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1250 AD
1492
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Taíno Indians
arrive from the east.
August 3. With
three ships, Christopher Columbus sails into the unknown.
October 14. Columbus continues his expedition, soon along
the shores of Cuba, which he calls "Juana," thinking that he's found Asia's
mainland.
October 29. Columbus lands in Cuba, claims island for
Spain. |
1493
|
January 4.
Columbus leaves for Spain, and a number of his men stay behind.
May 3. The Spanish
Pope Alexander VI
confirms Spanish
claims to all lands "discovered" or "to be discovered" in the Western Ocean.
September 25. From Cádiz, Columbus begins his
second voyage to the New World. He brings 17 ships and 1,500 men,
including missionaries, soldiers and laborers. There are about one hundred
stowaways, as well as agricultural equipment, cattle and seeds. |
1494
|
June 7. In an
agreement known as the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Line of
Demarcation is moved 370 degrees West of the Cape Verde Island.
|
1508
|
Sebastián
de Ocampo circumnavigates Cuba and proves that it is an
island. |
1509
|
Ponce de León
begins the conquest of Puerto Rico. |
1511
|
Diego Columbus
(son of Christopher Columbus) settles Cuba.
Diego Velázquez is
appointed governor of Cuba by Spain. |
1512
|
February 12.
Hatuey is burned at the stake. Most of the
Ciboneys and Taíno Arawaks that inhabit the island are wiped out, and
Cuba
remains under Spanish rule for the next four centuries.
December 12. King Ferdinand of Spain thanks Diego Velásquez for the occupation of Cuba and for his "humane treatment of the
natives." |
1513
|
The
first record of slavery in Cuba. Landowner Amador de Lares gets
permission to bring four African slaves from Hispaniola. |
1514
|
The city of
Havana
is established by Pánfilo de Narváez. |
1519
|
Conquistador
Hernán Cortés prepares a fleet in Cuba and sets sail for
Mexico. After the conquest, Havana becomes the natural stopping point for
fleets returning to Spain. December 17. The first
Catholic mass in Havana takes place under a ceiba tree. |
1520
|
The first
large group of slaves (300) arrive in Cuba to work in a gold mine named
Jaugua. |
1529
|
April 22. In
the Treaty of Zaragoza, Spain and Portugal divide their
claims in the Pacific by drawing an imaginary line from pole to pole 297-1/2
leagues east of the Moluccas. A resistance movement
against the Spaniards emerges in the eastern mountains of Cuba under the
leadership of a chief named Guamá and his wife,
Habaguanex. |
1532
|
December. A
large Spanish force defeats Guamá and his followers. |
1533
|
The
first recorded slave uprising in Cuba takes place at the
Jobabo mines. Four slaves battle a large military force until their death.
Their heads are brought back to Bayamo to quiet the alarmed colonizers. |
1538
|
French
pirates, with the help of disgruntled local slaves, burn the city of Havana. |
1550
|
In the early
1550's, a Taíno chief named
Guamá, along with his wife and about sixty other
men, battles the Spaniards in hit-and-run, guerrilla-style attacks. By this
time, however, the Spaniards have spread across the entire island.
The Spanish Crown allows a privileged group of merchants to
import African slaves to Cuba. |
1554
|
French pirate
Peg-Leg Leclerc attacks Santiago de Cuba. |
1555
|
Another
pirate, Jacques de Sores, plunders the city of Havana. |
1557
|
It is
estimated that only about 2,000 Indians are left in all of Cuba
(out of a population of about 3,000,000 before Spanish arrival).
May 14. An order of the Havana City Council prevents Negroes
from owning taverns and inns, and from selling tobacco or wine (on penalty
of fifty lashes). |
1586
|
September. A
Royal decree regulating the sale of tobacco states that penalties for
breaking this law shall be doubled if the law breaker is a Negro. They
shall, in addition, receive 200 lashes in public. |
1597
|
The
Castillo del Morro
is completed. Strategically situated above the eastern entrance to the
Havana harbor, the fort is designed to protect the city from attackers. |
1602
|
Cuba's
population is estimated at about 20,000, of which about 13,000 live in and
around Havana. |
1607
|
Havana is
officially named the capital of Cuba. |
1708
|
According to a
Royal decree, a slave may purchase his freedom. Slaves who obtain their
freedom in this manner are known as coartados. |
1715
|
Royal Spanish
authorities create a monopoly known as the "Factoria." This agency purchases
all Cuban tobacco at fixed prices and sells it abroad. |
1717
|
April 17. All
Cuban tobacco production falls under government monopoly, and a general
purchasing agency (Estanco de Tobacco) is established in Havana, with
offices in Bayamo, Trinidad and Santiago de Cuba. This leads to the
"Insurrection of the Vegueros" (Sublevación de los Vegueros). The Vegueros
again revolt in 1720 and 1723. |
1727
|
A slave revolt
takes place at the sugar mill Quiebra-Hacha (in the west of Havana). About
300 slaves are involved, and only government troops are able to prevent the
revolt from spreading. |
1740
|
Based on the "Factoria"
model, another monopoly company is created to handle all imports and exports
in Havana. The "Royal Compañía de Comercio " soon acquires a bad reputation
with Cubans, who complain they are being fleeced and that commerce is
restricted in order to keep prices high. |
1748
|
The University
of San Jerónimo opens in Havana. |