British Admiral Edward Vernon briefly captures Guantánamo Bay, renaming it Cumberland Bay, during the War of Jenkins' Ear. His troops withdraw after being decimated by fevers and raids from Spanish troops.
An assembly of rebels against Spanish rule adopts the Guáimaro Constitution, which remains nominally in effect until the end of the Ten Years' War.[2] The Republic of Cuba in Arms begins, officially installing Carlos Manuel de Céspedes as the first President of the Republic in Arms.
General Máximo Gómez issues a call to various Cuban autonomist groups for formation of a united effort against Spain.
15 February
The battleship USS Maine explodes and sinks while anchored in Havana harbor.
13 March
General Máximo Gómez repels the Spanish attack at Majagua, Cuba.
20 March
Máximo Gómez rejects an offer of Spanish Captain General Ramón Blanco of an alliance of the Cuban Liberation Army and the Spanish forces against a United States invasion.
2 April
Cuban revolutionaries under Colonel J.P. Quijano defeat Spanish forces at Chambas
10 April
Spanish Governor General Blanco in Cuba suspends hostilities
15 April
The commanders of Spanish forces, under Captain General Ramón Blanco call a council of war in Havana. Only Western commanders arrive - Eastern commanders are currently engaged in combat with the Mambises.
21 April
De-Facto state of war between the United States and Spain.
Spanish General Toral surrenders to U.S. General William Shafter. Cuban commanders are excluded from the surrender negotiations at the express insistence of American authorities.
12 August
The Peace Protocol is signed in Washington between U.S. Secretary of State William R. Day and French Ambassador Jules Cambon, representing Spain. Cuban representatives are again absent and denied any observer status due to the U.S. government’s refusal to recognize the Republic in Arms or the legitimacy of the Cuban Liberation Army.
20 October
Provisional Constitution created in Santiago de Cuba by U.S. military governor General Leonard Wood
24 October
The Assembly of Representatives of Santa Cruz del Sur is convened in Santa Cruz del Sur seeking to re-insert Cuban sovereignty of the island. This Assembly disbands shortly after.
10 November
The Assembly of Representatives of the Cuban Revolution appoints Rafael María Portuondo Tamayo as President of the Executive Council.
The Spanish colonial government withdraws and the last captain General Alfonso Jimenez Castellano hands over power to the North American Military Governor, General John Ruller Brooke.
4 April
José Lacret Morlot succeeded Portuondo Tamayo as President of the Executive Council.
23 December
Leonard Wood becomes U.S. Provisional Governor of Cuba.
20th century
Year
Date
Event
1901
5 March
The U.S. Platt Amendment stipulates the conditions for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Under attack from defeated political rivals, President Tomás Estrada Palma seeks U.S. intervention and U.S. troops reoccupy Cuba under Provisional Governor William Howard Taft.
The Bacardi Building finishes construction, and opens as the headquarters for the Bacardi company.
1931
10 August
Old Mambi warriors Carlos Mendieta and Mario García Menocal land forces at Rio Verde in an attempt to overthrow Gerardo Machado. They are defeated by 14 August in military operations that include the first use of military aviation in Cuba.
Enlisted men and sergeants loyal to Batista, joined by radical elements, force Army Officers from the Hotel Nacional in heavy fighting.
9 November
Blas Hernández, his followers, and some ABC members make a stand in old Atarés Castle. They are defeated by Batista loyalists. Hernández surrenders and is murdered.
1934
16 January
The One Hundred Days Government ends; Carlos Hevia serves briefly as president.
Forces loyal to Batista crush a naval revolt at Cayo Loco Naval Base in Cienfuegos.[11]
1958
February
Raúl Castro takes leadership of about 500 pre-existing Escopeteros guerrillas and opens a front in the Sierra de Cristal on Oriente's north coast.
13 March
U.S. suspends shipments of arms to Batista's forces.
17 March
Castro calls for a general revolt.
9 April
A general strike, organized by the 26 July movement, is partially observed.
May
Batista sends an army of 10,000 into the Sierra Maestra to destroy Castro's 300 armed guerrillas and their supporters. By August, the rebels had defeated the army's advance and captured a huge amount of weaponry.
20–30 November
Thirty key positions at Guisa are taken. In the following month most cities in Oriente fall to rebel hands.
The Cuban government enacts the Agrarian Reform Law, seizing large (mostly corporate and foreign) holdings of agricultural land and redistributing it to smaller land owners. The new holdings are limited to 1,000 acres (4.0km2).
17 July
Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado becomes President of Cuba, replacing Manuel Urrutia, who is forced to resign by Fidel Castro. Dorticós serves until 2 December 1976
28 October
Plane carrying Camilo Cienfuegos disappears during a night flight from Camagüey to Havana. He is presumed dead.
