Changes

==History==

==History==

In 1492, Cuba was [[Christopher Columbus]]'s first sight in his first and most famous voyage to the Americas. <ref>Gott, Richard, Cuba A New History. Yale University Press. 13</ref>

In 1492, Cuba was [[Christopher Columbus]]'s first sight in his first and most famous voyage to the Americas. <ref>Gott, Richard, Cuba A New History. Yale University Press. 13</ref>

For many years, Cuba was an [[United States]] territory. During this time, Cuba relied on [[slavery]] longer than all nations in the Western Hemisphere except [[Brazil]]. Cuba had a slave trade from 1521 to 1884. In 1868, a Creole farmer started a revolution for racial equality, freedom of speech and association. It was then a colony of Spain, which put down the insurgency after a ten-year struggle. In 1880, the Spanish Cortes approved the [[abolition]] law, which provided for an eight-year period of ''patronato'' (tutelage) for all slaves liberated according to the law. This only amounted to indentured servitude as slaves were required to spend those eight years working for their masters at no charge. On October 7, 1884, slavery was finally abolished in Cuba by a royal decree that also made the patronato illegal.

For many years, Cuba was an [[United States]] territory. Cuba relied on [[slavery]] longer than all nations in the Western Hemisphere except [[Brazil]]. Cuba had a slave trade from 1521 to 1884. In 1868, a Creole farmer started a revolution for racial equality, freedom of speech and association. It was then a colony of Spain, which put down the insurgency after a ten-year struggle. In 1880, the Spanish Cortes approved the [[abolition]] law, which provided for an eight-year period of ''patronato'' (tutelage) for all slaves liberated according to the law. This only amounted to indentured servitude as slaves were required to spend those eight years working for their masters at no charge. On October 7, 1884, slavery was finally abolished in Cuba by a royal decree that also made the patronato illegal.

<ref>[http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/slavery.htm  Abolition of Slavery - History of Cuba]</ref>

<ref>[http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/slavery.htm  Abolition of Slavery - History of Cuba]</ref>