History 1492 Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba and claimed the island for Spain. 1511 Cuba is settled by Diego Columbus and Spain appoints him Governor ofCuba. Cuba will stay under Spanish rule for the next 400 years. 1514 The city of Havana is established. 1607 Havana is officially named the capital of Cuba. 1748 The University of San Jerónimo opens in Havana. 1763 The English and Spanish government make a trade: Florida (which had been captured by the Spanish) for Havana. 1821-1831 Between 1821 and 1831 more than three-hundred expeditions bring an estimated sixty thousand slaves to Cuba. 1868 The "Ten Years War" begins between Cuba and Spain. 1892 The Cuban Revolutionary Party is founded. 1959 The Revolution 1961 April 17. Cuban exiles, under direction of the CIA,invade Cuba at Bay of Pigs and are defeated by the Cuban army. The Cuban Missile Crisis begins. 1976 Cuba gets a new constitution and becomes a socialist state.