Cuba

Founding: The Republic of Cuba was formed in 1868.

Origins: The first evidence of human life on the island dates to around 2000 BC. Columbus arrived in 1492 and pushed the native Guanajatabey people west, but the first Spanish settlement was not created until 1511. The area that was to become Havana was founded in 1514. Throughout the 17th and 18th Centuries, Cuba’s main industry was sugar and tobacco – for which it used slaves. The first uprising for independence from Spain was in 1826. It was not until the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898 that Spain withdrew. And not until 1902 that the country gained full independence.

Recent History: The early 20th Century was defined by US involvement in Cuba. In 1940 free elections were held which elected Batista, and in 1958 the Cuban people had the eight-highest wages in the world. However, civil liberties were curtailed, the wage gap was massive, and public executions of anyone against Batista and his party counted in the tens of thousands. After several attempts to overthrow the government, Fidel Castro took power in 1959. Castro made unions illegal, took control of all radio and TV, and began a system of neighborhood watch. The U.S. attempted to overthrow Castro’s regime in 1961 with The Bay of Pigs invasion. The rest of the decade was defined by U.S. and U.S.S.R. involvement in the country – including conflict over nuclear missiles.