by Debby Dyess

Created on: February 17, 2009

The history of Florida and Cuba is a shared one. Pre-Columbian Indians, indigenous to both lands, traded and communicated with one another across the 90 miles of water that separate the two land masses. This became painfully apparent to Spanish explorers when, in 1509, Diego Velasquez was met with fierce resistence by Cuban natives who had, seventeen years earlier, been friendly to Columbus. The reason? A warning from Indians in the Florida Keys about their poor treatment at the hands of the Spaniards. There is also archialogical evidence of trading between the two groups, pre-dating the arrival of the Europeans.

Early Spanish explorers, who found gold in Puerto Rico and reportedly searched for the fountain of youth in both Florida and Cuba, made multiple trips between the three islands'. (Florida was thought to be an island, and was referred to as the Isle of Florida.) Ponce de Leon, who considered Puerto Rico home, was severely injured in an Indian attack on the coast of Florida, later died in Cuba. Other expleores searched the area for other riches to take home to Spain, and made fortunes with gold, slave trade and new crops.

Although Cuba remained under Spanish rule, beginning in 1878 Cuba began to depend more and more on money from the US. The United States, purchasing tobacco and sugar from the island, sank over 50 million into the economy of Cuba. Cuba grew socially and economically, developing spirit and ideas apart from those of Spain. Independence was inevitable and, on December 10, 1898 at the end of the Spanish-American War, Spain and the US signed a treaty granting Cuba its freedom.

The mid 1950's found a thriving Cuba, and their success was largely intertwined with the financial success of the United States. Trade was Cuba's number one source of income. A whopping seventy-one percent of Cuba's imports came from the US. Conversely, the States received sixty-seven percent of its exports. Tourism from the
US was also an intrigal part of Cuba's financial success in these years. Her warm beaches, casinos and less stringent laws made her a haven for wealthy Americans in an era when leaving the country on vacation was uncommon.

During this time, Fidel Castro came into political prominence as part of the Communist Party of Cuba. Promising an end to corruption brought on by the Batistas, he collected donations from wealthy Cuban businessmen, Cubans in Miami and other sympathizers. In 1959, Castro took power and changed the face of the peaceful island forever.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>