Spanning the history of the island from pre-Columbian times to the present, this highly acclaimed survey examines Cuba's political and economic development within the context of its international relations and continuing struggle for self-determination.

The dualism that emerged in Cuban ideology--between liberal constructs of patria and radical formulations of nationality--is fully investigated as a source of both national tension and competing notions of liberty, equality, and justice. Perez integrates local and provincial developments with issues of class, race, and gender to give readers a full and fascinating account of Cuba's history, focusing on its struggle for nationality.

This edition places the circumstances of daily life in historical context and discusses their contemporary significance. It features the latest research on Cuba, including a new chapter on post-Cold War Cuba that covers the years 1995 through 2004. The political chronology has been revised and updated and the extensive bibliography has been both condensed, where necessary, and expanded to highlight the scholarship of the past decade. The book now features photographs throughout and five maps.

Author Biography

Louis A. Perez, Jr. is a J. Carlyle Sitterson Professor of History at the University of North Carolina (Ph. D. at University of New Mexico); specializes in 19th and 20th Century Caribbean, particularly Cuba. Books include: The War of 1898 (UNC Press, 1998), Cuba in the American Imagination (UNC Press, 2008), On Becoming Cuban (UNC Press, 2007).