This overview of Cuban history and politics has been updated and revised to include a new afterword on the current political situation and an expanded guide to selected reference literature.

Spanning the history of the island from pre-Columbian times to the present, this highly acclaimed survey examines Cuba's political and economic development within the context of its international relations and continuing struggle for self-determination. The dualism that emerged in Cuban ideology--between liberal constructs of patria and radical formulations of nationality --is fully investigated as a source not only of national tension but of competing notions of liberty, equality, and justice which would eventually determine the form and function of Cuban mobilization. Perez integrates local and provincial developments with issues of class, race, and gender to give students a full and fascinating account of the Cuban history of struggle for nationality. The new, second edition includes the latest research on Cuba, adding a new chapter on the political and economic changes that have occurred since the Soviet Union stopped subsidizing for the Cuban economy.