Cuba was first conquered in 1511 by the Spaniards from Spain after Christopher Columbus’ arrival in 1492. The Spaniards conquered throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Cuba was also colonized by the U.S. The Spanish-American war resulted in Spanish withdrawal in 1898. Three and a half years later, Cuba gained its independence in 1902. Three aboriginal groups that inhabited the island when the Spaniards invaded were the Guanahatabey, the Ciboney, and the Taino. They soon died because of disease or from the shock of conquest. As a result, indigenous group influence was limited to Spanish culture. Cuba began to prevail in the nineteenth century. It became the major sugar producer of the world after Haiti collapsed as a producing colony. Sugar supplanted tobacco agriculture and cattle became the main occupation. Cuba was the last Spanish possession in the Americas. The Platt amendment of 1901 gave the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban politics. The island remained a