thumb|300px|cuba's provinces as shown on a 1910s map right|thumb|300px|the seal of the province of oriente. oriente (spanish for "east" or "orient") was one of six provinces of cuba until 1976. it was known as "santiago de cuba province" before 1905. the name is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country. the provincial capital was santiago de cuba. fidel and raÃºl castro were born there. the province was split up in 1976, with the administrative re-adjustment proclaimed by cuban law number 1304 of july 3, 1976.fifth united nations conference on the standardization of geographical names, vol. ii, published by the united nations, new york, 1991 the territory of "oriente" is nowadays represented by 5 provinces: * las tunas province * granma province * holguÃ­n province * santiago de cuba province * guantÃ¡namo province ==history== diego velazquez founded the capital of oriente province in 1514 and named it santiago de cuba. the province comprises 22 municipalities and is cubaâs largest province containing about one third of the countryâs population. oriente province is in the most eastern region of cuba with a population of 1,797,606.^âoriente- cubaâ. cuban commemorative coins. o9 mar. 2010. http://www.a1acoins.com/ it stretches across ^âoriente- cubaâ. cuban commemorative coins. o9 mar. 2010. http://www.a1acoins.com/ and consists of various mountain ranges with the sierra maestra region having cubaâs highest mountain peak and elevation in pico turquino. oriente province is the cradle of much of cubaâs history being the place of fidel and raul castroâs birth. jose marti was killed in battle in dos rios and many guerrllla wars have also taken place in oriente.cubaâs first guerilla-style war was in 1523.^âon the importance of oriente provinceâ. history of cuba. 02 feb. 2010 http://www.historyofcuba.com/cuba.htm against the advancing spaniards in the sierra maestra mountains. some of cubaâs oldest cities are in oriente province (such as baracoa) and carry a rich history of cubaâs struggle for independence and racial equality. throughout the 1800s. a significant amount of african slaves were brought to cuba to work at the sugar mills, although many were brought from haiti and other neighboring islands because they were also cheap and efficient labor. open warfare broke out after an independence movement and lasted from 1867 to 1878.^ "cuba." the columbia electronic encyclopedia. Â© 1994, 2000-2006 on infoplease. Â© 2000â2007 pearson education, publishing as infoplease. 09 mar. 2010 . slavery was finally abolished in 1886, but life for many afro-cubans remains a struggle, especially in oriente province. after the occupation of the spanish ended in 1899, ori
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