1000 - The arrival of the indigenous people of Cuba, the Guanahatabey, from South America.
CE
Diego Velazquez
1200 -The Taino peoples arrive in Cuba. They settle much of the region growing maize, tobacco, yucca plants, and cotton.
1492 - Christopher Columbus is the first European to arrive in Cuba. He explores the northern coast and claims Cuba for Spain.
1509 - The coast of Cuba is fully mapped by Spanish navigator Sebastian de Ocampo.
1511 - Diego Velazquez establishes Baracoa, the first Spanish settlement in Cuba. He begins the conquest of Cuba for Spain. A large portion of the native Taino population is killed over the next several years by diseases such as smallpox.
1514 - The settlement that would later become the city of Havana is established.
1526 - Slaves are imported from Africa to work the tobacco fields. Eventually sugar would become an important crop.
1589 - The Morro Castle is built to guard the entrance to Havana Bay.
The British Fleet in Havana
1607 - Havana is named the capital of Cuba.
1762 - The British attack Havana and take control as part of the Seven Years' War.
1763 - The British return control of Cuba to Spain with the end of the Seven Years' War.
1791 - The start of the Haitian Revolution on the nearby island of Hispaniola. Thousands of refugees flee to Cuba.
1868 - The first war of independence. It ends ten years later with Spain promising changes in the government.
1886 - Slavery is abolished in Cuba.
1895 - The Cuban War of Independence begins led by revolutionary and poet Jose Marti and military leader Maximo Gomez.
1898 - The United States goes to war with Spain in the Spanish-American War when the USS Maine is sunk in Havana Harbor.
1898 - The U.S. and Cuba defeat the Spanish at the Battle of San Juan Hill.
1898 - The U.S. wins the war and becomes a protectorate of Cuba.
1902 - Cuba gains independence. Guantanamo Bay is leased to the United States.
1906 - A rebellion is led by Jose Gomez. The United State intervenes and takes control.
1924 - Gerado Machado establishes a dictatorship.
1925 - The socialist party is established.
1933 - Gerado Machado is overthrown. New government reforms are instituted including the right to vote for women and a minimum wage.
Fidel Castro
1940 - Fulgencio Batista is elected president. He is supported by the communist party.
1941 - Cuba declares war on the Axis Powers during World War II.
1952 - Batista regains power. This time he rules as a dictator and the government grows corrupt.
1953 - The Cuban Revolution begins as Fidel Castro attempts to lead a revolt against Batista.
1956 - Fidel Castro and Che Guevara begin a guerrilla war from the Sierra Maestra mountains.
1959 - Fidel Castro takes control of Havana and Batista flees the country. Castro becomes prime minister.
1959 - Many Cubans escape Castro's regime to the United States. Between 1959 and 1993 an estimated 1.2 million Cubans flee to the United States.
1960 - Castro institutes communism and nationalizes all businesses in Cuba, including U.S. businesses. Cuba allies with the Soviet Union.
1961 - The Bay of Pigs invasion planned by the United States fails to overthrow Castro.
1962 - The Cuban Missile Crisis occurs when the Soviet Union installs nuclear missiles in Cuba. After tense negotiations, the Soviet Union agrees to remove the missiles.
UN Meeting on the Missile Crisis
1965 - The Cuban Communist Party becomes the country's only political party.
1991 - The Soviet Union, Cuba's primary ally, collapses.
1996 - The United States establishes a permanent trade embargo against Cuba.
2000 - The U.S. agrees to sell food and medicine to Cuba.
2002 - The last Russian military base in Cuba is shut down.
2008 - Fidel Castro announces his retirement. His brother Raul takes over as president. Cuba reestablishes ties with Russia.
2011 - Cuba passes some economic reforms including the right of individuals to own property.
2012 - Pope Benedict XVI visits Cuba.
Brief Overview of the History of Cuba
Cuba was first settled by the Guanahatabey and Taino Native Americans. They were farmers, hunters, and fishers. Christopher Columbus landed at Cuba in 1492 and claimed the land for Spain. Columbus named the land Isla Juana, but later it would be called Cuba, which comes from the local Native American name of coabana.
The first Spanish settlement on Cuba was Baracoa which was founded by Diego Velazquez de Cuellar in 1511. As Cuba became more settled by the Spanish they developed industries of sugarcane, tobacco, and cattle.
Cuba first started to fight for its independence from Spain in 1868 in the Ten Years War. Led by national hero Jose Marti, the war for independence again became heated in 1895. In 1898 the United States became involved in the war when one of its battleships, the USS Maine, was sunk. The US gained control of Cuba with the Treaty of Paris and, in 1902, gave Cuba independence.
In 1952, a former president of Cuba named Fulgencio Batista took control of the country and made himself dictator. Many of the people of Cuba were not happy with this. Rebel leader Fidel Castro organized a revolution to overthrow Batista. In 1959, Fidel Castro was able to overthrow Batista's government and gain control of the country. He declared Cuba a socialist country and allied Cuba with the Soviet Union.
Cuba became a major player in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. First, the United States unsuccessfully tried to overthrow Castro through the Bay of Pigs invasion. Then, the Soviet Union tried to establish a nuclear missile base at Cuba causing the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Fidel Castro remained in power for 50 years and then handed over the government to his younger brother Raul.
