Christopher Columbus lands in Cuba during his first expedition. He claims Cuba for the Spanish crown.

Named after a local indigenous chief, the City of Havana is founded by Spanish soldier and colonist Pánfilo de Narváez.

Three hundred African slaves are brought to Cuba to mine gold for the Spanish empire. This is the first large shipment of slaves to arrive on the island.

After the Haitian Revolution in 1789, Cuba becomes the world's greatest sugar producer. During this period, approximately 500,000 African slaves are brought to Cuba to work in sugar production in Cuba's booming sugar economy. Today more than 50 percent of Cuba's population is mulatto (mixed African and European ancestry), 37 percent are described as white, and more than 11 percent are described as black.

The Spanish-Cuban-American War begins when the USS Maine is blown up in Havana's harbor. Later that year, after heavy Spanish losses, Spain and the United States sign the Treaty of Paris. The United States gains control of Cuba, the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Although the treaty grants Cuba independence, members of the United States business community will control the overwhelming majority of Cuban resources through the late 1950s.

The Cuban Revolution begins as Fidel Castro and his supporters attack army bases in the Sierra Maestra region in a failed attempt to overthrow Batista, then dictator of Cuba. Today Cubans celebrate July 26 in honor of the first attempt to overthrow Batista.

Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, and rebel forces backing the revolution take control of Havana and Cuba as a whole. In the three years following Castro's rise to power, 155,000 Cubans flee their home country for the United States.

U.S. President Eisenhower initiates an embargo (a law forbidding trade) on arms, sugar and oil against Cuba in an attempt to punish the island for negotiating with the Soviet Union. In response, Castro nationalizes (takes over for Cuba) all U.S. businesses and property. In the following decades, the U.S. embargo against Cuba is strengthened by presidents Reagan and Clinton. Today, Americans are not permitted to travel to Cuba, U.S. companies may not trade with Cuba, and Cuba cannot buy food or medical supplies from the United States.

Castro officially becomes Prime Minister of Cuba. After his election, he suspends future elections and disregards Cuba's 1940 Constitution in an effort to complete his socialist revolution. Elections resume in 1976, when Castro is elected President of the State Council of Cuba and assumes the nation's three highest-ranking positions.

Pope John Paul II visits Cuba.