Cuba is an island in the
Caribbean Sea. It is only 90
miles from Florida.
Fulgencio Batista was a Cuban
dictator. He ruled Cuba from
1934 – 1959.
Under Batista’s rule, most
Cubans were very poor.
Batista’s rule was oppressive.
But Cuba
became a
popular
vacation
destination for
Americans.
And, yes, a few wealthy Cuban
families prospered as long
as they supported the dictator.
However, most Cubans were
poor, illiterate, and oppressed.
High rates of illiteracy and
malnutrition as well as foreign
control of resources made
many Cubans suffer.
Some Cubans were tired of
dictatorship and malnutrition.
They wanted a revolution.
Fidel Castro, the Argentinean –
Ernesto “Che” Guevara, and
other Communist rebels
overthrew Batista in 1959.
A Communist government was
established in Cuba in 1959
under the leadership of
Fidel Castro.
U.S. officials
were worried.
A communist
government
was only
ninety miles
off the
coast of Florida.
As Castro nationalized
industries and Americans
lost investments in Cuba,
U.S. officials prepared Cuban
exiles for an invasion of the
island.
But the Bay of
Pigs invasion
in 1961 failed.
Castro’s forces
defeated the
invading exiles.
Yet in 1962, the Americans
did have some success when
Soviet missiles were
placed on Cuban soil.
President
Kennedy
demanded
that the
missiles
be
removed.
The Soviets agreed and a
nuclear war was averted.
The U.S. began a
trade embargo
with Cuba,
refusing to trade
with Cuba, but
Fidel Castro
remained in
power.
Yet again, a revolution
had changed world history.