|
Before the Spanish set foot on the island
of Cuba, three Indian tribes inhabited different
parts of the country. The Siboneys
in the east, the Guanahatabey in
the west and the Tainos in the central
region. The two Arawak groups-the
Siboneys and Tainos-lived
in relative peace before the Spanish arrived.
There is no record of the language the
Indians spoke, but many of their words were
introduced into the Spanish language. The
word "Cuba" is thought to have come
from the Taino word for 'center of
the island'. Hamaca (hammock), tabaco
(tobacco), cigarro (cigar), huracán
(hurricane), canoa (canoe) and barbecue
are all words of Indian origin.
On October 27, 1492, Columbus discovered
Cuba. However, it was not until almost 20
years later, in 1510 that the King of Spain
sent Diego Velázquez, to claim Cuba for
Spain. The Spanish in their quest for gold
and riches decimated the Indian population.
Those who were not slaughtered by the Spanish
or didn't die from the diseases introduced
by the Europeans were forced into slave
labor and worked to death. By 1620, as a
result of the Spanish conquest, nearly all
of the Indians had been wiped out.
In 1514 Havana was founded. The
Spanish soon realized this city's strategic
importance. The city was heavily fortified
to protect against the incursions of pirates,
who raided the island quite frequently and
preyed on the treasure laden ships. All
the booty and gold from the New World was
sent to Spain via Havana. In the meantime,
sugar and tobacco were first cultivated
commercially. These two crops eventually
became a great source of wealth for the
country.
The 17th century was a time of growth in
Cuba, despite incessant attacks by pirates.
Piracy continued to be a problem until the
second half of the eighteenth century, when
it became more difficult for pirates to
make a living because gold was being depleted
in Mexico, Central and South America, and
convoys and cities had become well protected.
During the 18th century Havana was briefly
occupied by the English. Towards the end
of the century the English introduced slaves
from Africa for sugar plantation work. Cuba's
economy grew at this time because of increased
sugar and tobacco production.
As a result of the wars for independence
that swept Latin America, Spain lost most
of its colonies during the first two decades
of the 19th century. By 1824 Cuba and Puerto
Rico were Spain's only remaining colonies
in the New World.
Around the middle of the century, general
Narcisco López and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes
both led ill fated attempts to secure Cuba's
independence. In 1895 José Martí organized
a new rebellion, but was killed. Despite
having interest in Cuba, the U.S. remained
neutral in the Spanish Cuban War. However,
when an American battleship, the Maine,
was mysteriously sunk in Havana Bay, the
U.S. government decided to intervene.
The Spanish American War only lasted a
few months. On August 2, 1898, Spain relinquished
sovereignty over Cuba, and the U.S.'s long
role of involvement in Cuba's affairs began.
In 1902 a Cuban republic was established,
with the U.S. reserving the right of intervention
in Cuba in accordance with the terms of
the Platt Amendment. This agreement also
established the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo
Bay.
A series of rulers followed, their regimes
plagued by corruption and tumultuous politics.
From 1925-1933 Gerardo Machado, who was
supported by the U.S., ruled Cuba as a dictator
with an iron fist. Discontent grew and Machado's
downfall was brought about by Fulgencio
Batista in 1933.
Batista soon became as corrupt as his predecessors.
Under his rule the wealth was concentrated
in very few hands with the rich controlling
all of the positions of power. The majority
of the people lived in poverty. After ruling
until 1944, Batista was defeated in an election
and went to Florida. In 1952 he returned
to stage a successful coup, suspended the
constitution and established a dictatorship.
During his reign, Cuba becomes the playground
of the Americans, moral decadence was rampant
and many businesses were Mafia run.
The mob first established a foothold in
Cuba during the Prohibition years. During
this time the country had the dubious distinction
of being the prostitution capital of the
Western hemisphere. Cuba also became known
as the "Las Vegas" of the Caribbean.
Against this background, lawlessness and
corruption flourished. Soon many Cuban people
became increasingly fed up with corruption
and opulence on one side and poverty and
injustice on the other side. People began
to feel despair under Batista's harsh dictatorship
and the seeds of rebellion began to grow.
On July 26th, 1953, a band of young men
led by Fidel Castro unsuccessfully attacked
the Moncada barracks in Santiago. This event
was considered the beginning of the Cuban
Revolution. After a long fight, Castro's
guerrilla force triumphed and Batista fled
the country on January 1, 1959.
The revolutionary government moved towards
a state controlled system. Education was
given the highest priority. Today Cuba boasts
the highest literacy rate in Latin America-around
95%. Before the revolution, the U.S. virtually
controlled Cuba's economy. Castro quickly
nationalized all American businesses. Medical
care became free and accessible to all the
people.
After 1960 Cuba became less dependent on
the U.S. and established strong ties with
the Soviet Union. This led to a deterioration
of relations with the U.S. and the eventual
embargo on trade with Cuba which is still
in effect today.
The collapse of communism in the Soviet
Union and Eastern Europe proved devastating
for Cuba's economy. The country lost most
of its subsidies and main trading partners.
This coupled with other economic problems
led to severe shortages, disruption of the
food supply and other hardships. The government
took desperate measures like legalizing
dollars and promoting tourism by establishing
joint ventures with Canada and such European
countries as Spain.
Despite the above measures, the U.S. embargo
still remained in force, economic hardships
continued and, in 1994 many Cubans, los
balseros as the rafters were called, tried
to flee the country by raft. Out of desperation
there was a reappearance of such capitalistic
vices as prostitution. The government had
no other choice but to introduce such economic
reforms as foreign ownership of businesses
and private enterprise.
However, disparity also began to manifest
itself between the "haves and have
nots" or those earning dollars and
those who didn't. Defections also increased
during this period as dissatisfaction grew.
Many of Cuba's elite, such as pro athletes
seeking lucrative contracts, musicians in
search of more freedom and artistic expression,
doctors and even a couple of Cuban air force
pilots, left the island. Although defection
was made more difficult, many Cubans continue
to try to flee. The most recent defection
of note was a group of Cuban baseball stars.
They were granted asylum in Costa Rica and
eventually ended up playing major league
baseball in the U.S.
The Pope's visit to Cuba in early 1998
would prove to be the first sign of a normalization
of relations between the U.S. and Cuba.
The death of the long time leader of Miami's
Cuban exile community two month's before
the Pope's visit and a new generation of
younger less confrontational Cuba Americans
might eventually help to soften the U.S.'s
hard-line stance against Cuba. This should
eventually spell the end of the embargo.
In addition, the CIA released a report in
1998 stating Cuba no longer posed a threat
to the United States.
At one time it was rumored that President
Clinton would seek to have Congress lift
the embargo against Cuba since he was a
lame duck president and really had nothing
to lose. Sadly his administration was plagued
by so many scandals that he couldn't have
lifted the embargo even if he had tried.
In early January of 1999 President Clinton
relaxed the sanctions against Cuba. Many
experts interpreted this move as the first
step to totally lifting the embargo. For
the first time since the embargo was established
37 years ago, Washington allowed the sale
of food and agriculture supplies to non
government entities and expanded cash transfers,
thus increasing the number of Americans
permitted to send money to their Cuban relatives.
The number of direct charter flights from
the U.S. was also increased and direct mail
service was reestablished between the U.S.
and Cuba.
Finally, there have been both cultural
and sports exchanges between the two countries.
The president authorized the board of directors
of the professional baseball leagues to
schedule exhibition games between the Baltimore
Orioles and a Cuban all star team. Some
people compare this "baseball diplomacy"
to Nixon's "ping pong diplomacy"
which eventually helped normalize relations
between the U.S. and China.
|
