cuban revolution
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The Cuban Revolution1953-1959 By Ian Sherriff and David Ran
Overview:
● Overthrow of the Batista Regime by revolutionaries
● Seizure of US Businesses ● Communist-leaning reforms ● Latin American country in the "Soviet Camp"
Causes:
● Legacy and ideas of Spanish-American War ● US Imperialism in Cuba ● Poverty and Disparity of Wealth ● Corruption Under US-backed Batista regime
Political Cartoon 1898:
Spanish-American War
● The Cuban War of Independence ● Cuba gains independence from Spain in
1898 ● 30,000 Cubans die fighting ● Cuba becomes an economic colony of the
US, no independence
The US in Cuba
● Americans own most Cuban businesses ● American Mafia involved in illicit activities
○ gambling, prostitution, drug trafficking○ 11,500 prostitutes in Havana○ Havana becomes a "degenerate playground"
● Cubans starve as their resources are taken
by US businessmen
Gambling:
US Possessions in Cuba
● In 1950's American investors own approx:
○ 90% of mines○ 40% of sugar industry○ 50% of railways○ 60% of arable land○ all oil companies
Life in Cuba
● Foreign investors and Cuban elites prosper ● Other Cubans in poverty
○ 43% illiterate○ Mean annual income is $91.25
● shrinking middle class ● US army guards American properties
Fulgencio Batista
● Cuban dictator, military man ● Initially a popular reformer ● Leaves office, returns through a coup d'etat
○ "lazier", more oppressive
● Clearly supported by the US government
Fidel Castro
● Born into a wealthy Cuban family ● Lawyer by profession ● Becomes radicalized as a university student ● Leader of Cuban revolutionaries
Attack on the Moncada Barracks
● July 26, 1953 ● Fidel Castro and 160 followers attack the
Moncada Barracks in Santiago, Cuba ● Most are captured, tortured, executed ● Fidel Castro also captured
Moncada Barracks:
Aftermath of Moncada
● Castro held on trial:○ Acts as own lawyer○ Gives a stirring defense in the speech
History Will Absolve Me○ Pardoned by Batista (overconfident)
● Castro's movement gains recognition ● Attack is a military failure, but political
success
The Granma
● Castro exiled, meets Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara in Mexico
● Creates the 26th of July Movement
○ date of the Moncada attack
● Invades Cuba with 82 men on the yacht the Granma
Granma (Not Grandma):
Difficulty in Cuba
● Castro's army ambushed and nearly destroyed shortly after landing
● A dozen men escape to Sierra Maestra
Mountains ● Guerrilla warfare is conducted ● Ranks later filled by peasants
Falling Action
● Batista is hated by the Cubans ● Batista attempts to stifle uprising with
brutality ● Castro gains widespread peasant support ● US redacts support to Batista
○ Aid to the Cuban military is cut.
Operacion Verano
● Batista sends 12,000 troops to Sierra Maestra Mountains○ Poorly trained and poorly led○ Aims to defeat the few hundred rebels
● Rebel army more motivated, better led ● Operación Verano fails ● Rebels pursue retreating army
Batista Flees
● Rebels capture Santiago and Santa Clara● Batista flees to Portugal & Spain (F. Franco)
○ Esconds with vast sums of money● Rebels enter Havana on New Year's Day
1959
Immediate Aftermath
● New government composed of different anti-Batista parties
● Castro lacks power to independently rule
Cuba○ Yet holds most power in the government○ Has support of the peasants
● Castro moves towards complete domination of government
Castro's Direction
● Castro denies being a communist ● Plans to pursue neither capitalism nor
communism ● US and Cuba hostile (US backed Batista) ● Cuba looks to the USSR
US Alarm
● Cuba leads to communism and dictatorship under Castro
● Cuba has formal relations with USSR ● Castro nationalizes all US property in Cuba
○ US puts trade embargo on Cuba○ USSR buys Cuban sugar
● Many Cubans leave country
Cubans Flee:
Bay of Pigs Invasion
● CIA trains Cuban emigres to invade Cuba and spark an uprising against Castro
● Most are captured; no uprising occurs ● Embarrassment for Kennedy Administration● Castro grows yet more popular ● US-Cuba relations further strained
Bay of Pigs:
Missile Crisis
● Soviets place nuclear missiles in Cuba ● Kennedy demands that the Soviets remove
the missiles ● Cuba acts as a pawn for US-Soviet hostility
Political Cartoon:
Life in Cuba
● Literacy and health care improves ● Gambling and prostitution lessened ● Loss of democracy and rights ● Dependency on the USSR
Photo Credits (in order):http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/72200/72288/72288_pr_flag_col_lg.gifhttp://unitedstatesimperialism.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/300px-10kmiles3.jpg?w=477http://sylverblaque.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/1950s-cuba-casino.jpg?w=300&h=219http://test.roundearthmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/07/cuba2.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ujXB-ghAdUY/T2yco3FTSmI/AAAAAAAAAK0/YIfWiF0B85s/s1600/book-pile.jpghttp://www.nndb.com/people/118/000023049/fidel-castro-sm.jpghttp://www.workers.org/2007/world/Moncada_barracks.jpghttp://www.cubagob.cu/otras_info/historia/imagenes/hf39.jpghttp://affordablehousinginstitute.org/blogs/us/wp-content/uploads/havana_1959_01.jpghttp://cubanology.com/cubareport/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/CubanrefugeesLifeMag.jpghttp://www.photographytips.com.au/images/bay-of-pigs-cuba-usa-war-photos1.jpghttps://brookwoodhistory.wikispaces.com/file/view/cuban_missile_crisis_cartoon.gif/33950893/cuban_missile_crisis_cartoon.gifhttp://www.trinity.edu/jdunn/images/Castro/castro.jpg