Cuba, Old and New

The book surveys the island's evolution from early European contact and colonial rule through nineteenth-century reforms and urban expansion to twentieth-century political and economic change. It combines historical narrative of colonial administration, revolts, independence movements, and foreign interventions with detailed descriptions of Havana's old and new quarters, surrounding countryside, plantations, and local industries. Chapters examine the development of sugar, cattle, mining, and other products, transportation and urban architecture, and the island's commercial ties and relations with foreign powers, offering readers a compact account of social conditions, infrastructure, and the forces shaping modern national life.