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The first valuable export of Cuba was tobacco. When Spain realized the rising demand and economic potential of tobacco, the crown placed its production under government monopoly in 1717 and established a purchasing agency for the control of all aspects of its production and trade. Although the contraband sale of Cuban tobacco was often triple the amount of tobacco sent legally to Spain in the 1720's and 1730's, the monopoly made enormous profits off of the Cuban leaf (Burkholder & Johnson 238). Profits from tobacco grew from nearly 4 million pesos in the 1740's t over 5 million by the late 1750's. The monopoly of tobacco lasted until a successful uprising of the tobacco growers took place in 1812. .
Another export that turned out to be more profitable than tobacco was sugar. Haiti was a major producer of sugar up until its devastating war for independence, which caused the collapse of their sugar production between 1799 and 1801. This war opened the door for Cuba and its sugar production. Many French planters fled the slave revolt in Haiti and settled in Cuba, bringing with them advanced sugar technology and managerial skills. "By the end of the eighteenth century, Cuba had been transformed into an economically viable Spanish possession with "king sugar" as the major booster of the island's development- (Rudolph online). .
By the end of the 1800s, Spain had lost all of its New World colonies except Cuba and Puerto Rico. In 1865, only a minority of Cubans felt the necessity on fighting for independence. After an economic crisis in 1866, people began to see the need for reform, which set the stage for the indepenentistas (Buckman 111). On October 10, 1868, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and a group of planters from the province of Oriente proclaimed the independence of Cuba in the historic Grito de Yara (Cry of Yara). Using guerrilla warfare, the Cubans earned a few military victories, and the nationalist forces controlled half the island.
