This later change was carried out by the Count of Floridablanca under Charles III to strengthen the Spanish position vis-a-vis the British in the Caribbean.

The local governors of the larger Captaincy General had previously been overseen in political and military matters by the president of the Audiencia of Santo Domingo.

Since the 16th century the island of Cuba had been under the control of the governor-captain general of Santo Domingo, who was at the same time, president of the audiencia there.

After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Cuba experienced an exodus of settlers, and its population remained small for the next two centuries.

In 1565 the Adelantado Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who was also Captain General of the Spanish treasure fleet which rendezvoused in Havana, established the first permanent Spanish settlement in Florida, San Agustín, initially bringing the province under the administrative control of Cuba, although due to distance and sea currents, Florida's government was granted the right to correspond directly with the Council of the Indies.

In 1607 Philip III created the Captaincy General of Cuba as part of larger plans to defend the Caribbean against foreign threats.

In 1650 Cuba received a large influx of refugees when the English captured Jamaica and expelled the Spanish settlers in the colony.

The British capture of the island in 1762 during the Seven Years' War proved to be a turning point in the history of Cuba and Spanish America in general.

During the year they controlled Cuba, the British and their American colonies conducted an unprecedented amount of trade with the island.

A new emphasis was placed on appointing military men to the governorship-captaincy general of Cuba, many of whom were later rewarded with the post of Viceroy of New Spain.

An intendencia de hacienda y guerra was set up in Havana to oversee government and military expenditures and to promote the local economy.

These reforms, especially the institution of the intendancy, initiated a dramatic social and economic transformation of the island during the last half of the 18th century and early 19th.

The agricultural economy was aided by the gradual opening of Cuban ports to foreign ships, especially after the loss of the mainland due to the independence wars.

During the American Revolutionary War Spain recaptured colonial Florida (which at that time included Gulf Coast lands extending all the way to the Mississippi River) from Great Britain, which was ratified in the 1783 Treaty of Paris.

The Audiencia of Santo Domingo was formally moved to Santa María del Puerto Príncipe (today, Camagüey) five years later, after temporarily residing in Santiago de Cuba.

The Spanish Constitution of 1812, enacted by the Cortes of Cádiz – which served as a parliamentary Regency after Ferdinand VII was deposed – declared the territory of the Captaincy General an integral part of the Spanish Monarchy and transformed it into a province with its own elected diputación provincial, a governing board with joint administrative and limited legislative powers.

In 1851 the filibustering Lopez Expedition from the United States led by Narciso López and William Crittenden failed with many of the participants being executed.

Three years later the territory was the subject of the Ostend Manifesto by which several American diplomats discussed a scheme to purchase Cuba from Spain, or even take it by force.

[8] Cuba's sugar trade in the 19th century dramatically grew and along with it so did the usage of slavery and number of slaves on the island.

Also in 1830 the United States became Cuba's biggest trading partner as the US was cut off from its previous supply in the British West Indies and Hispaniola.