 In 1898 Spain's four centuries of rule over Cuba came to an end when U.S. troops intervened on the side of rebel fighters.Independence, however, proved illusory, with the United States controlling Cuba's foreign policy and much of its economy, while strong-man presidents did little to foster freedom and democracy.Artists of the early Republican era continued much as before, painting landscapes and scenes of Cuban life in the traditional European style, some of them showing light touches of Impressionism.