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Article: CUBA LIBRE.(Cuba and Spanish-American War)
- Article from:
- Cobblestone
- Article date:
- May 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Americans have referred to the Spanish-American War as a "splendid little war." But Cubans call it the "War of Independence" or the "War of 1895-1898." Streets and parks in Cuba still display the statues and names of the war's national heroes. To Cubans, the war was a historic fight for political, social, and economic independence.
Cuba became a Spanish colony shortly after Christopher Columbus's first visit there in 1492. Spanish boats carrying gold from Mexico and South America stopped in Havana. They picked up supplies there before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.
Wealthy Spaniards owned Cuba's cattle ranches and sugar and tobacco plantations. ...