Florida, state, United States: Relations with Latin America and the Caribbean

Close to Cuba, Florida has often been involved in the affairs of that island. During the latter half of the 19th cent., Cubans rebelling against Spain received sanctuary and aid in Florida, and the state enthusiastically supported and profited economically from the Spanish-American War (1898), in which Tampa was the chief U.S. base. Florida's relationship with Cuba became even closer in the 20th cent. Political refugees from the Cuban revolution of 1958–59 poured into Florida by the thousands, creating acute resettlement problems. In 1980 more than 100,000 Cuban refugees came to the United States, mostly through Florida, after Fidel Castro briefly opened the port of Mariel to a flotilla of privately chartered U.S. ships (see Cuba).

In the early 1990s, Florida was again the receiving ground for thousands of refugees, this time from Haiti, following the 1991 military coup in that country, as well as another wave from Cuba in 1994. In the 21st cent., central Florida has seen a significant immigration of Puerto Ricans. Miami has been profoundly influenced by the massive influx of Cubans and other Caribbean and Latin American people, both culturally and commercially. The city functions as the trade center of Latin America.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• The Late 20th and Early 21st Centuries
• Relations with Latin America and the Caribbean
• From Depression to Postwar Growth
• Land Booms
• Statehood, Civil War, and Reconstruction
• U.S. Occupation
• English Colonization
• Early Spanish and French Exploration
• Government, Politics, and Higher Education
• Economy
• Geography
• Facts and Figures

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