Cuba Cuba , an island country, the largest island in the Caribbean Islands. The climate is tropical, with heavy rain and easterly winds which often become hurricanes. The world's second largest producer of sugar, Cuba has a centrally planned economy.
Tobacco is another major crop.
Iron, nickel, and manganese are Cuba's main mineral resources. Compared to its neighbours, Cuba has a sizeable industrial sector and high standards of social services. The loss of Soviet aid and trade since the Soviet Union's disintegration in 1991 has had serious consequences on the economy, and social services have suffered. Migrations of agriculturist, pottery-making Arawak Indians from northern South America began to displace them in eastern Cuba after c .1000 BC, but the Ciboney remained in the west. Cuba was discovered by Columbus in 1492 but it was not realized that it was an island until it was circumnavigated in 1508.