Spanish colonial era[edit]The area surrounding Guantanamo bay was originally inhabited by the Taíno people.[27] On 30 April 1494, Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage, arrived and spent the night. The place where Columbus landed is now known as Fisherman's Point. Columbus declared the bay Puerto Grande.[28] The bay and surrounding areas came under British control during the War of Jenkins' Ear. Prior to British occupation, the bay was referred to as Walthenham Harbor. The British renamed the bay Cumberland Bay. The British retreated from the area after a failed attempt to march to Santiago de Cuba.[28]
Guantanamo Bay during the Spanish–American War[edit]
Main articles: Spanish–American War and 1898 invasion of Guantánamo Bay
During the Spanish–American War, the U.S. fleet attacking Santiago secured Guantánamo's harbor for protection during the hurricane season of 1898. The Marines landed at Guantanamo Bay with naval support, and American and Cuban forces routed the defending Spanish troops. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris of 1898, in which Spain formally relinquished control of Cuba. Although the war was over, the US maintained a strong military presence on the island. In 1901 the US government passed the Platt Amendment as part of an Army Appropriations Bill.[29] Section VII of this amendment readThat to enable the United States to maintain the independence of Cuba, and to protect the people thereof, as well as for its own defense, the government of Cuba will sell or lease to the United States lands necessary for coaling or naval stations at certain specified points to be agreed upon with the President of the United StatesAfter initial resistance by the Cuban Constitutional Convention, the Platt Amendment was incorporated into the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba in 1901.[30] The Constitution took effect in 1902, and land for a naval base at Guantanamo Bay was granted to the United States the following year.[31]
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