There are several reasons for ending this book with a chapter on Cuba. First, the Cuban economy has been sui generis since the defeat of Batista at the end of 1958 and has not followed many of the trends found elsewhere in the Caribbean. Second, the performance of the Cuban economy in this period has often been misunderstood as a result of its different accounting systems and because of the extent of state control over prices and the allocation of resources. Third, the economy suffered a collapse after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 that is almost without parallel in the history of the Caribbean. Yet, despite this, Cuba remains – as it always has been in the last 200 years – one of the two largest and most important economies in the region. What happens in Cuba is therefore of great importance for the region as a whole.

The first section of the chapter is devoted to the transition from capitalism to socialism in the years 1959 to 1963. These five years constitute a short period in terms of time, but this was the moment when the foundations of the new Cuba were laid. The tension between the island's government and the United States led to a rapid deterioration in the bilateral relationship and the emergence of the Soviet Union as a new strategic partner, together with China and Eastern Europe in lesser roles. The establishment of socialism was fraught with difficulties, and macroeconomic performance was poor, but Cuba was still able to make substantial progress on the social programs for which it is justly famous. At the same time, the transition introduced a number of structural problems, which have still not been overcome today.