Brian Pollitt worked in Cuba from 1963-68 as Technical Director of the Commission of Social Studies, carrying out rural surveys and appraising the socio-economic conditions of the Cuban peasantry. Subsequently, he carried out frequent periods of fieldwork, focussing on the economic and social history of modern Cuba with special reference to the sugar economy.  From 1995-2015, he was the principal organiser of the charity ‘Scottish Medical Aid for Cuba’, He is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Glasgow University.