I. A BRIEF (yet interesting) HISTORY OF CUBA
A. Cuba becomes a Spanish colony after Christopher Columbus’s first visit in 1492.
1. Spanish boats carrying gold from Mexico to South America stopped in Havana for supplies
before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.
2. Wealthy Spaniards owned Cuba’s:
a) cattle ranches
b) sugar plantations
c) tobacco plantations
3. Spanish brought slaves from Africa to work on plantations
4. Military and government officials were Spanish
a) Some of their children stayed in Cuba instead of going back to Spain
b) Criollos – people of European descent born in Spanish or French American colonies
B. Although most territories in Central and South America had become independent by 1825, Cuba
remained a Spanish colony.
1. 1800’s Cuba increased trade with United States (it was closer than Spain)
a) American businessmen invested in Cuban sugar mills, railroads, and electric utilities
b) Cuba sold its sugar in the U.S. and bought food and manufactured goods from American
companies
c) Many Cubans visited the U.S. and some attended American colleges
II. THE ROAD TO WAR
A. When a colony is rich in resources, strategic in location, poor in population, and weak in leadership, it
is at risk for rebellion.
1. Everyone wants a piece of Cuba
a) Some American politicians and Cuban reformers wanted to annex Cuba
b) Other Cubans wanted an independent country
c) Others preferred to stay part of the Spanish empire with more control over their own affairs
d) Slavery becoming a issue
e) Spain considered selling Cuba to the U.S. but the two countries could not agree on terms
2. 1868 – Ten Years’ War
a) rebel groups of landowners, poor whites, students, and freed slaves popping up
b) many Cubans complain of high taxes and corrupt Spanish officials
c) rebels succeed in taking over eastern Cuba
d) U.S. does not give money or recognition to rebels
e) Spanish Army keeps control of western Cuba, including Havana
f) rebellion ends in a truce with Spain in control and rebel group leaders in exile
3. 1895 – CUBA LIBRE!
a) Liberation Army is growing
b) new rebellion planned against Spain (planned by exiled rebel leaders)
c) Spain sends 200,000 soldiers, but Liberation Army controls much of Cuban countryside
d) landowners fear independence from Spain will bring social unrest (or redistribution of land)
e) Cuba urges U.S. to intervene
III. THE SPANISH- AMERICAN WAR
A. Americans have referred to the Spanish-American War as a “Splendid Little War,” but Cubans call it
the “War of Independence.”
1. 1898 – A SPLENDID LITTLE WAR
a) U.S. forces arrive in eastern Cuba in June
b) American officers have trouble working with Cuban soldiers (poor mulato and negros) and
even have more respect for some of their Spanish opponents
c) General Garcia, a veteran of the Ten Years’ War, leads Cuban forces and capture Santiago
d) victorious American troops enter the city of Santiago on July 17, 1898
2. Fearing riots, American officers exclude Cuban troops from their victory celebration
a) Cuban General Garcia protests and will not celebrate without his men
b) Garcia takes his army and heads north where he defeats Spanish forces in two more
provincial (peasant ) towns
c) American officers ban celebration in Havana in honor of this feat (the withdrawal of last
Spanish troops) as well
IV. PEACE NEGOTIATIONS
1. The final peace negotiations take place in Paris, France with no Cubans present
a) many Cubans feel U.S. stole their victory (they kinda did)
b) U.S. establishes a military government in Cuba and disbands Cuban army
c) U.S. occupies the island until 1902, when Cuba officially becomes independent
2. In order to establish independence, the U.S. insists Cuba accept the Platt Amendment
a) this allows U.S. intervention in Cuba to ensure stability and property rights
b) U.S. continues to dominate Cuba’s political, economic, and cultural affairs until the Cuban
Revolution in 1959
THE ESSENTIAL LEARNING: For some Americans, the best way to handle the Cuban problem was simply
to control the country. The Spanish-American War was a turning point in American history. It earned
world power status and international respect for the United States.