Cuba, the largest island on the Antilles, was originally divided into 29 chiefdoms. Most of the native Taino settlements later became the site of Spanish colonial cities retaining the original Taino names, for example; Havana, Batabano, Camaguey, Baracoa and Bayamo.

The name Cuba comes from the Taino language; however the exact meaning of the name is unclear but it may be translated either as the Taino word Cubao which means "where fertile land is abundant", or the Taino word coabana which means "great place"