1810 American settlers in East and West Florida declare independence and rebel against Spain for control of land . April 28, 1823 With the newly acquired lands, the United States became within 90 kilometers of Cuba. Secretary of State John Quincy Adam sends a letter to Spanish Minister Hugh Nelson in which he speculates on the likelihood of a "annexation of Cuba" by the United States within half a century, despite deterrents: “But there are laws of political as well as physical gravitation; and if an apple separated from its native tree by storm can only fall to the ground, Cuba, forcibly cut off from its own unnatural ties with Spain and unable to provide for its own needs, can only gravitate towards the North American Union, which, by the same law of nature cannot reject it from its bosom. »- Cubans call Adam's policy fruta madura (ripe fruit); Washington waits until the fruit is ripe to pick. On this day, 191 years ago, John Quincy Adams expressed his prediction about the future of Cuban-American contacts. The Cuban wars of independence were only 15 years away from his prediction. These wars of independence continue to influence Cuba's cultural and political attitude toward Europe and the United States; This is partly due to the externalities involved in the reshaping of the social structure in the aftermath of the revolution. The intentions and motivations of each faction: the rebels, the United States government, the Spanish government, American public opinion, and Cuban public opinion varied widely to an extent that caused even greater concern going forward. . From an outsider's perspective, the situation in Cuba appeared to be a continuation of the revolution...... middle of paper ...."Jane Franklin – Cuba and the United States: A History chronological. Np, nd Web. April 28, 2014.. Pérez, Louis A.. Cuba between empires, 1878-1902 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983 Print. Investment: American Economic Expansion in the Hemisphere, 1865-1900 (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1998). “Captain General Ramon Blanco Erenas Proposal,” April 28, 2014. Smith, Verity. Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature. Taylor & Francis, 1997. "The Ten Years' War (1868-78)." Trask, David F.. Spain in 1898. Collector's Edition Norwalk, CT : Easton Press, 2002..