There is real concern by the 1840s about preserving Cuba's colonial status.

Still fearful of a slave rebellion, or even an actual end to slavery forced on a weak Spain by Britain, the plantocracy looks toward the United States for a possible permanent relationship.

Painfully aware of the problems in the British Caribbean since the abolition of slavery and its impact on sugar production, the property owners see in the United States, particularly in the southern states, a slave-owning society similar to Cuba's own plantation economy.

A series of slave revolts in Cuba in the early 1840s increases apprehension and the desire for a permanent relationship with the United States.

United States interest in Cuba and in its strategic location grows, particularly after the war with Mexico and the acquisition of California.