11 December
Trial of revolutionary Huber Matos begins. Matos is found guilty of "treason and sedition".
1960
4 March
The French freighter La Coubre explodes while unloading in Havana harbor, and Fidel Castro calls it sabotage by the U.S. on 5 March.[14]
17 March
U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower orders CIA director Allen Dulles to train Cuban exiles for a covert invasion of Cuba.
6 April
U.S. Secretary of State Lester Mallory outlines objectives of embargo in a memo: "...inconspicuous as possible, makes the greatest inroads in denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government."[15]
5 July
All U.S. businesses and commercial property in Cuba are nationalized at the direction of the Cuban government.
19 October
U.S. imposes embargo prohibiting all exports to Cuba except foodstuffs and medical supplies.
31 October
Cuban nationalization of all U.S. property in Cuba is completed.[citation needed]
26 December
Operation Peter Pan (Operación Pedro Pan) begins, an operation transporting to the U.S. 14,000 children of parents opposed to the new government. The scheme continues until U.S. airports are closed to Cuban flights during 1962.
1961
U.S. trade embargo on Cuba.
1 January
Cuban government initiates national literacy scheme.[citation needed]
At a news conference, U.S. President John F. Kennedy tells reporters: "I'm not for invading Cuba at this time... an action like that... could lead to very serious consequences for many people."
31 August
President Kennedy is informed that the 29 August U-2 mission confirms the presence of surface-to-air missile batteries in Cuba.
McGeorge Bundy informs President Kennedy that evidence shows Soviet medium-range ballistic missiles in Cuba. Kennedy immediately gathers a group that becomes known as "ExComm," the executive committee of the National Security Council.
U.S. establishes air and sea blockade in response to photographs of Soviet missile bases under construction in Cuba. U.S. threatens to invade Cuba if the bases are not dismantled and warns that a nuclear attack launched from Cuba would be considered a Soviet attack requiring full retaliation.
28 October
Khrushchev agrees to remove offensive weapons from Cuba, and the U.S. agrees to remove missiles from Turkey and promises not to invade Cuba.
1962
21 November
U.S. ends Cuban blockade, satisfied that all bases are removed and Soviet jets will leave the island by 20 December.
Political and administrative division divides Cuba into fourteen provinces, 168 municipalities and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud.
May
Fifty Cuban military personnel sent to Ethiopia.[18]
1979
21 October
Huber Matos is released from prison after serving out his full term.[19]
1980
April–October
The Mariel Boatlift. Cuban authorities allow up to 125,000 people to depart Cuba by boat from Mariel harbor for the U.S. The Cuban and U.S. governments agree to halt the exodus in October.
7 June
U.S. President Jimmy Carter orders the U.S. Justice Department to expel any Cubans who committed "serious crimes" in Cuba.[20]
1983
25 October
United States invades the island of Grenada and clash with Cuban troops.[21]
1984
Cuba reduces its troop strength in Ethiopia to approximately 3,000 from 12,000.[citation needed]
1987
Law #62 on the Penal Code introduced recognising discrimination based on any reason and the violation of the right of equality as a crime.[citation needed]
1989
12 July
Prominent general in the Cuban armed forces Arnaldo Ochoa is executed after allegations of involvement in drug smuggling.
Special Period: The Soviet Union (Cuba's closest economic partner) formally dissolved, leading to a full loss of economic and military aid, causing a prolonged economic crisis through the 1990s.
1992
July
The National Assembly of Cuba passes the Constitutional Reform Law allowing for direct elections to the assembly by the Cuban people every five years.[22]
1993
6 November
The Cuban government opens state enterprises to private investment.[citation needed]
1994
5 August
Maleconazo: Protests break out in Havana due to economic hardships amidst the Special Period.
1996
February
Cuban authorities arrest or detain at least 150 dissidents, marking the most widespread crackdown on opposition groups since the early 1960s.[citation needed]
24 February
Cuban fighter jets shoot down two US-registered civilian aircraft over international waters, killing four men.[citation needed]
12 March
In the U.S., the Helms-Burton Act extends the U.S. embargo against Cuba to foreign companies.
Russia's last military base in Cuba, at Lourdes, closes.[citation needed]
6 May
U.S. Under Secretary of State John R. Bolton accuses Cuba of trying to develop biological weapons, adding the country to Washington's list of "axis of evil" countries.
Cuba holds a referendum on amending the Family Code of the Constitution, legalizing same-sex marriage and adoption. The referendum is passed with 66.85% of votes in favor.
↑ Cooke, Alistair (2 January 1959). Written at London. "Castro in control of Cuba". The Guardian. The Guardian. | 1950-1959 | Guardian Century Archives. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
↑ McKinley, Jr., James C. (19 February 2008). "Do Not Rank". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
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