Final answer:
A protectorate is a state-controlled and protected by another sovereign authority. In the case of Cuba's post-Treaty of Portsmouth, it meant limited Cuban autonomy with significant U.S. oversight under the Platt Amendment. Only U.S. presence at Guantanamo Bay remained after the Amendment's repeal under Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy.
Step-by-step explanation:
A protectorate is a state that is controlled and protected by another sovereign state or power. After the Treaty of Portsmouth, the United States made Cuba a protectorate, this meant that while Cuba was an independent nation on paper, the U.S. essentially governed aspects of its foreign policy and economic agreements through the Platt Amendment.
This agreement ensured the United States had the right to intervene in Cuban affairs to preserve Cuban independence and guaranteed stability, as well as granting the U.S. a naval base at Guantánamo Bay. However, Cuba was significantly restrained in making treaties with other nations that could threaten its autonomy and had limited control over its affairs.
It wasn’t until Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy that the Platt Amendment was partially repealed, leaving only the U.S.'s lease on Guantánamo Naval Station intact. Thus, the concept of a protectorate generally involves a dominant power offering protection, often in exchange for substantial control over the protectorate's foreign policy and sometimes its internal affairs.