History of Cuba U.S. embassy in Havana was formally reopened in August 2015. History of Cuba The island of Cuba was inhabited by various Mesoamerican cultures prior to the arrival of the Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492. After Columbus' arrival, Spain conquered Cuba and appointed Spanish governors to rule in Havana. In 1762, Havana was briefly occupied by Great Britain, before being returned to Spain in exchange for Florida. A series of rebellions during the 19th century failed to end the Spanish rule. However, the Spanish–American War resulted in a Spanish withdrawal from the island in 1898, and following three-and-a-half years of
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba () (erected 1518 as the Diocese of Baracoa) is a Metropolitan Archdiocese, responsible for the dioceses of Guantánamo-Baracoa, Holguín and Santísimo Salvador de Bayamo y Manzanillo. The diocese's name was changed to the Diocese of Santiago de Cuba. It was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Seville in Spain until 12 February 1546 when it became a suffragan of the Diocese of Santo Domingo (now Archdiocese of Santo Domingo) in the Dominican Republic. In 1803, the see was elevated to an archdiocese. The archdiocese is