Guantanamo Bay Naval Base area surrounding Guantanamo bay was originally inhabited by the Taíno people. On 30 April 1494, Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage, arrived and spent the night. The place where Columbus landed is now known as Fisherman's Point. Columbus declared the bay "Puerto Grande". The bay and surrounding areas came under British control during the War of Jenkins' Ear. Prior to British occupation, the bay was referred to as "Walthenham Harbor". The British renamed the bay "Cumberland Bay". The British retreated from the area after a failed attempt to march to Santiago de Cuba. During the Spanish–American War, the U.S. fleet
Guantanamo Bay hunger strikes at its peak in July when 106 out of the 166 detainees were considered on hunger strike, with 45 of them being force-fed by the prison administration. On December 4, 2013, the US military announced that it would no longer disclose information about the hunger strikes, explaining that "The release of this information serves no operational purpose". The last disclosed figures in December showed numbers of hunger strikers rising to 15, with all being force-fed. Guantanamo Bay hunger strikes The first well-known Guantanamo Bay hunger strikes began in the middle of 2005, when detainees held by the United States at