Understanding Cuba as a Nation: From European Settlement to Global Revolutionary Mission

163 Pages·2017·2.43 MB·English

by  Rafael E Tarrago

A synthetic history of cuba full of suggestions that invite the reader to learn
more.
Luis Miguel García Mora, Fundación Mapfre
Cuba continues to engage the imagination of North American and European
readers as few other Latin American countries. From the native Taínos to Raúl
Castro, Understanding Cuba as a Nation covers historical developments in the
Island with unusual attention to cultural achievements, economics, and politics.
Tarragó offers a narrative that is both accessible to lay readers and rich in
historical detail, debunking in the process many ideological preconceptions and
historical myths.
Aníbal Pérez-Liñán, University of Pittsburgh.
Editor, Latin American Research Review

Understanding Cuba as a Nation
Since 1959, the government of the Caribbean island of Cuba, 90 miles away
from the United States of America, has defied its powerful neighbor. The story
of the improbable survival of the Cuban Revolutionary Government in its strug-
gle against the most powerful country in the world has kept international atten-
tion on Cuba for more than half a century; but it has also overshadowed the
brilliance of the hybrid culture developed in the island since the Spanish con-
querors brought Western civilization to the Americas 500 years ago.
Rafael E. Tarragó pays due attention to the first 400 years after the arrival of
the Spaniards in the island, showing that a Cuban nation had developed from the
European and African settlers with the indigenous population before the creation
of the Cuban Republic in 1902. He describes the accomplishments and failures
of that Republic that made possible the rise of the Cuban Revolutionary Govern-
ment. He concludes with a look at accomplishments and the shortcomings of that
self- proclaimed Marxist- Leninist government; its troubled relation with the
United States; and the global revolutionary mission that it has embraced since its
inception.
Understanding Cuba as a Nation is a detailed yet accessibly written explora-
tion of the history of Cuba since the Spanish conquest of 1511 that illustrates the
development of the Cuban nation, and summarizes the accomplishments of
Cubans since the sixteenth century in the arts, literature, and science.
Rafael E. Tarragó is Librarian for Iberian, Ibero- American & Chicano/Latino
Studies at the University of Minnesota Libraries. His research interests include
Cuban and Spanish American history and culture.
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Transforming the Role of the From European Settlement to
Military in Central America Global Revolutionary Mission
Orlando J. Pérez Rafael E. Tarragó
Understanding Cuba as a
Nation
From European Settlement to Global
Revolutionary Mission
Rafael E. Tarragó
First published 2017
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Taylor & Francis
The right of Rafael E. Tarragó to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Tarragó, Rafael E. (Rafael Emilio), 1951– author.
Title: Understanding Cuba as a nation: from European settlement to global
revolutionary mission / Rafael E. Tarragó.
Description: New York : Routledge, [2017] | Series: Routledge studies in
Latin American politics; 18 | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016037489 | ISBN 9781138215122 (hbk)
Subjects: LCSH: Cuba–History.
Classification: LCC F1776 .T37 2017 | DDC 972.91–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016037489
ISBN: 978-1-138-21512-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-44448-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wesrset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 The Making of a Hybrid Culture: Cuba, 1511–1824 5
2 The Sugar Kingdom: Nineteenth-C entury Cuba 19
3 Military Occupations by the United States of America, and the
Republic of Cuba 67
4 The Making of a Socialist Republic: Cuba between 1959 and
2008 91
5 Cuba under Raúl Castro 119
Conclusions: Cuba in 2016 133
Select Bibliography of Books in English 139
Index 147

Acknowledgments
I owe thanks to all those who made this work possible: editors, readers, and the
staff in the Inter-L ibrary Loans department at the University of Minnesota
Libraries. But I want to acknowledge specially the comments and suggestions
made by Philippe Coueignoux, Stanley T. Grip Jr., Dr. Aníbal Pérez-Liñán, and
Dr. Carla R. Phillips, and the technical assistance of George Swan.