CUBA

Saturday, December 1. Since we were now arriving in Cuba, a little historical background seems appropriate. Of course, the first Europeans to reach Cuba were Christopher Columbus' crew in 1492. Although it was already well populated by indigenous people, Columbus claimed the island for Spain. However, it was not until 1511 that Spain conquered Cuba and subsequently founded several Spanish settlements, including Havana. Havana soon became Spain's principle port in the New World, though it was frequently raided and sometimes occupied by rival colonial powers (France, England, The Netherlands) as well as by pirates. Spain was a strict colonial master, and for two and a half centuries its severe restrictions on trade and on the importation of African slaves limited Cuban prosperity.

In 1762 the British occupied Havana and much of Cuba for nearly a year (before trading it back to Spain for Florida). This led to the opening of Cuba to trade, as well as the mass importation of African slaves. This led to Cuban prosperity as it became the world's largest exporter of sugar, but it did not make the Cuban people happy with Spanish rule. An independence movement inspired by Jose Marti led to the Ten Years War (1868–1878), but Spain eventually prevailed. A Second War of Independence (in which Marti was killed) began in 1895. In 1898 the United States intervened and declared war on Spain after the battleship U.S.S. Maine mysteriously exploded and sank in Havana Bay. The Spanish-American War lasted less than four months (April-August). Spain relinquish all claims to Cuba, but U.S. forces occupied the island until 1902. At that point, Cuba became nominally independent but, in reality, was dominated by the U.S.

For the most part, democratic elections were held through the first half of the twentieth century. Then in 1952 Fulgencio Batista staged a coup and became Cuba's dictator. He had significant support from the U.S. At that time Cuba was fairly prosperous and had a relatively high standard of living, at least compared to other Latin American countries, even though most of the sugar industry and 70% of the arable land were owned by foreigners, mostly from the U.S. Batista favored the foreign investors and also had a lucrative relationship with the American Mafia that controlled the drug, gambling, and prostitution businesses in Havana.

Fidel Castro made a futile attempt to oust Batista in 1953, then resumed in 1956, again with little success, but he persisted. In August 1958 the tide suddenly turned, and by January Batista was gone and Castro was in charge. At first Castro denied being a Communist and had the support of the U.S. media and most liberals. Before long, though, he showed his true colors, introducing a repressive Communist regime. Thousands were executed. Businesses and church property were nationalized. The Cuban economy stagnated, and Cuba became a satellite of the Soviet Union.

In 1961 1,400 Cuban émigrés trained by the CIA attempted to invade Cuba. They landed at the Bay of Pigs, but the invasion was a total failure. The next year marked the Cuban Missile Crisis that almost led to war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. The economic situation in Cuba became even worse after the breakup of the U.S.S.R. in 1989. Castro was forced to allow some free enterprise, and he also opened up Cuba to tourism (but not fron the U.S.).

In 2008, Fidel stepped down as President. His brother Raoul held the office for the next ten years. Although the Cuban government had not changed its policies, in December 2014 President Obama restored diplomatic relations with Cuba after a 54-year break and loosened many U.S. restrictions. Soon after, Americans were allowed limited visitation to Cuba. And so, here we were arriving in Havana, not as tourists, but as part of the people-to-people educational exchange program.