A little Cuban history

 Christopher Columbus "discovered" Cuba, a large caribbean island, in 1492. He sailed to Cuba while on the quest to find the Americas, and mistook Cuba for Asia. It was still being occupied by indigenous people when Columbus claimed it for Spain. It remained a Spanish colony until 1762, although held for a brief period by Britain. Many subsequent rebellions during the 19th century failed to result in the end of Spanish rule, but tensions between the US and Cuba eventually led to the Spanish-American war. This caused Spain to withdraw from Spain, and formal independance in Cuba was gained in 1902.