Lack of inexpensive fuel and comparatively few raw materials have hindered the development of heavy industry. Trade and credit agreements have been made with the Soviet Union and its allies to help Cuba build factories. Tourism was once a source of income second only to the production of sugar. After the revolution in 1958 tourism declined, as hotels and casinos were seized by the Castro government. Since the mid-1970s tourism has again become a major source of income.
More tourists visit the island now than did before the revolution.
Most of them come from Canada, Europe, and other countries of Latin America. People Cuba was a colony of Spain until 1898. The great majority of its white population is of Spanish descent. The Indians who lived on the island when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492 were Taino and Ciboney. They were almost completely eliminated by disease, warfare, and the hardships of slavery.