Cuba

Charlie DornfeldRachel GonzalezDavid Stingley

• Spanish colony until 1902 when Cuba declared independence

 • The Platt Amendment of 1901 allowed the U.S. to intervene in Cuban affairs, however, Cuba ended this in 1934.

 • From 1933-1958, Fulgencio Bastista was dictator/president, leading a corrupt state that favored the police and army.

 • During his rule, Batista was an ally of the United States, but the Mafia was also very tied to Cuba at this time and used it as base outside of the U.S.

Background of Cuba

Background of Cuba, continued• Overall, Cuba was prosperous during Bastisa's time, thanks to a growth of tourism (especially of Americans, who saw Cuba as a sort of wild vacation spot), increase of industrial plants, and reduced sugar production.

 • However, prosperity was uneven and many people already in poverty did not see improvements in their situation. There were lots of problems with illiteracy and lack of medical care.

 • Unusual for a dictator, Batista had not really done away with the freedom of speech, and many students held violent protests against the government.

Fidel Castro

• Fidel Castro Ruz was born on August 13, 1926 on a sugar plantation in eastern Cuba. He was the son of a two Spanish Immigrant parents who successfully invested and ran a sugar plantation. He was the third born child out of 8 brothers and sisters.

 • His two brothers were named Ramon and Raul. He had four sisters who were named Angelita, Enma, Agustina, and Juanita. Also, Fidel had 2 half siblings named Lidia and Pedro Emilio who were children of his first family.

Fidel Castro continued... • At the age of 13, he organized a strike for the sugar workers who were working on his fathers plantation.  As a result he was sent to a Jesuit Boarding school.  

 • Eventually he graduated from the University of Havana. He earned a degree in law. With his great public speaking skills he soon became the head of the guerrilla party that was trying to bring down Fulgencio Batista.

 • When he was put on trial for treason, he read a 62 page speech that he wrote for the courts.

Fidel Castro Continued...• Castro abandoned practicing law to lead guerilla attacks against the Batista administration. He joined with Che Guevara, who became his right hand man during the entire Cuban Revolution. Together, they created the 26th of July Movement.

•  The first couple of attacks were unsuccessful in regards to seizing the Cuban government, but Batista finally gave in on January 1st, 1959, when he fled Cuba out of fear of the guerillas.

Bay of Pigs Invasion• 1961- The United States attacked Cuba in an attempt to

overthrow Fidel Castro. This was an unsuccessful mission, despite having enough men and supplies (many of the men were Cuban exiles). The attack was an embarrassment to the United States and a disappointing attempt to defeat communism in Cuba.

• In 1960, President Dwight Eisenhower supported a program to take over Cuba. The CIA ran the program, recruiting and training the exiles participating in the invasion. President John F. Kennedy came into Eisenhower's choice without full knowledge of the situation or the advantage of having supported the choice at all. Since it was a little too late, Kennedy was influenced to support the invasion as well.

•  The goal was to take over a beach, create a government and influence the Cubans to help overthrow Castro. The attack started with an air raid, which Castro completely expected, having his own air force hide strategically. The rest of the invasion began, with over 1,000 troops hitting the beaches. The Cuban air force attacked the troops, and cut off supplies to them by sinking a couple of their ships. Other supply ships heard of the news and never returned to aid the troops.

Invasion Continued...• The U.S. military wanted their air

force to attack Cuba's, but Kennedy insisted on only using the planes to cover for those flown by the exiles, which were shot down.

•  The U.S. navy left the area when the fight was clearly losing, and the exiles had no where to return.

• Most of the exiles were consequently taken as prisoners.

•  The exact death toll varies from sources, but almost all of the exiles were captured, and around 200 of the invaders died.

• Batista supporters were executed, but many were freed in exchange for various goods.

Cuban Missile Crisis• It was the "closest the world ever came to a nuclear war"• The United States army was extremely ready and the Cuban

Army was as well, having been prepared to use nuclear  weapons for defense.

•  The United States and the Soviet Union competed in an arms race--the Soviet Union had enough missiles to be launched against Europe but the United States had more, enough to take out the Soviet Union.

•  In 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev decided on planting missiles in Cuba, a strategic plan of defense against any potential U.S. attacks.

• Castro approved of Khrushchev's plan, since he sensed another attack from the United States after the Bay of Pigs invasion. He worked with the Soviet Union that summer, secretly building missiles.

Crisis Continued• The United States received reconnaissance photographs in October

1962, which showed the missiles being built in Cuba.• President John Kennedy was notified and began compiling a group

of his advisors, EX-COMM, to assess the issue.• Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine around the island, to seize

shipments of Soviet Union weapons. He announced publicly that the missiles had been discovered and that Cuba was being quarantined. Kennedy also announced that if any missile was launched from Cuba, it would be construed as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States. He demanded immediate removal of missiles and any other weapons from Cuba.

• Kennedy ordered low-level reconnaissance missions once every two hours. Khrushchev finally responded, saying he would remove missiles if the U.S. would not invade Cuba.  The crisis worsened on October 27th, when a U-2 was shot down over Cuba. Khrushchev demanded the removal of U.S. missiles in Turkey, promising to remove missiles in Cuba. Kennedy agreed with the first request.

•  October 28th Agreement-- The United States formally agreed to not invade Cuba, and demanded removal of Soviet bombers and personnel from Cuba.

Effects of the Bay of Pigs Invasion 

Effects are still being felt today in the Cuban communities of the U.S. Made Castro the undisputed leader of Cuba. Made certain that communism win out the island nation. Made the United States CIA and government look incompetent. Started the Cuban Missile Crisis.

 

Effects of the Missile CrisisThe Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world came to nuclear war. Kennedy put a naval quarantine on Cuba which blocked shipment on military supplies. The U.S. made a deal with the Soviets to pull its missliles out of Turkey and promised not to invade Cuba, for the removal of Cuban missiles.

Fidel Castro only looks nice

Bibliography

Castañeda, Jorge G. Compañero : The Life and Death of Che Guevara. New York: Knopf, 1997.

Faria Jr. M.D., Miguel A. Cuba in Revolution---Escape from a Lost Paradise. Grand Rapids: Hacienda, Incorporated, 2002.

Granado, Alberto. Traveling With Che Guevara: The Making of a Revolutionary. New York: Newmarket P, 2004.

"Cuban Missile Crisis: Summary." Oracle ThinkQuest Library. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://library.thinkquest.org/11046/days/index.html>.