Independence Day commemorates the proclamation of the Cuban Republic in 1902, whereby Cuba declared its independence from the United States, which had occupied the country since the Spanish-American War of 1898.
In 1902 the Cuban people elected Tomàs Estrada Palma as the first president of the Republic of Cuba. Under the new Cuban constitution, the US retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations. Under the Platt Amendment, Cuba also agreed to lease to the US the naval base at Guantánamo Bay.
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, consists of the island of Cuba (the largest of the Greater Antilles), the Isle of Youth and adjacent small islands. Cuba is located in the Northern Caribbean at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Cuba is South of the Eastern United States and the Bahamas, West of the Turks and Caicos Islands and Haiti and East of Mexico. The Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the South.
Cuba is the most populous country in the Caribbean. Its culture and customs draw from several sources including the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples, the period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of African slaves, and its proximity to the United States. The island has a tropical climate that is moderated by the surrounding waters; the warm currents of the Caribbean Sea and its location between water bodies also make Cuba prone to frequent hurricanes.
Since the late 1950s, following the deposing of Fulgencio Batista by Fidel Castro, Cuba has become isolated in the Caribbean due to its close ties with the Soviet Union and its strict communist policies.
In 1902 the Cuban people elected Tomàs Estrada Palma as the first president of the Republic of Cuba. Under the new Cuban constitution, the US retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations. Under the Platt Amendment, Cuba also agreed to lease to the US the naval base at Guantánamo Bay.
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, consists of the island of Cuba (the largest of the Greater Antilles), the Isle of Youth and adjacent small islands. Cuba is located in the Northern Caribbean at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Cuba is South of the Eastern United States and the Bahamas, West of the Turks and Caicos Islands and Haiti and East of Mexico. The Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the South.
Cuba is the most populous country in the Caribbean. Its culture and customs draw from several sources including the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples, the period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of African slaves, and its proximity to the United States. The island has a tropical climate that is moderated by the surrounding waters; the warm currents of the Caribbean Sea and its location between water bodies also make Cuba prone to frequent hurricanes.
Since the late 1950s, following the deposing of Fulgencio Batista by Fidel Castro, Cuba has become isolated in the Caribbean due to its close ties with the Soviet Union and its strict communist policies.