The Isla de la Juventud (“Island of Youth”), formerly long known as the Isle of Pines, lies off the southwestern coast of Cuba. The second-largest island in the Cuban archipelago, it is also one of the ten largest islands in the West Indies.
The island was encountered and named ‘La Evangelista’ by Columbus in 1494; cave drawings point to an ancient indigenous population. Following the Spanish-American War it was tentatively claimed by the United States, but was ceded to Cuba in 1925, at a time when U.S. interests still controlled the bulk of its real estate. Unlike most of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud never saw industrial-scale production of tobacco or sugarcane.
Its area is about 900 square miles, and the island today has around 80,000 inhabitants. It is a special administrative region of Cuba with its capital at Nueva Gerona. The island features prolific pine forests; lumber, fruits and vegetables, kaolin clay, and charcoal are major exports. Its shores, including a volcanic black-sand beach, are frequented by tourists.
It is home to the former Presidio Modelo, a panopticon-style fortified prison built in the 1920s. Fidel and Raúl Castro were held here from 1953-55, and the prison was later used by the revolutionary government but is today a museum and a national monument.
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