Cuba was under Spanish rule.
And they were fed up.
Cuba — a small country in the seas between North America and South America — had been under Spanish rule for over 400 years.
Cuba was famous for its sugar cane plantations. Working in these plantations were slaves – mostly native people and people brought over from Africa.
The relationship Cubans had with the Spanish was obviously not a good one.
Many workers wanted an end to slavery. Landowners wanted reduced corruption and lower taxes.
In 1868, the two groups banded together – workers and land owners – and declared a war for freedom.
And that marked the start of the independence movement in Cuba. It came to be known as the Ten Years’ War.
It ended without freedom for Cuba. Spain made promises to placate them by promising reforms and autonomy.
Slavery was officially abolished a few years later.
A few other small reforms were enacted. However, Spain largely failed to keep its promises to the Cuban people.
In 1895, new efforts towards Cuban independence restarted.
The movement was brutal and bloody as many people died in the conflict.
Many prisoners kept by the Spanish were treated extremely poorly resulting in a large number of deaths.
American involvement
The USA was not involved in Cuba.
However, it had economic interests in Cuba.
Americans were made aware of the situation in Cuba by their journalists – newspapers mainly.
Americans came to empathize with the Cubans on humanitarian grounds. Consensus grew among US politicians that they must intervene and stop the Spanish from committing atrocities.
Then, under mysterious circumstances, a US ship was blown up in Cuban seas killing about 260 American crew.
This made matters worse between the US and Spain.
As time progressed, the US pushed Spain to give Cuba independence. The Spanish disagreed to that.
In 1898, the US declared war on Spain.
They demanded independence for Cuba on the grounds of Spain’s ill-treatment of the Cuban people.
The war was almost one-sided.
The American Navy was incredibly well-equipped and defeated Spain relatively fast.
Spain used to rule over Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.
The US had attacked all of these regions because the war was against Spain — even though the war was for the independence of Cuba only.
When the war ended, America had control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Gaum, and the Philippines.
The Philippines was in a different part of the world altogether — it is in Southeast Asia, about 15,000 km away!
Post War
Once the war was over the questions about these regions began to surface.
What would happen to Cuba now?
What about the Philippines? And the other regions that America had taken over from Spain?
Around that time, some leaders in the US thought it was a good idea to have a military base far east in the world.
The Philippines seemed like a good location to have a base in.
From intervening on humanitarian grounds, the USA was now busy thinking about its military expansion.
Many bases were opened in the Philippines. Puerto Rico too.
Those bases remained active for many years.
The Philippines had its own independence movement (like Cuba).
Once the Spanish left, these people fought against American soldiers for years — for independence. Very odd.
What started as a US intervention for humanitarian reasons had turned into an expansion move by the US.
Narratives changed accordingly.
US leaders who had called for an end to violence in foreign lands stopped speaking about it after the war.
Instead, they focussed on the advantages of having a military base in different parts of the world.
Cuba gained independence in 1902 but remained under the USA’s influence for a few more decades.
The Philippines got its independence even later in the 1940s.
Puerto Rico is a part of the US today.
Some famous Americans back then too had opposed this move.
Author Mark Twain questioned the motives. He wondered why the Philippines was taken if the war was about Cuban freedom.
Narrative Shift
We have seen this in many different ways.
When the facts change, narratives also change.
Apple was against large screens and styluses. Now, the iPhone and iPad have giant screens and styluses, a key offering of Apple.
Coca-Cola was marketing a new version of Coke until there was a huge backlash. Then, they started championing the ‘classic’ Coke.
Certain US banks were against digital coins. Now they’re marketing them as an essential for every investor.
We see this happen in finance and investing all the time.
When the markets are rising, experts suggest investing all money in stocks. Gold is considered a waste of money. Real estate is a horrible investment.
When the markets are bad, share markets become “evil” and “wasteful”.
Gold and cash become king.
Neither of the cases is the right approach.
But that’s not how narratives change — the “in fashion” thing to say.
Some narratives float in different periods — depending on what the current situation is.
They change quickly when conditions change.
As investors, It is necessary to not be distracted by these.
The images above were generated using AI tools.
Quick Takes
+The Adani Group will invest Rs 30,000 crore in Kerala over the next 5 years: MD, Adani Ports.
+Japan’s inflation rate rose to 4% in Jan (vs 3.6% in Dec). Core inflation (excludes fresh food) rose to 3.2% (vs 3%).
+India’s forex reserves fell by $2.54 billion to $635.72 billion in the week that ended on 14 Feb.
+PhonePe has started the process for an IPO, as per reports.
+European Central Bank reported a loss of 7.9 billion euros in 2024 (2023: loss of 1.3 billion euros).
+NSE stood as the most valuable unlisted company in India with a Rs 4.70 lakh crore valuation. It is followed by Serum Institute (Rs 2.11 lakh crore) and Zoho Corp (Rs 1.03 lakh crore): Axis Bank Burgundy Private and Hurun India report.
+Hexaware Technologies IPO got listed at a 5.30% gain over its issue price.
+India’s unemployment rate in urban areas fell to 6.4% in Oct-Dec 2024 (compared to 6.5% in the same quarter last year). Male unemployment stagnated at 5.8%, and female unemployment fell to 8.1% (vs 8.6%).
+India’s top 5 export destinations, in terms of year-on-year growth in Jan, were Japan (53.53%), the US (39.02%), Nepal (20.84%), Bangladesh (17.27%), and the UK (14.84%).
+The top 5 import destinations in Jan were Thailand (136.63%), the UK (101.62%), Germany (72.15%), the US (33.46%), and China (17.06%).
+India’s merchandise trade deficit rose 39% annually to $22.99 billion in Jan (vs $21.94 billion in Dec). Exports fell 2.4% to $36.43 billion, and imports rose 10.3% to $59.42 billion: Commerce Ministry.
+Ajax Engineering IPO got listed at an 8.43% discount over its issue price.
6-Day-Course
Theme of the week: income tax
We’ve reached the end of this week’s course that started on Monday. Here’s a test you should take. Get pen and paper!
Question 1:
__________ tax regime has more options for deductions/exemptions to reduce final tax payable.
-Old
-New
-Same in both
Question 2:
If you earn Rs 8 lakh per year, your tax is calculated based on different income slabs, starting from zero and upwards.
-True
-False
Question 3:
In the _________ tax regime, there can be a surcharge applicable above an income of Rs 50 lakh in a financial year.
-Old
-New
-Same in both
Question 4:
In the new tax regime, net tax payable is zero up to a salaried income of Rs 12.75 lakh in a financial year.
-True
-False
Question 5:
After the window of filing your tax return is over, you cannot get back any excess tax that you might have paid during your filing.
-True
-False
Answers:
Q1: Old
Q2: True
Q3: Old
Q4: True
Q5: False
The information contained in this Groww Digest is purely for knowledge. This Groww Digest does not contain any recommendations or advice.
Team Groww Digest