The military history of Cuba is an aspect of the history of Cuba that spans several hundred years and encompasses the armed actions of Spanish Cuba while it was part of the Spanish Empire and the succeeding Cuban republics.
From the 16th to 18th century, organized militia companies made up the bulk of Cuba's armed forces. These forces helped maintain the territorial integrity of Spanish Cuba, and later, assisted the Spanish Army in its expeditionary action throughout North America. These forces were later supplanted by Spanish regulars in the 19th century, with Cuba being used as a major base of operations for Spain during the Spanish American wars of independence.
The latter half of the 19th century saw three Cuban wars of independence launched against the Spanish colonial government. The final conflict for independence escalated to the Spanish–American War and resulted in the American occupation of Cuba from 1898 to 1902.
After the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and communist takeover by Fidel Castro, Cuba became involved in several Cold War conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, where it supported Marxist governments and fought against Western proxies. Castro's Cuba had some 39,000–40,000 military personnel abroad by the late 1970s, with the bulk of the forces in Sub-Saharan Africa but with some 1,365 stationed in the Middle East and North Africa. Cuban forces in Africa were mainly black and mulatto (mixed-race Spanish/African). The loss of East European subsidies at the end of the Cold War weakened the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.
16th and 17th centuries Owing to its strategic location along the Europe–Americas trade route, Spanish Cuba served as a crucial gateway to the Caribbean. Consequently, Cuba faced attacks from Spain's major colonial rivals to seize the "gateway", with attempts to seize control intensifying from the mid-16th century onward. In addition to other colonial rivals, the relatively undefended coastline resulted in privateers and pirates to raid the colony as well.
Spanish territories in the Caribbean, including Cuba, relied on private individuals to preserve the internal peace and defend the colony's territorial integrity. These individuals initially came from privately financed conquistador armies, followed by organizations of volunteer troops and locally organized militia companies among the settlers at the end of the 16th century. Recognizing the vital role played by volunteer civilian militias in safeguarding its colonies, Spanish authorities in Cuba went out of their way to guarantee free white colonists and the free Black and multiracial population the right to bear arms. The first formal militia companies were organized in 1586, responding to the threat against English privateers. From the 16th to the end of the 18th century, organized civilian militias formed the bulk of the Spanish Empire's fighting force in Cuba, with the number of permanent militia companies in Cuba having increased in the late 17th century to match the number of attacks on the colony.
Taíno resistance against Spanish colonial rule
Several Taíno caciques (chiefs) led resistance movements against Spanish colonial rule in the early 16th century. The first major Taíno resistance in the Caribbean against Spanish-rule culminated in Cuba after Hatuey, a cacique who had led a revolt on Hispaniola since 1502, expanded his efforts to Cuba. In 1511, he and 400 followers set out for Cuba by canoe, seeking to rally the island's Taíno against the Spanish. Hatuey led a guerrilla campaign that kept the Spanish confined to their fort at Baracoa for three months before being overwhelmed by a Spanish counteroffensive. Hatuey was captured and executed in February 1512. Other notable Taíno resistances includes one led by Guamá in the 1530s.
Slave revolts
The first revolt by enslaved Black people in Cuba was the Jobabó Slave Revolt in 1532, which occurred at a gold mine in Jobabo. The rebellion was quickly suppressed, and the heads of the leaders were placed on stakes outside the town. A subsequent slave rebellion took place in 1538.
Fears of further slave rebellions among White Cubans led to several massacres against Afro-Cubans in response to real and alleged revolts and conspiracies, including those in 1792, 1793, 1795, 1814, 1844, and 1912.
Italian Wars During the Italian Wars, the broader French–Habsburg rivalry extended to the Caribbean, where French corsairs raided Spanish Cuban settlements.
Italian War of 1536–1538 Following the outbreak of hostilities between France and Spain in 1536, Francis I, King of France, quickly dispatched corsairs to intercept Spanish shipping. However, intercepting the Spanish treasure fleet in the open sea proved incredibly difficult. As a result, Havana became a target, as it served as a stationary hub where the Spanish stored their gold before the convoys' departure; and because the city lacked significant defenses, as an attack was thought to be unlikely.
The first corsair attack on Havana occurred in March 1537 when a French ship entered Havana's harbour on a reconnaissance mission before sailing west. Three Spanish vessels in port gave chase and caught up to the corsair, but a sudden shift in the wind ran them aground. Recognizing that Havana was now defenceless, the French returned, seized the cargo left behind by the Spanish ships, and set several buildings ablaze. French corsair raids continued the following year, targeting Santiago de Cuba and Havana. A Spanish caravel repelled the attack on Santiago de Cuba, while the unopposed raid on Havana yielded little, as the settlers had barely recovered from the previous assault.
Italian War of 1551–1559 Hostilities between France and Spain resumed in 1552, with the Caribbean emerging as a major theatre for the European conflict as squadrons of the French Royal Navy advanced into the Spanish Caribbean. Although French naval efforts initially targeted Spanish treasure fleets in the Atlantic, their lack of success led them to turn westward in search of plunder in the Caribbean.
