It has been told, "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue."" Upon his voyages to the New World, he discovered what he called Juana, now known as Cuba. On October 28, 1492, Columbus and his voyagers sighted the island and the next day, October 29, 1492, the Europeans, for the first time in history, set foot on Cuban soil. Although Columbus discovered Cuba, it was already inhabited by Arawak Native Americans; variously described as members of the Ciboney, Taino, and Guanajatabeye tribes ( ). In 1511, Cuba was successfully invaded in an effort led by Diego Velaquez de Cuellar, Cuba's soon to be governor, who governed from 1511-1524. .
The Spanish were in search of gold and although Cuba did not have as much as other Latin American countries, it did have some. The Spaniards used a type of labor called encomienda to mine the gold. Encomienda was a tribute institution where the Spaniards received Indians as an entrustment, to protect and Christianize, but in return could demand tribute including labor ( ). The Indians offered little resistance to the Spanish and by the end of the 16th century only small groups remained in the mountainous areas of the island.
For the first 200 years of Spanish rule, Cuba was primarily a transit station for the expeditions and fleets between Europe and the New World. Havana, the capital of Cuba, was a key port and was taken over by the British for less than two years in 1762. Although Britain's occupation was short, it opened the city to free trade with all nations and fostered the importation of goods and slaves at low prices ( ). In 1764, Cuba became an intendancy, where royal officials with extensive judicial, administrative, and financial powers were used to increase the king's revenues and bring an end to numerous bureaucratic abuses. In 1783, the independence of the United States opened new consumer markets for Cuban products.