Roger Hernandez - Cuba

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2016 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc.

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First printing

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file at the Library of Congress

ISBN: 978-1-4222-3310-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4222-8627-2 (ebook)

Discovering the Caribbean: History, Politics, and Culture series ISBN: 978-1-4222-3307-8

DISCOVERING THE CARIBBEAN: History, Politics, and Culture

Bahamas

Barbados

Caribbean Islands:Facts & Figures

Cuba

Dominican Republic

Haiti

Jamaica

Leeward Islands

Puerto Rico

Trinidad & Tobago

Windward Islands

KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR:

	Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the readers understanding of the text, while building vocabulary skills.
	Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives.
	Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis.
	Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there.
	Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the readers ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field.

James D. Henderson

THE CARIBBEAN REGION is a lovely, ethnically diverse part of tropical America. It is at once a sea, rivaling the Mediterranean in size; and it is islands, dozens of them, stretching along the seas northern and eastern edges. Waters of the Caribbean Sea bathe the eastern shores of Central Americas seven nations, as well as those of the South American countries Colombia, Venezuela, and Guyana. The Caribbean islands rise, like a string of pearls, from its warm azure waters. Their sandy beaches, swaying palm trees, and balmy weather give them the aspect of tropical paradises, intoxicating places where time seems to stop.

But it is the people of the Caribbean region who make it a unique place. In their ethnic diversity they reflect their homelands character as a crossroads of the world for more than five centuries. Africas imprint is most visible in peoples of the Caribbean, but so too is that of Europe. South and East Asian strains enrich the Caribbean ethnic mosaic as well. Some islanders reveal traces of the regions first inhabitants, the Carib and Taino Indians, who flourished there when Columbus appeared among them in 1492.

Though its sparkling waters and inviting beaches beckon tourists from around the globe, the Caribbean islands provide a significant portion of the worlds sugar, bananas, coffee, cacao, and natural fibers. They are strategically important also, for they guard the Panama Canals eastern approaches.

The Caribbean possesses a cultural diversity rivaling the ethnic kaleidoscope that is its human population. Though its dominant culture is Latin American, defined by languages and customs bequeathed it by Spain and France, significant parts of the Caribbean bear the cultural imprint of Northwestern Europe: Denmark, the Netherlands, and most significantly, Britain.

The sun sets over Havana, Cuba.

So welcome to the Caribbean! These lavishly illustrated books survey the human and physical geography of the Caribbean, along with its economic and historical development. Geared to the needs of students and teachers, each of the eleven volumes in the series contains a glossary of terms, a chronology, and ideas for class reports. And each volume contains a recipe section featuring tasty, easy-to-prepare dishes popular in the countries dealt with. Each volume is indexed, and contains a bibliography featuring web sources for further information.

Whether old or young, readers of the eleven-volume series DISCOVERING THE CARIBBEAN will come away with a new appreciation of this tropical sea, its jewel-like islands, and its fascinating and friendly people!

Cuba is believed to have been inhabited for nearly 2,000 years, although the original natives of the island were wiped out by Spanish colonization in the 16th century.

Tourists enjoy the beach at Varadero.

A farmer in Pinar del Ro Provinces agricultural Viales Valley plows his field with oxen.

FOR CENTURIES VISITORS have been enchanted by Cubas beaches of fine white sand, crystal-clear waters, and luxuriant green countryside, graced by majestic palms that sway in the tropical breeze. The most beautiful land ever beheld by human eyes, Christopher Columbus is said to have exclaimed when he first arrived in Cuba.