A BRIEF HISTORY OF CUBABy Christine, Dylan, Jamie, Miranda, and Shelley

15TH CENTURY CUBA

Christopher Columbus lands in east Cuba in 1492.

Columbus returns to Cuba and sails along the south coast in 1494.

16TH CENTURY CUBA 1510 – Spanish set out from Hispaniola. The

conquest of Cuba begins. 1511 – The first governor of Cuba, the Spanish

conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, leads a group of settlers in Baracoa.

1514 – Havana founded as San Cristóbal de la Habana.

1527 – First African slaves arrive in Cuba. 1532 – First slave rebellion is crushed. 1542 – Spanish crown abandons the encomienda

settlement system. 1555 – French campaign against the Spanish in the

Caribbean leads to the sack of Havana. 1578 – French corsairs plunder Baracoa.

17TH CENTURY CUBA

1603 – Authorities decree that the sale of tobacco to foreigners is punishable by death.

1607 – Havana is officially named the capital of Cuba.

1649 – Epidemic kills a third of the island’s population.

1662 – English fleet captures Santiago de Cuba to open up trade with neighboring Jamaica.

1670 – English retreat after Spain recognises England’s ownership of Jamaica.

1670 – Francisco Rodríguez de Ledesma becomes Governor of Cuba for 10 years.

18TH CENTURY CUBA

1728 – University of Havana is founded. 1734 – Francisco de Guemes y Horcasitas Gordón

de Saenz de Villamolinedo becomes Governor of Cuba for 12 years.

1747 – Francisco Antonio Cagigal de la Vega becomes Governor of Cuba for 13 years.

1748 – Battle of Havana occurs. Skirmishes between British and Spanish fleets in Havana harbor.

1762 – British troops occupy Havana during Seven Years’ War.

1763 – The British reach an agreement with the Spanish to trade Cuba in return for Florida.

1793 – Slave rebellion (becomes Haitian Revolution)

19TH CENTURY CUBA

1844 – An uprising of black slaves, known as the Conspiración de la Escalera was brutally suppressed.

1868 – The first war of Cuban independence, or the Ten Years’ War, occurs, and revolutionaries proclaim Cuban independence.

1878 – Pact of Zanjón ends Ten Years’ War. 1880 – A second uprising is quelled by

superior Spanish forces. 1886 – Slavery is abolished. 1895 – Another Cuban Revolution occurs.

19TH CENTURY CUBA CONTINUED

1896 – Successful invasion campaign by Cuban rebels. Winston Churchill fights on Spanish side at the battle of Iguara.

1898 – U.S.S. Maine explodes in Havana Harbor. This fuels the start of the Spanish-American War.

1898 – Treaty of Peace in Paris ends the war by which Spain relinquished Cuba.

20TH CENTURY CUBA

1901 – Platt Amendment assures U.S. control over Cuban affairs.

1906 – U.S. troops reoccupy Cuba under Taft after a Cuban revolt.

1906 – Charles Magoon becomes U.S governor of Cuba.

1909 – José Miguel Gómez becomes Cuban governor of Cuba.

1917 – Cuba enters WW1 on the side of the Allies. 1928 – Julio Antonio Mella (a founder of the

Stalinist Communist Party in Cuba) is murdered. 1933 – Communist activity high with

establishment of soviets in eastern provinces.

20TH CENTURY CUBA CONTINUED

1933 – “Sergeants’ Revolt” topples government. 1938 – Communist Party legalized again. 1941 – Cuban Government declares war on

Germany, Japan, and Italy. 1952 – Former president Batista seizes power. 1953 – Castro and 160 revolutionaries launch an

attack on military barracks in Santiago de Cuba. 1955 – Castro and surviving members released

from prison. 1958 – U.S. suspends shipment of arms to Batista’s

forces. 1959 – President Batista flees the country. 1959 – Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba.

20TH CENTURY CUBA CONTINUED

1960 – CIA directors train Cuban exiles for invasion of Cuba.

1960 – All U.S. property in Cuba is nationalized at the direction of the Cuban government.

1960 – U.S imposes embargo prohibiting all exports to Cuba except food and medicine.

1961 – Bay of Pigs Invasion by the U.S. 1962 – President Kennedy is informed that

surface to air missile batteries exist in Cuba. 1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis occurs and

agreement is arranged.