Cuba: An American History

Cuba: An American History (2021) by Ada Ferrer traces the history of Cuba from 1492—the year when Christopher Columbus landed on the island—to the present day. This work won a Pulitzer Prize in History, as well as a Los Angeles Times Book Prize in History. The book spans nearly five centuries of Cuban history, from the rise of its sugar plantations to its contemporary relationship with the United States. Ferrer shows how mass movements like the Liberation Army, strike actions, and the Revolutionary Directorate shaped Cuban politics and ultimately supported the rise of Fidel Castro. 

Ferrer is a historian who teaches at Princeton University. She has written many books and articles about Cuban history, including Freedom’s Mirror: Cuba and Haiti in the Age of Revolution (2014). Ferrer was born in Cuba and came to the US as an infant. Her family background shapes her interest in the island and its history.

This guide refers to the 2022 Scribner paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, graphic violence, racism, ableism, and antigay bias.

Language Note: Ferrer quotes from historical sources that use outdated or offensive terms for Black people, biracial people, enslaved people, and people with disabilities. This guide reproduces this language only in quotations.

Summary

In the Prologue, Ada Ferrer describes her personal connections to Cuba, explaining how it informs her work. She also details her methodology in crafting her historical narrative, saying that she will focus on how mass movements contributed to historical change on the island as much as important political leaders like Fulgencio Batista and Fidel Castro. She also describes how the term “America” in the title refers both to the United States and to the concept of how “America” refers to all nations on the American continent.

In Part 1, Ferrer recounts Christopher Columbus’s arrival in Cuba in 1492 and the subsequent establishment of Spanish settlements there. She describes how the Spaniards enslaved the Indigenous Taíno people and later imported enslaved Africans to work on sugar plantations, setting the foundations of Cuba’s plantation economy.

Part 2 covers how the Seven Years’ War (also known as the French and Indian War) shaped Cuban history. During the war, Spain and France allied against Britain and fought over territorial rights in the Americas. In 1762, the British briefly held Cuba as a territory and expanded the enslavement economy and sugar plantations. After Cuba returned to Spanish control, the Spanish crown supported the American revolutionaries in their battle against Britain. Cuban resources became a key source of financial support for the American revolutionaries.

In Part 3, Ferrer covers how, after 1776, the US began to jockey for control of Cuba against the imperial powers of Spain and Britain. As Britain and later Spain began to abolish enslavement, US leaders saw Cuba as an important bastion of the enslavement economy. During this time, there were a number of revolts by enslaved people in Cuba that were ultimately unsuccessful but nevertheless mobilized Cubans against both imperial control and the institution of enslavement.

In Part 4, Ferrer analyzes the rise of anti-imperial sentiment in Cuba. She describes the formation of the Liberation Army, a multiracial paramilitary organization that fought against Spanish control in a series of conflicts that include the Ten Years’ War (1868-1878), the Little War (1879-1880), and the War of 1895 (1895-1898). Although Cubans did not win their independence from Spain in these conflicts, they were successful in abolishing enslavement in 1886.

Part 5 describes the impact of the Spanish-American War of 1898 on Cuba. After the explosion of the American battleship the USS Maine in the harbor of Havana, US leaders held Spain responsible and used this as a pretext to enter into the conflict. The US declared war on Spain and won. In the aftermath, the US had control over Cuba for about three years.

In Part 6, Ferrer describes how the US continued to tacitly control the Cuban government through the Platt Amendment even after it officially handed over control of the island to the Cuban people in 1902. The Platt Amendment, which was written into the first Cuban Constitution, authorized the US to intervene in Cuban affairs if the US felt that its economic interests were threatened, most notably its access to Cuban sugar plantations. During Prohibition, Cuba became a major tourist destination for Americans, and its economy boomed.

In Part 7, Ferrer describes the Cuban Revolution of 1933, which began as a series of student-led protests against President Machado. In the ensuing instability, military officer Fulgencio Batista rose to power. He operated as a dictator who was closely aligned with US interests. Corruption was rife during his regime. In 1952, Batista ran for president again. However, when he saw that he was likely to lose at the polls, he initiated a military coup and seized power by force.

In Part 8, Ferrer describes how popular resistance to Batista’s regime grew in Cuba. Fidel Castro was one of the leaders in that resistance. On July 26, 1953, Castro led an attack on the Moncada Barracks with the intention of overthrowing Batista’s government. The attack failed, and Castro was imprisoned. After he was released, Castro continued to organize to bring down Batista’s government. After amassing a contingent of forces in the mountains in eastern Cuba, Castro was able to attack and defeat Batista’s forces by December 31, 1958.

Part 9 describes how tensions between the US and Cuba increased during Castro’s administration. After he assumed power, Castro quickly consolidated control of the government and passed a flurry of left-wing policies, like the Agrarian Land Reform, which nationalized US industries operating in Cuba, including sugar plantations and the United Fruit Company. When the US embargoed Cuba in response, Cuba formed trade relationships with the Soviet Union instead, heightening Cold War tensions.

In Part 10, Ferrer covers the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 was a US-backed invasion of Cuba that failed to unseat Castro. The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was a standoff over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, and it highlighted Cuba’s role in global tensions. 

In Part 11, Ferrer describes how Castro’s regime changed daily life for Cubans. While positive reforms addressed gender inequality and education, the US embargo caused food and energy shortages. Ferrer also describes waves of Cuban migration to the US, with a particular focus on the Mariel Boatlift. During this time, hundreds of thousands of Cubans left for the US between April 15 and October 31, 1980, stoking racial tensions and xenophobia in the US.

Part 12 describes how Cuba changed following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Soviet Union had been Cuba’s primary trading partner. With its loss, Cuba turned to liberalizing its economy and encouraging foreign investments. In 2016, Castro stepped down from power and appointed his brother, Raúl, as president. That same year, US President Barack Obama visited the country and advocated for normalizing relations between the US and Cuba. However, President Donald Trump later reversed his efforts.

In the Epilogue, Ferrer expresses her hope that an understanding of Cuban history can help inform future efforts to improve relations between the US and Cuba.