Spanish Colonization In Cuba

After 54 years without any diplomatic relationship between Cuba and the United States, Presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro started to relieve the tension between these two countries in 2015. Cuba, an island in Caribbean, is inhabited by 11 million people and occupies 42,804 square miles. Locating at the entrance to the gulf of Mexico, Cuba separates the east from the west and the developed north form the undeveloped south. Cuba was one of the last American colonies to achieve independence after four years of Spanish colonization in 1898. Havana, the capital city and the commercial center of Cuba, has a significant impact on the development of Cuba, especially during the colonization period. Spanish and American colonization impacted Cuba …show more content…
Although the disappearance of the Soviet Union, the biggest buyer of Cuban sugar, led to the decline of the sugar industry in the 1990s, the sugar prices have recently risen again, and Cuba reopen some of the sugar mills and factories. Approximately 1.6-1.8 million tons of sugar were produced from 2012 to 2013 in Cuba. In 2015, 147,000 hectares of sugarcane were planted, which was 25,000 hectares more than the average of the last three years. Cuba’s overall exports in 2014 were US$ 5.187 billion dollars and $4.41 billion dollars in 2015. Sugar exports made up US$428.5 millions during 2014, which occupied 18.6% of the total Cuban exports. Cuba exported US$ 419.5 million of sugar in 2015, which occupied 1.9% of the total sugar exports in the world. These statistics suggest that Cuba’s economy continues to rely on sugar exportation as a crucial source of wealth. By introducing and promoting the ideology and techniques of sugar plantation to Cuba, the Spanish colonization has resulted in an improved Cuban …show more content…
Baseball, the national sport of Cuba, originated from the United States and spread to Cuba during the process of American colonization. Once the baseball was spread to Cuba, it soon integrated as part of the Cuban culture. Baseball terms were adopted from the United States and combined with Cuban dialects. For instance, they pronounced “hon-ron” for “Homerun”, “shor” for “shortstop”, and “heet” for “hit”. As well as the United States, the American tradition of presidents throwing the first pitch as a ceremonial symbol also exists in Cuba. Antonio Castro, the son of Fidel Castro, said, “ This is the language of baseball that unifies our nations, our people. It 's an opportunity for another day. We think in the future, we have no issues.” Cuba also received international recognition with their victories by winning international baseball competitions frequently. They have won 25 of the gold medals out of the 29 International Baseball Federation games alongside wining the second place in 2007, 2009, and 2011. North American Major Baseball Leagues benefited from the recruitments of many excellent Cuban players. Eleven Cuban baseball players were recruited in 2012 among eighty two international players. Instead of having Cuban players in North American Major Baseball Leagues, a friendly game was held by the Cuban national team with the Tampa Bay Ray at the Latinoamericano