ABSTRACT
Starting in the early part of the nineteenth century, American administrations openly expressed a desire to own Cuba. A rationale for adding Cuba to the territory of the United States could be built based on Cuba’s sugar and tobacco industries, as well as for Cuba’s mineral deposits. But economics was not the primary reason. American presidents were knowledgeable in military history and they knew that in the event of war, the nation occupying Cuba would have a distinct advantage over the United States.
