xiv Chronology
pointedly attacking the displacement and forced land loss of Mexican
communities in the U.S. West.
1891 José Martí’s essay “Our America” describes the link between the
descendants of Spanish colonialism, bringing together Mexicans,
Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, and other Latin Americans in
one group. He describes this group as fundamentally different from
those inhabitants of places influenced by the history of English,
French, or other forms of European colonialism. In this way, Martí is
one of the earliest writers to speak of a shared Latino history. He also
identifies the imperialist tendencies of the United States and argues
that the annexation of Mexico in 1848 was just the first step in U.S.
imperialist ambitions.
1895 Poet and political organizer José Martí helps lead an uprising against
Spanish rule in Cuba. The revolt, a multiracial movement that includes
peasants, elites, and middle-class Cubans, will eventually help lead to
the Spanish-American War in 1898.
1898 After decades of anti-Spanish organizing and military uprisings by
Cuban and Puerto Rican independence leaders, the United States
declares war on Spain after the USS Maine explodes in Havana Harbor.
By July 1898 Spain surrenders, and the war ends. After the war, the
United States proceeds to occupy Cuba and Puerto Rico with a mili-
tary government.
In the aftermath of the war between Spain and the United States, U.S.
troops install a military government in Puerto Rico. The ensuing U.S.
occupation dramatically alters Puerto Rico’s economy. The country’s
agricultural sector is increasingly based on exports rather than on sub-
sistence farming and addressing the daily living needs of Puerto
Ricans.
1903 The Platt Amendment states that the United States will end the mili-
tary occupation of Cuba if Cuba provides land for U.S. military instal-
lations (land that will eventually become the U.S.-controlled
Guantánamo Bay military base). The Platt Amendment is incorporated
into the Cuban-American Treaty of Relations. The Platt Amendment
and the Cuban-American Treaty of Relations are instrumental in
North American businesses’ eventual domination of the Cuban sugar
industry and contribute to decades of anti-U.S. sentiment among
Cuban nationalists.
1910 The dislocation and violence of the Mexican Revolution as well as the
promise of jobs and higher wages in the United States lead thousands
of Mexicans to immigrate to the United States. By 1920 there will be
nearly 500,000 Mexican-born people in the United States.
1916 The U.S. military invades the Dominican Republic. The military occu-
pation lasts until 1924, and during this period the United States helps
