Introduction

Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean, is in many ways a remarkable place. Its location gives it this special character. The country lies just inside the tropics, in the Greater Antilles archipelago, between the Dominican Republic and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, with Florida to the north. The island's main crops are sugar cane and tobacco, and much of the land is devoted to agriculture. There are also, however, many areas of unspoilt and outstanding natural beauty. These include the mogotes (limestone hills) in the west, the huge expanses of the Ciénaga de Zapata mangrove swamps in the south, the Sierra Maestra range in the east, and numerous coral reefs and small islands around the main island. At its western end, the island's flora and fauna contain elements from North America, for example native oaks. Further east the mix of organisms gradually becomes truly Antillean. Cuba is, furthermore, sufficiently isolated from other landmasses to ensure that about 50% of its approximately 6500 native plant species are endemics, making it the region's principal centre of speciation.

The human population of about 11.2 million is of mixed racial origin, Spanish speaking and partly urbanised. The country's natural trading partner is the USA and, before 1959, Cuba was for many years virtually a colony of the US.