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Cuba: Islands
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Cuba was in Spanish possession for almost 400 years (circa 1511-1898). Its economy was based on plantation agriculture, mining and the export of sugar, coffee and tobacco to Europe and later to North America. Havana was seized by the British in 1762, but restored to Spain the following year. The Spanish population was boosted by settlers leaving Haiti when that territory was ceded to France. As in other parts of the Spanish Empire, the small land-owning elite of Spanish-descended settlers held social and economic power, supported by a population of Spaniards born on the island and called Criollos by the Iberian born Spaniards, other Europeans and African-descended slaves.
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Cuba is an archipelago of islands located in the Caribbean Sea, with the geographic coordinates 21°3N, 80°00W. Cuba is the principal island, which is surrounded by four main groups of islands. These are the Colorados, the Camagüey, the Jardines de la Reina and the Canarreos. The main island of Cuba constitutes most of the nation's land area (105,006 km² or 40,543 square miles) and is the seventeenth-largest island in the world by land area. The second largest island in Cuba is the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) in the southwest, with an area of 3056 km² (1180 square miles). Cuba has a total land area of 110,860 km².
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Cuba has no large mammals; the most common mammals on the island are bats. The Cuban Hutia is a tree-climbing rodent. There are a number of species of reptiles such as crocodiles, chameleons and iguanas. Over three hundred species of birds are to be found in Cuba. As well as the bee hummingbird (the world's smallest bird), green parrots, woodpeckers and the tocororo (the national bird), there are many water birds living in the mangrove swamps: pelicans, cranes, herons and flamingoes. The island is an important resting place for many migratory species.
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Cuba has few equals when it comes to music. From traditional son, trova, bolero and rumba to contemporary reggaeton and hip hop, the island simply pulses with music. While classical Cuban ballet is internationally acclaimed, Cuban contemporary dance has made great strides in recent years and now produces some of the most interesting and dynamic work on the island.
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The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule was severe and exploitative and occasional rebellions were harshly suppressed. It was US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 that finally overthrew Spanish rule. The subsequent Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence, which was granted in 1902 after a three-year transition period. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the regime together since then.
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Cuba's small capitalists face less friendly future. While Cubans have long worked on the black market as everything from tire patchers to shoe repairers, legal private enterprise got its start in 1993, at the worst point of Cuba's post Soviet depression. They became restaurant operators, window repairmen, pizza vendors, art teachers, car washers, sign painters, bicycle-taxi drivers, locksmiths, dog groomers, electricians and pony ride operators, among more than 150 approved occupations. Today the picture is very different. The island's officials have cut off new licenses for private work and have come to see existing private businesses as little more than a stopgap measure on the road back to restructured socialism. "There's no reason why, if certain regulations are followed, this sector should not remain, said Jose Luis Rodriguez, Cuba's economics minister.
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