taino Indians died from diseases brought by Columbus Sailors and settlers. By 1511, Spaniards under Diego Velásquez had established settlements.

America and Cuba have a very interesting history going back to the late 1800's. After the Spanish-American war ended, a peace treaty was signed and Spain had to give up Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Guam. However, the United States gave Cuba

Known for its beauty, extravagant tourist’s attractions, and quality cigars, the Caribbean island of Cuba, a totalitarian communist state, is a multiracial society with a population of mainly Spanish and African origin. The nation is officially known as the Republic of Cuba; it consists of the Island of Cuba, the Isle of Youth and some adjacent small islands.

War actually began for the U.S. in Cuba in June when the Marines captured Guantánamo Bay and 17,000 troops landed at Siboney and daiquire , east of Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city on the island. At that time Spanish troops stationed on the island included 150,000 regulars and 40,000 irregulars and volunteers while rebels inside Cuba

Maine in a Cuban harbor. The Monroe Doctrine called for the U.S. involvement in the Spain-Cuba fight. The U.S. entered war with Spain, and won a victory in ten weeks. With the U.S. winning, Cuba gained their independence. U.S. received Puerto Rico and Guam, and Americans now occupied the Philippines. Spain no longer had colonies in the western hemisphere. By winning, the U.S. became an Imperial world power.

There were few Cubans that supported this annexation of Cuba into the United States control. The majority of the people who supported this were the rich and elite. One such person who opposed the U.S. control over Cuba was Jose Marti. Mr. Marti lived in exile in New York for many years until returning to Cuba in 1895. Upon his arrival in Cuba, Marti’ was declared a national hero by the Anti-American supporters. It are the beliefs and ideas of Jose Marti’ that Fidel Castro later based his own ideals upon.

Marifeli Pérez-Stable looks back at the Cuban Revolution through a sociological lens in her book The Cuban Revolution. Pérez-Stable claims that Cubans held national independence and social justice as goals ever since the end of the nineteenth century. Radical nationalism remained important in Cubans’ view of themselves and their ideals. Thus, Pérez-Stable argues that the origins of the Cuban Revolution of 1959 lie in the independence movement against Spain and the frustrations from the unfulfilled goals they had kept since before the turn of the century (Pérez-Stable 1998, p 4).

In addition to Cuba’s formative years, it has several newsworthy events. Cuba fought many wars like the ten years wars in 1868-1880 and the Little War in 1879-1880. In 1875 Cuba ended slavery. Thereafter, Cuba fought for their independence against Spain in 1895-1898. On October 13th, 1910 a horrible hurricane called the Cyclone of the Five Days, hit the country, and nine hundred people died. Cuba suffered against another hurricane, Hurricane Flora in 1963 were 1,000 Cubans lost their lives. In 1956, Fidel Castro Ruz launched a revolution from the Sierra Maestra mountains. The U.S. ended military help to Cuba in 1958, and on New Year 's Day 1959, Batista fled into exile and Castro took over the government. During Fidel Castro’s presidency, Cuba did well in the Olympics. In 1980 Cuba won 20 medals in the Olympics in