Many of the towns raided by French corsairs in Cuba had fewer than 500 permanent residents. Notable corsair raids on Cuba during the conflict includes the destruction of Santiago de Cuba by François Le Clerc in 1554 and Jacques de Sores's attack on Havana in 1555. Sores seized a poorly defended Havana, landing with approximately 200 armed men. After a dispute with the local government, Sores killed several captives and enslaved Africans before setting the town ablaze and departing with a small amount of treasure extorted from Havana's settlers.
Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)
The Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) was an intermittent undeclared war between England and Spain, marked by naval engagements and military campaigns in Europe and the Americas, including the blockade of Western Cuba by English privateers in 1591. In March 1596, a naval engagement occurred in Cuban waters between Spanish and English forces, where a squadron of 13 Spanish galleons intercepted an English squadron of 14 ships resupplying at Isla de la Juventud in Cuba. As a result of that battle, the Spanish squadron captured an English vessel with 300 sailors, and its captives were forced to work on Havana's defensive structures.
In August 1603, a pair of English ships raided Santiago de Cuba, and captured two Spanish prizes in the Old Bahama Channel north of Cuba.
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War was an intermittent conflict between the rebels in the Spanish Netherlands (later the Dutch Republic), and the Spanish Empire. In 1628, the Dutch West India Company sent a fleet of 30 ships, commanded by Piet Pieterszoon Hein, to capture the Spanish treasure fleets. Having been made aware of the Dutch fleet, the treasure fleet initially remained in port at Cartagena and Veracruz. However, the treasure fleet later set sail, after Spanish authorities mistook the movement of a few Dutch ships back to Europe for the entirety of Hein's fleet. Hein's fleet waited nearby Havana for the treasure fleet to arrive, as the ships from South America and Mexico typically rendezvous at that city before crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
The treasure fleet was intercepted on 8 September at the Battle in the Bay of Matanzas. The Spanish galleons escorting the fleet abandoned the merchantmen capture, instead seeking refuge at bay of Matanzas. However, all four galleons ran aground as they were too laden with cargo and passengers, and were forced to surrender. The Dutch seized over 90 tonnes of gold and silver, valued at 11.5 million guilders. The incident remained the only time an entire treasure fleet's cargo was taken.
Another attempt to capture the Spanish treasure fleet was made off the coast of Cabañas in 1638, but it ended in failure.
Portuguese Restoration War
Cuba became vulnerable to English attack after the English conquest of the colony of Santiago in 1655, during the Anglo-Spanish War of 1654–1660. In 1662, amid the Portuguese Restoration War, an English fleet under Christopher Myngs was dispatched to disrupt Spanish possessions in the Caribbean. The fleet of twelve ships and approximately 2,000 men, captured Santiago de Cuba with little resistance. The town's defences were deemed inadequate, leading the governor to withdraw his forces to Bayamo, while many inhabitants fled to the nearby indigenous settlement of El Caney. Santiago de Cuba was subsequently sacked, and the Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca was destroyed. However, the English had no long-term aims of establishing a Cuban foothold, they withdrew a few days later.
Privateer raids in the late 17th century The threat of English privateers against Cuban settlements diminished after the signing of the 1670 Treaty of Madrid, in which Spain formally recognized England's Caribbean possessions. Spain later signed a similar agreement with France under the Peace of Ryswick in 1697, through which the French agreed to end their buccaneer attacks.
However, pirate attacks on Cuban settlements continued as late as 1688, with the Welsh privateer Henry Morgan being dispatched by the governor of Jamaica to investigate reports of a possible Spanish attack. After landing on Cuba's southern coast, Morgan's force advanced inland to Puerto del Príncipe and raided it.
18th century Cuba's militia system was expanded during the 18th century, growing from one company in 1600 to three full battalions and 16 separate companies by 1770. Several Cuban militia units partook in military campaigns beyond the confines of Cuba during the 18th century.
Auxiliary labour battalions manned by Black slaves were also formed to augment Cuban forces. Slaves were initially pressed into service only for construction work, although by 1765, select slaves were also pressed into service with the artillery corps.
War of Jenkin's Ear
The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict between Britain and Spain and was the first major European war fought expressly for Caribbean aims, as both colonial powers sought to secure their trade routes in the region. Early in the conflict, British forces in Jamaica concentrated their attacks on the Spanish Main instead of Cuba, as Havana lay too far windward from Jamaica to attack quickly and return in the shortest time possible. Although the Spanish Havana squadron was reinforced at the onset of the conflict, the size of the British force in the Caribbean compelled Spain to adopt a largely defensive posture in the region.
In July 1741, British forces seized Guantánamo Bay largely unopposed, in preparation for their attack on Santiago de Cuba. British attempts to invade Cuba from the bay failed, and its forces were withdrawn from Guantánamo by December.