| Autonomous province of Cuba Provincia Autonóma de Cuba Timeline: Cromwell the Great
OTL equivalent: Cuba | |||
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 Location Cuba
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| Status | Overseas territory (Governorship) of Spain / Iberia | ||
| Capital (and largest city) | Havanna | ||
| Other cities | Santiago de Cuba and Cienfuegos | ||
| Official languages | Spanish (de facto official) and Portuguese (de jure co-official) | ||
| Other languages | Haitian Creole (Kreyol) | ||
| Ethnic groups | European, Afro-Americans and Mestizos | ||
| Religion | Secular state
Roman Catholic, Afro-American syncretic religions, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam, Non-Religious, Deism (Cult of Reason) and Atheism |
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| Demonym | Cuban | ||
| Government | Overseas territory (Governorship) of Spain / Iberia | ||
| - | Governor-General | Esteban García de Valladares | |
| - | Chief of Government | Alfredo Palma Hevia | |
| Legislature | Provincial Assembly of Cuba | ||
| Autonomous province of Iberia | |||
| - | Christopher Columbus arrives in Cuba and claims the island for Spain | 1492 | |
| - | Cuba becomes part of Viceroyalty of the Antilles | 1823 | |
| - | Cuba becomes part of the Provinces of the Antilles | 1828 | |
| - | Abolition of slavery | ||
| - | Charter of Autonomy | ||
| Area | |||
| - | 109,884 km2 42,426 sq mi |
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| Population | |||
| - | estimate | 13,000,000 | |
| Currency | Spanish dollar (real de ocho, ...-1825), Real (...-1825), Spanish peseta (1825-1844), Iberian maravedí (M, 1844 to date) | ||
| Time zone | GMT-5 | ||
| Date formats | dd/mm/yyyy (CE) Uses the Italo-Iberian Civil Calendar | ||
| Drives on the | right | ||
¡Cuba, Cuba, que vida me diste,
dulce tierra de luz y hermosura!
¡Cuánto sueño de gloria y ventura
tengo unido a tu sueño feliz!
(Himno al desterrado (1832), José María Heredia)
Cuba is an Iberian territory in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea, consisting of the island of the same name and adjacent small islands.
Cuba, along Florida and Puerto Rico, formed part of the viceroyalties of the New Spain (1521-1820) and Antilles (1823-1828) of the Spanish Empire, and the Provinces of the Antilles (1828 to 1844) of the Spanish Republic and Iberia.
History[]
Sugar and tobacco are Cuba's primary products, and the island is also the prime Spanish-Iberian base in the Caribbean. These elements are key to understand the historical and political history of Cuba.
Further field labor was required for the cultivation of sugar and tobacco. African slaves were then imported to work the plantations as field labor. However, restrictive Spanish trade laws made it difficult for Cubans to keep up with the 17th and 18th century advances in processing sugar cane pioneered in Commonwealth Barbados and French Saint-Domingue (Haiti). Spain also restricted Cuba's access to the slave trade, which was dominated by the British, French, and Dutch. One important turning point came in the Seven Years' War, when the British conquered the port of Havana and introduced thousands of slaves in a ten-month period. Another key event was the Haitian Revolution in nearby Saint-Domingue. Thousands of French refugees, fleeing the slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue, brought slaves and expertise in sugar refining and coffee growing into eastern Cuba in the 1790s and early 19th century.
In the 19th century, Cuban sugar plantations became the most important world producer of sugar, thanks to the expansion of slavery and a relentless focus on improving the island's sugar technology. Use of modern refining techniques was especially important because the British Slave Trade Act abolished the slave trade in the British Empire (but slavery itself remained legal until the Slavery Abolition Act). Cubans were torn between desire for the profits generated by sugar and a repugnance for slavery, which they saw as morally, politically, and racially dangerous to their society. By the end of the 19th century, slavery was abolished. The path to self-government was a long one.
However, prior to the abolition of slavery, Cuba gained great prosperity from its sugar trade. Originally, the Spanish had ordered regulations on trade with Cuba, which kept the island from becoming a dominant sugar producer. The Spanish were interested in keeping their trade routes and slave trade routes protected. Nevertheless, Cuba's vast size and abundance of natural resources made it an ideal place for becoming a booming sugar producer. When Spain opened the Cuban trade ports, it quickly became a popular place. New technology allowed a much more effective and efficient means of producing sugar. They began to use water mills, enclosed furnaces, and steam engines to produce higher-quality sugar at a much more efficient pace than elsewhere in the Caribbean.
The boom in Cuba's sugar industry in the 19th century made it necessary for the country to improve its transportation infrastructure. Planters needed safe and efficient ways to transport the sugar from the plantations to the ports, in order to maximize their returns. Many new roads were built, and old roads were quickly repaired. Railroads were built relatively early, easing the collection and transportation of perishable sugar cane. It was now possible for plantations all over this large island to have their sugar shipped quickly and easily.
Demands for greater autonomy and freedom of trade were asked to metropolitan authorities and frequently ignored in Madrid. Local political expressions, unless pro-Spanish, were severely censored and disbanded. Press was controlled under laws of censorship, licenses for printing and stamp and postal duties.
Government[]
The government consisted of the Governor-General who was both the civil and military (as Captain General) chief of Cuba. His military function were the most important due to piracy and the naval confrontations with the Commonwealth, Dutch and French fleets throughout its history. As such the Governor and the Real Audiencia followed the laws and instructions from Spain.
The Autonomic Constitution (Constitución Autonómica) granted to Cuba and Puerto Rico autonomy, technically bringing the Captaincy General and direct rule to an end. The new government of Cuba consists of a Provincial Deputation, divided into two chambers and the Governor-General, representative of the Metropolis, who carries out his duties in its name, the supreme Authority and names the Chief of Government. The Audiencia of Cuba became the high court for Cuba losing its administrative functions that were transferred to the Governor-General and Provincial Deputation.
Cuba is divided in six provinces: Pinar del Río, La Habana, Matanzas, Santa Clara, Puerto Príncipe and Santiago de Cuba.
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