Colonial Period & Sugar (1492–1898)
Christopher Columbus reached Cuba on October 28, 1492, and wrote in his logbook: "The most beautiful land that human eyes have ever seen." At that time, the island was inhabited by Taíno Indians — a peaceful people who cultivated cassava and lived in bohíos (palm huts). Within a few decades, the Taíno were nearly exterminated by diseases, forced labor, and violence.
Spanish colonization began in 1511 under Diego Velázquez, who founded seven settlements — including Baracoa (1511), Santiago de Cuba (1515), and Havana (1519). Havana became the hub of the Spanish colonial empire thanks to its strategic location: Here, the silver and gold fleets from Mexico and Peru gathered before crossing the dangerous Atlantic. Pirates like Francis Drake and Henry Morgan regularly hunted for the treasures.
From the 18th century, sugar became the engine of the Cuban economy — and the fuel for one of the most brutal slave economies in the world. Between 1790 and 1880, over 800,000 African slaves were brought to Cuba to work on the sugar plantations. Slavery was abolished in Cuba only in 1886 — the last country in the Western Hemisphere after Brazil. The African roots still shape Cuba's culture today: in music (Son, Rumba), religion (Santería), and cuisine.
In 1898, Spanish rule ended with the Spanish-American War. The USS Maine exploded in Havana harbor (probably an accident), and the USA used it as a pretext for intervention. Cuba became formally independent — but in fact, a US satellite state.
