When did America become obsessed with Cuba?

Cuba

AMERICA'S OBSESSION WITH CUBA can be traced back to its Revolution for Independence from Britain. The island had been closed to all foreign commerce, especially the British, since the earliest days when Spain occupied it. Spain always treated the island as a Caribbean fortress protecting its lines of communication and logistics with its mainland colonies. They either did not see or did not care to see any commercial value in the island. However, when Britain's American colonies rebelled, Spain opened the harbor at La Habana to the Yankees as a refuge from patrolling British warships and a terminus for commerce. The Spanish saw this as an opportunity to thumb their noses at their traditional enemies. Yankee smugglers welcomed it.

Baltimore Clipper (click to enlarge)

The Yankees had a long tradition of smuggling goods in and out of the colonies under the noses of British revenue agents. They built fast, lightweight sailing craft that could dash in and out of small inlets in all kinds of weather; inlets that British warships and revenue cutters would not dare to attempt in almost any weather. Unfortunately, their small size made them inappropriate for long ocean crossings. Thus, they served as lighters, exchanging cargo with larger merchant ships.

Transferring cargo at sea is dangerous at best. The smugglers usually rendezvoused with the merchants at small islands or isolated coves along the Canadian coast. Although more distant, the harbor at La Habana suited their purposes even better. Firstly, it had the Spanish to enforce neutrality and keep the British warships at bay. Secondly, the prevailing winds in the Caribbean favored the smugglers' craft over the British warships patrolling just outside La Habana.

Yankee smuggler sails past El Morro de la Habana (click to enlarge)

The Baltimore Clipper was the archetype of smuggling craft. It's shallow draft allowed it to slip across bars at the mouths of small inlets. It's wide beam gave it the stability to carry much more canvas aloft than other vessels of its size. Finally, it was a topsail schooner; that is, it carried both square sails for running with the wind, and fore and aft sails (like a modern sailboat) for tacking into the wind. British warships were mostly square-rigged brigs and ships that could not sail into the wind efficiently.

The tradewinds in the Caribbean blow from east to west. A sailing vessel attempting to run from La Habana to the tip of Florida must sail against them. Thus, the smugglers could easily outsail British warships. Conversely, when sailing with the wind towards La Habana, the smugglers spread their square sails and raced ahead of the warships to the Spanish sanctuary.

Cubans welcomed the Yankees. To them, the Yankees brought the same kind of commercial success that they had enjoyed during the brief period when Britain occupied the island. Both peoples welcomed the profits and were equally disappointed when the American Revolution ended, and Spain once again closed La Habana to all foreign trade.

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The advent of commercial success in agriculture drew foreigners back to Cuba in the late nineteenth century and a new kind of imperialism, economic imperialism, replaced the moribund colonial imperialism exercised by the Spanish. A new revolution drove it from the island and replaced it with an even more insidious form of imperialism, Soviet imperialism. Rebels on the Mountain provides a unique insight into this period of Cuban history, as Castro helps his people jump from the frying pan into the Cold War.