Cuba Overview
History, Political and Economic Conditions, and U.S. Policy
Cuba did not become an independent nation until 1902. From its discovery by Christopher Columbus in 1492 until the Spanish-American War in 1898, Cuba was a Spanish colony. In the nineteenth century, the country became a major sugar producer, with slaves from Africa arriving in increasing numbers to work the sugar plantations. The drive for independence from Spain grew stronger in the second half of the nineteenth century, but it only came about after the United States entered the conflict when the USS Maine sank in Havana Harbor after an explosion of undetermined origin. In the aftermath of the Spanish-American War,…
