Cuba

Where the name comes from

Cuba probably continues an Indigenous place name; suggested Taíno roots include cubao, “fertile land”, but the exact meaning is uncertain.

First people

Taíno and other Indigenous communities lived here for centuries.¹

Known for

Cuba is known for son music, the root of salsa, and for cigars rolled from tobacco grown in Pinar del Río.²

Outside rule

Spanish colonization began in 1511 and brought plantation slavery.³

The modern country

Spanish rule ended in 1898, and US military government in 1899–1902 came before independence in 1902. The 1959 revolution brought Fidel Castro to power, and his government allied with the Soviet Union.⁴