The formal political relationship dates to the end of the Spanish- American War in 1898, when the U.S. military occupied the island. For the next 60 years, the United States wielded a powerful influence, directly and indirectly, over the island nation. Much of this influence was in the economic sector. Before the 1959 Revolution, Cuba conducted approximately 70 percent of its trade with the United States; this trade consisted largely of sugar exports, on which the Cuban economy is based (Rudolf, p. 139). The United States arranged to purchase Cuba’s entire sugar crop at fixed rates, which helped to stabilize the fragile economy; in return, the United States gained military bases in Cuba, and U.S. corporations were allowed to operate and acquire land there. By 1929, in fact, U.S. interests had acquired more than $1.5 billion in Cuban real estate. The United States also invested heavily in Cuban business enterprises, such as public utilities, telephones, electricity, and transportation, and supplied the island with manufactured goods. By 1930 investments totaled $1.2 billion and U.S. corporations provided 75 percent of Cuba’s imports.
In 1954 Cuba had the largest number of Cadillacs per capita of any nation in the world (Pérez, p.
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