[huh-van-uh] 
| 1. | Spanish, Habana. a seaport in and the capital of Cuba, on the NW coast. 1,800,000. |
| 2. | a cigar made in Cuba or of Cuban tobacco. |
[kyoo-buh; Sp. koo-vah] | a republic in the Caribbean, S of Florida: largest island in the West Indies. 10,999,041; 44,218 sq. mi. (114,525 sq. km). Capital: Havana. |
| Ha·van·a 1 (hə-vān'ə) The capital and largest city of Cuba, in the northwest part of the island country on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded on its present site in 1519, it became the capital of Spanish Cuba in 1552. The demolition of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana's harbor in February 1898 was the immediate cause of the Spanish-American War. Population: 2,200,000. Ha·van'an adj. & n. |
| Ha·van·a 2 (hə-vān'ə) n. A cigar made in Cuba, especially one of fine quality. [After Havana1.] |
Republic consisting of the island of Cuba and other nearby islands. It lies in the Caribbean Sea at the entrance of the Gulf of Mexico. Its capital and largest city is Havana.
Note: The sinking of the United States battleship Maine in Havana harbor led to the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Note: Fidel Castro took control of the Cuban government in 1959. The United States broke off relations with Cuba in 1961, after Castro exhibited strong left-wing leanings, established a system of military justice, and confiscated American investments in banks, industries, and land. Cuba then formed a close attachment to the Soviet Union.
Note: In 1961, under the administration of John F. Kennedy, American-trained Cuban exiles attempted to invade Cuba, landing at the Bay of Pigs, only to be easily defeated by Castro's forces. The Kennedy administration was sharply criticized for the Bay of Pigs fiasco.
Note: The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 occurred as a result of a Soviet buildup of medium-range missiles (capable of striking targets in the United States) in Cuba.
Note: In 1980, Cuban refugees began pouring into the United States when Castro allowed free emigration.
Note: The collapse of communism in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union has left Cuba as one of the last communist states.
Capital of Cuba and largest city in the country, located in western Cuba; the largest city and chief port of the West Indies and one of the oldest cities in the Americas.
Note: The sinking of the American battleship Maine in Havana harbor in 1898 led to the Spanish-American War.
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