Cuba

Cuba•Capital is Havana • 93 miles from the United States• Largest island in the Caribbean• Second largest population (11 million) after Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic)

Cuba• Cuba was inhabited by American Indian people

known as Taino • Christopher Columbus landed on Cuba in 1492

and claimed it for the country of Spain• Native Taino were wiped out due to disease (small

pox, influenza) and harsh working conditions

Cuba• Cuba gained formal independence in 1902

(Republic of Cuba)• Under the Platt Amendment, the US leased the

Guantanamo Bay Navel Base from Cuba• In 1959, Fidel Castro was sworn in as Prime

Minister of Cuba• Castro legalized the Communist party which

eroded the relationship with the United States

Cuba• 1960, President Eisenhower gave approval to

arm and train a group of Cuban Refugees to overthrow the Castro regime• Invasion was know as the Bay of Pigs Invasion

took place in 1961• This attempt failed and made the relationship

between Cuba and the United States even worse

Cuba• In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred• It was a 13-day confrontation the United

States and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba • It was the closest the Cold War came to

escalating into a full-scale nuclear war

Cuba• By 1963, Cuba moved towards a full-

fledged communist system modeled on the Soviet Union• The United States started a long history of

embargos against the country, prohibiting any trade with the country (large influence)

Cuba• In 2008, Fidel Castro announced his resignation as the President of Cuba•Replaced by his brother Raul Castro (who will step down in 2018)

Cuba• In July 2013, the average monthly wages is

466 Cuban Pesos ($19)• Main exports are sugar, nickel and

tobacco• it is estimated that more than 1 million

people have emigrated from Cuba to the United States since 1959• Between 30,000 and 80,000 have died

trying to flee Cuba

Cuba•Baseball is the most popular sport•Cuba’s literacy rate is 99.8% (US-99%)•Cuba’s graduation rate is 94% (US-80%)• In 2014, President Obama asked Congress to lift the embargos on Cuba