Coordinates: 22°00′N 80°00′W / 22.000°N 80.000°W /
22.000; -80.000Cuba (/ˈkjuË bÉ™/ (listen); Spanish pronunciation:
[ˈkuβa]), officially the Republic of Cuba (Spanish: República de
Cuba (help·info)), is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well
as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located
in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and
Atlantic Ocean meet. It is east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico),
south of both the U.S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti
and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the
largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba
and Camagüey. The area of the Republic of Cuba is 110,860 square
kilometers (42,800 sq mi) (109,884 square kilometers (42,426 sq mi)
without the territorial waters). The main island of Cuba is the
largest island in Cuba and in the Caribbean, with an area of 105,006
square kilometers (40,543 sq mi); it is also the second-most populous
island in the Caribbean after Hispaniola, with over 11 million
inhabitants.The territory that is now Cuba was inhabited by the
Ciboney TaÃno people from the 4th millennium BC until Spanish
colonization in the 15th century. From the 15th century, it was a
colony of Spain until the Spanishâ€"American War of 1898, when Cuba
was occupied by the United States and gained nominal independence as a
de facto United States protectorate in 1902. As a fragile republic, in
1940 Cuba attempted to strengthen its democratic system, but mounting
political radicalization and social strife culminated in a coup and
subsequent dictatorship under Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Open
corruption and oppression under Batista's rule led to his ousting in
January 1959 by the 26th of July Movement, which afterwards
established communist rule under the leadership of Fidel Castro. Since
1965, the state has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba. The
country was a point of contention during the Cold War between the
Soviet Union and the United States, and a nuclear war nearly broke out
during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Cuba is one of a few extant
Marxistâ€"Leninist socialist states, where the role of the vanguard
Communist Party is enshrined in the Constitution. Independent
observers have accused the Cuban government of numerous human rights
abuses, including short-term arbitrary imprisonment.
22.000; -80.000Cuba (/ˈkjuË bÉ™/ (listen); Spanish pronunciation:
[ˈkuβa]), officially the Republic of Cuba (Spanish: República de
Cuba (help·info)), is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well
as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located
in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and
Atlantic Ocean meet. It is east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico),
south of both the U.S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti
and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the
largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba
and Camagüey. The area of the Republic of Cuba is 110,860 square
kilometers (42,800 sq mi) (109,884 square kilometers (42,426 sq mi)
without the territorial waters). The main island of Cuba is the
largest island in Cuba and in the Caribbean, with an area of 105,006
square kilometers (40,543 sq mi); it is also the second-most populous
island in the Caribbean after Hispaniola, with over 11 million
inhabitants.The territory that is now Cuba was inhabited by the
Ciboney TaÃno people from the 4th millennium BC until Spanish
colonization in the 15th century. From the 15th century, it was a
colony of Spain until the Spanishâ€"American War of 1898, when Cuba
was occupied by the United States and gained nominal independence as a
de facto United States protectorate in 1902. As a fragile republic, in
1940 Cuba attempted to strengthen its democratic system, but mounting
political radicalization and social strife culminated in a coup and
subsequent dictatorship under Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Open
corruption and oppression under Batista's rule led to his ousting in
January 1959 by the 26th of July Movement, which afterwards
established communist rule under the leadership of Fidel Castro. Since
1965, the state has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba. The
country was a point of contention during the Cold War between the
Soviet Union and the United States, and a nuclear war nearly broke out
during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Cuba is one of a few extant
Marxistâ€"Leninist socialist states, where the role of the vanguard
Communist Party is enshrined in the Constitution. Independent
observers have accused the Cuban government of numerous human rights
abuses, including short-term arbitrary imprisonment.
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