Cuba Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Cuba appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 4 different states, among them Cuba, Spain, Taino, Cuba (Spain).
CubaExplore the history of Cuba in the interactive map
Who ruled the land of Cuba, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| 1000 | Taino 77% |
| 1100 | Taino 77% |
| 1200 | Taino 77% |
| 1300 | Taino 77% |
| 1400 | Taino 77% |
| 1492 | Taino 100% |
| 1600 | Cuba (Spain) 100% |
| 1650 | Cuba (Spain) 100% |
| 1700 | Cuba (Spain) 100% |
| 1783 | Spain 100% |
| 1800 | Spain 100% |
| 1815 | Spain 100% |
| 1880 | Spain 100% |
| 1900 | Spain 100% |
| 1914 | Cuba 100% |
| 1920 | Cuba 100% |
| 1930 | Cuba 100% |
| 1938 | Cuba 100% |
| 1945 | Cuba 100% |
| 1960 | Cuba 100% |
| 1994 | Cuba 100% |
| 2010 | Cuba 100% |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Cuba?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Cuba belonged to Cuba, Spain, Taino, Cuba (Spain).
What was Cuba part of in 1000?
On the border map for 1000, most of the territory of today's Cuba lay within Taino.
What was Cuba part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Cuba lay within Spain.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.