This article examines the evolution of trade exchange between Spain and Cuba from 1878 to 1898, the variations in the volume and composition of the transactions and their effect on Spanish and Cuban economies as a whole, reviewing the impact of peninsular exports on the colonial market. The conclusions point to an instrumental overvaluation of Antillas' mercantile domination aiming to obtain adventages in Spain's commercial policy, which nevertheless helped to foster an awareness of dependence on the eve of the war of independence.