Cuba libre : a 500-year quest for independence / Philip Brenner and Peter Eisner.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 380-413) and index.

Part 1. 1492-1598 -- Columbus arrives and Spain colonizes Cuba, 1492-1550 -- Sugar and slavery -- 1868-1898: Struggle for independence -- Cuban independence war and U.S. occupation -- From occupation to "good neighbor" -- 1934-1958: playground of the Western world and rise of Batista -- 1953-1958: The revolutionary struggle -- Part 2. 1959-1989 -- The quest for sovereignty -- Consolidating the revolution: culture and politics -- Consolidating the revolution: Economic reforms, new institutions, and basic needs -- Bay of Pigs/Playa Girón -- The missile crisis -- Foreign policy in the 1960s: Exporting revolution, Chinese flirtations, and Soviet tensions -- 1963-1975: internal adjustments and advancing equality -- 1970s: Becoming a third world leader -- 1980: Mariel exodus - a warning signal -- 1981-1990: Change and rectification at home and abroad -- Part 3. 1990-2016 -- 1990-2000: The "special period" in a time of peace -- The Cuban diaspora and racial inequality -- 1995-1998: Helms-Burton, U.S.-Cuban relations, and terrorism -- 1998-2000: the Pope goes to Cuba, Elián goes to Miami -- 2001-2006: The search for a viable strategy -- 2006-2009: the transition from Fidel to Raúl Castro -- 2010-2016: Securing Cuba's independence through economic change -- 2010-2016: Securing Cuba's independence through foreign policy -- Change, continuity, and the future -- Appendix: Chronology of major events.