Final answer:
The Arawak and Ciboney Indians, Cuba's original inhabitants, were almost completely wiped out by European-introduced diseases, leading to the importation of enslaved Africans for labor on sugar plantations. The correct answer is all of the above.
Step-by-step explanation:
The original inhabitants of Cuba were the Arawak and Ciboney Indians, who faced catastrophic declines due to the introduction of diseases by Europeans, leading to their near eradication. This dramatic population decrease began a cycle of violence, fundamentally shaping the history of the Americas.
With the native populations decimated, enslaved Africans were forcibly brought to the Caribbean to work on sugar plantations -- a crucial component of the colonial economy. Whole societies in the Caribbean, including Cuba, were destroyed not only by conflict but by the introduction of diseases such as smallpox, against which the Indigenous people had no immunity.
The Spanish colonization of Cuba and the larger Caribbean region had devastating effects on the Amerindian populations.
It is estimated that upon Columbus's arrival in 1492, approximately 100,000 Amerindians resided in Cuba, a number that was significantly reduced over the following decades due to violence, slavery, exile, and disease. By the time Spain lost control of Cuba in 1898, the Amerindian presence had all but vanished, and the economy had come to rely heavily on the work of African slaves in the sugar plantations.