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[[Cuba]] is an island located in the [[Gulf of Mexico]], 90 miles south of Florida. Cuba has been ruled by a communist dictator named [[Fidel Castro]] since 1959.

'''Cuba''' is an island located in the [[Gulf of Mexico]], 90 miles south of Florida. Cuba has been ruled by a communist dictator named [[Fidel Castro]] since 1959.

Cuba relied on [[slavery]] longer than any other nation or colony in the Western Hemisphere.  Cuba had a slave trade from 1521 to the late 1870s, including the famous [[triangular trade]]. 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, 1886, slavery was finally abolished in Cuba by a royal decree that also made the patronato illegal.

Cuba relied on [[slavery]] longer than any other nation or colony in the Western Hemisphere.  Cuba had a slave trade from 1521 to the late 1870s, including the famous [[triangular trade]]. 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, 1886, slavery was finally abolished in Cuba by a royal decree that also made the patronato illegal.