Social Studies

December 2013

CUBA

Cuba is an island in the Caribbean. It is approximately 800 miles long.It is located only about 90 miles south of Florida.

The country of Cuba is made up of the island of Cuba as well as a number of much smaller islands.It approximately 800 miles long and its total area is 42,426 square miles (about the size of Pennsylvania).It is divided into these political provinces or territories (like our states) which are home to a total population of 11,163,934 people.The capital city is Havana which has approximately 2.1 million residents.

Havana is Cuba’s capital city. With a population of 2.1 million, it is also the largest city in the country.As the capital, it is the seat of government. Cuba is a socialist state with the president holding most of the power. Cuba’s current president is Raul Castro. Raul Castro is the brother of Fidel Castro, who was president from 1959 until 2008.

Entrance to US Naval Base PrisonGuantanamo Bay, Cuba

Detainee at the US Naval Base FacilityGuantanamo Bay, Cuba

Guantanamo Bay is another city in Cuba.

Guantanamo Bay is different than other cities because it is also home to a US Naval Base.Even though Cuba has been our adversary, we have kept the base here since 1903.

Today, Guantanamo is known by most people because it’s where the US has kept and questioned terrorists from Al Quaeda and the Taliban who have been capture in the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pico Turquino……6,476 ft tall. Beach in Havana

GEOGRAPHY

Even as an island, Cuba has a diverse geography.

It consists of some wide sandy beaches along its shores. It is mostly flat and some rolling plains through most of the island which allows for various crops to planted and used to sustain the food supply for Cubans as well as for products like tobacco and sugar cane which are two of the countries important exports. The southeastern part of the island is higher with the Sierra Maestra moutains. The highest point in these mountains is Pico Turquino which is more than a mile high at 6,476 feet above sea level.

CLIMATE:

Subtropical.

Average temperature is 77 degrees, average high temperature is 90 degrees, average low temperature is 64 degrees.

There are 8-9 hours of sunshine on the average day.

The country averages 4-6 inches of rain per month but from June - October it averages 11-15 inches of rain per month which also coincides with hurricane season. September and October are the most common (and frequent) months for hurricanes in Cuba.

POPULATIONCuba’s population is:White 65.1% (including white Hispanic),Mulatto 23.8% (or mixed race-white, hispanic, and black)Black 10.1%Asian 1%

Spanish is the official language in Cuba.

As a socialist/Communist state, Cuba maintains that it is a secular (or non-religious) state or country. However, there are more than 50 religious denominations represented there. The largest is Roman Catholic at about 85% of church goers and believers. However, there are a growing number of Protestant worshippers with the growing influence of Baptist, Christian and others.

Cuba…it’s importance in American history.

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

In the mid 1890’s, the Cuban people were already at war with Spain who controlled Cuba as a territory. On January 25, 1898, the U.S.S. Maine (an American battleship) arrived in Cuba to offer protection to the 8,000 Americans who lived there. Spain did not like this action.

On February 15, there was an explosion. It turned out to be the U.S.S. Maine blowing up in the harbor which killed 252 American crewmembers and another 8 who died later. In April, the United States and Spain declared war on each other.

Teddy Roosevelt fought in the Spanish-American War and is at the center of the photo above with the Rough Riders who fought with him. The war lasted about 10 weeks with Spain eventually giving up Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Phillipines. The U.S. allowed Cuba to become an independent country but established its naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

From the Spanish-American War through the 1940’s, Cuba held elections in which people voted for someone to serve as president. During the 1950’s with rise of labor unions and the influence of communist/socialist groups, elections were disrupted and there were attempted coups or overthrow of the government.

In 1959, a small but armed group of rebels, led by Fidel Castro, were ultimately successful in overthrowing President Batista and Castro became Prime Minister in February 1959 which made him the head of the state or country. Very quickly, Castro led the government take over of most private property, utilities like electric and water, and put very tight controls on all private industry. Castro led the Communist Party and its take over of Cuba as a one-party state.

During this time (1959-1962), Castro and his government put about 20,000 people in prison each year and executed or killed thousands if they disagreed or didn’t cooperate with him and the government.

Revolution

KENNEDY & THE BAY OF PIGS

In 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy was elected as President of the United States.

At that time, there was already a lot of concern about the safety of Americans in Cuba as well as the safety of the U.S. with a Communist led country like Cuba just 90 miles from the U.S. At the same time, Cuba’s Prime Minister, Fidel Castro, was allying himself and the country with the Soviet Union, already seen as potential threat to the U.S. Cuba became a prime partner with the Soviet Union in philosophy (their view of government) and international relations including trade and their relations with the U.S.

Just a few months after being sworn-in, Kennedy ordered the invasion known as the Bay of Pigs. Cubans were trained and armed by the U.S. and tried to overthrow Castro. It was poorly planned and carried out even worse. Within three days, it failed.

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

It’s 1962…

America discovers Russian nuclear missile sites are under contruction approximately 100 miles away from Florida. These sites can launch Russian nuclear missiles that can basically wipe out entire large American cities including all people and structures/property. This puts the U.S. and the Soviet Union on the brink of nuclear war which can basically destroy the world and most of its population immediately and the in the nuclear fall out that would result for years.

President Kennedy addressed the whole country on live television.

Most people who had tvs were watching and those who didn’t were gathered with family or neighbors who had them or even in public places where tvs were located. He shared the information about what the satellites had found and called for Cuban and the Soviet Union to immediately stop construction and to dismantle what had been built. More importantly, he said the U.S. would not allow Russian missiles to be located there and explained what a danger of allowing them to be so close to America.

President Kennedy announced a naval blockade of Cuba. Kennedy announced that American warships of all types and sizes surrounded the country and would not allow Russian ships to pass through and unload their cargo whether it was construction or missile supplies or any other goods.

Even though the U.S. and the Soviet Union were already competing against each other over nuclear weapons, the Cuban Missile Crisis really resulted in the American people’s knowledge of what is called the Cold War. Missile sites on the island of Cuba are what caused Americans to learn so much more about the situation and began nuclear shelters being built as part of public facilities and many building them under their houses and in their backyards.

This is a political cartoon from 1962 showing the leader of the Soviet Union, Kruschev, battling with the leader of the United States, Kennedy.

Russian ships were moving full speed toward Cuba. American ships had surrounded Cuban waters and were under orders to stop any ship, especially Russian, from entering Cuban waters. At the last minute, Kruschev backed off and eventually halted construction and removed all material from the missile sites. The U.S. agreed to removed missiles from the country of Turkey (which was close to the Soviet Union).

CUBA TODAY

Fidel Castro kept control of the country from 1959 until 2008. During that time, the U.S. and other countries enforced trade embargos which kept many goods and industries out of the country. In 2008, failing health caused Castro to resign and his brother Raul Castro took over. Since then, the government has loosened some control and America has relaxed the embargos.

CUBA TODAY

SOURCES:

www.cia.gov

www.heritage.org

www.infoplease.com

www.nationsonline.org

www.state.gov

www.traveldocs.com

www.tripadvisor.com