Chronology of Colonial Cuba American battleship, USS "Maine", was sunk under strange circumstances in the Havana Harbor. This brought about American intervention in the war, which became the Spanish–American War that ended with the Treaty of Paris on December 10, within which Spain ceded Cuba and Puerto Rico to the United States. Thus, a new stage in Cuban history was begun. Chronology of Colonial Cuba The chronology of the colonial time of Cuba is about the Spanish colonial period in Cuba, and the efforts to obtain independence from the Spanish Empire and includes history from the "discovery" of the island by Christopher Columbus to
Battle of Santiago de Cuba attack the largely undefended East Coast while the fleet sailed about in an effort to engage him, prey upon American shipping, or perhaps sail up the Potomac and set fire to Washington, D.C. Ultimately, Cervera did none of these, managing to evade the U.S. fleet for several weeks, confounding his American counterparts, and re-coaling in the process before finally seeking refuge in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba. On May 29, 1898, an American squadron sighted Cervera's newest ship, the cruiser , and immediately established a blockade around the mouth of the harbor. The Spanish soon found themselves "blockaded closely