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 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 the Guantanamo Bay detention camp initiated two hunger strikes. The detainees organized several widespread hunger strikes to protest their innocence and the conditions of their confinement. According to camp authorities, other captives who engaged in long-term hunger strikes, committed suicide in June 2006. Widespread hunger strikes recurred in 2013. Hunger strikes began in 2002, when the camp first opened, but the secrecy with which the camp was operated prevented news of those strikes reaching the