The phrase was coined by Walter Goodman, a British painter whose 1873 book of paintings and illustrations about Cuba bears the title "The Pearl of the Antilles, or an Artist in Cuba".

The phrase, even though probably the most famous one, is just one of many praising names given to the island: Being the largest of the Antilles islands, Cuba offered to colonialists the most natural resources and was regularly considered to be the most beautiful. Also, it's geographical position, placed its ports of Havana and Santiago in the best spots to both control the Caribbean and launch expeditions back to Spain.