The Cuban Revolution
July 26, 1953 – January 1,1959
By: Arielle Hurst
Timeline
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March 10,1952: Fulgencio Batista seizes
power
July 26,1953: Around one hundred
guerrillas (including Fidel Castro and his
brother) attack the Moncada Barracks; all
were arrested and sentenced
May 1955: Castro and others are
released from prison
June 1955: Castro meets Ernesto Che
Guevara
November 25, 1956: Castro, Che
Guevara, and others set sail on a yacht,
Granma
December 2, 1956: Granma lands
Timeline (Cont.)
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March 13, 1957: Student Revolutionary
Directorate attempts an unsuccessful plot
to assassinate Batista
May 1958: Batista sends an army to stop
Castro and his guerrillas
May 1958-December 1958: Several
battles occur between Batista’s army and
Castro’s guerrillas
January 1, 1959: Batista flees Cuba for
the Dominican Republic; known as the
end of the Cuban Revolution
Origin
The Cuban Revolution was
caused by the takeover
of former president
Fulgencio Batista. Even
though he had the
support of the U.S.,
many Cubans opposed
him. One of them was
an outspoken lawyer,
Fidel Castro. He decided
to take action against
Batista and the
government on July 23,
1953, by leading
approximately one
hundred guerrillas to
attack the Moncada
Barracks. This event
started the Cuban
Revolution.
Moncada Barracks
History
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Before the Cuban Revolution, Cuba elected Fulgencio
Batista as their 14th president. After Batista finished his
term, he made attempts to become president again.
On March 10, 1952, Batista seized power and canceled
all elections, in which he was a candidate.
In response to Batista’s actions, Fidel Castro, a lawyer,
led roughly one hundred guerrillas, including Castro’s
brother Raúl, to attack the Moncada Barracks. This was
called the 26th of July Movement. Castro’s revolt was
crushed and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
In 1954, Batista became president since he was the
only candidate and the next year, he released all
political prisoners, which included Fidel Castro.
Raúl and Fidel went into exile and met Ernesto Che
Guevara in Mexico City in June 1955. Together, they
came up with a plan to overthrow Batista.
History (Cont.)
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They formed a group and returned to Cuba in November 1956
on a small yacht, Granma. They arrived at a location that was
more east than they had planned on December 2, 1956.
Shortly after they exited the ship and began hiking to the
Sierra Maestra mountains, Castro’s group was attacked and
only a small group survived. All who survived regrouped and
continued to hike to the Sierra Maestra mountains.
Months later, the Student Revolutionary Directorate stormed
the Presidential Palace in an attempt to assassinate President
Fulgencio Batista on March 13, 1957. Yet, most were killed,
including their leader Jose Antonio Echeverria.
From that time until the middle of 1958, Castro launched
several attacks in the Sierra Maestra mountains, killing
Batista loyalists and possible threats to Castro. This resulted
in the military control of the mountains.
Batista eventually tried to fight back in the Battle of La Plata
and the Battle of Las Mercedes. Yet, Castro won the Battle of
La Plata and escaped capture in the Battle of Las Mercedes.
History (Cont.)
o
Celebration of
Cuban Revolution
Next, Castro’s group
captured numerous
cities. As Castro’s
group increased and
began to take over,
Batista’s panic rose.
He fled to the
Dominican Republic on
January 1, 1959. This
action became known
as the overthrow of
Batista as well as the
end of the Cuban
Revolution.
Fulgencio Batista
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Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar
was born on January 16,
1901 in Banes, Cuba to
Belisario Batista Palermo and
Carmela Zaldívar González,
Cubans who fought for
independence in Spain.
He joined the army in 1921
as a private. Due to his hard
work and dedication, he
became a sergeant in 1932.
On January 14, 1934, Batista
forced Cuban president
Ramón Grau San Martín to
resign and appointed Carlos
Mendieta to the presidency.
Within five days, The United
States recognized and
supported Cuba’s new
government.
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista (Cont.)
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For the next decade, Batista ruled Cuba from the
background until 1940 when he was elected as Cuba’s
14th president. However, in 1944 Ramón Grau San Martín
was elected as president again and Batista was forced to
relinquish control.
Batista worked devotedly to become president again. His
chance came on March 10, 1952, when he was elected as
president over the former Cuban president, Carlos Prío
Socorras.
Batista struggled to uphold the Cuban citizens’ and the
United States’s trust due to his changes. One day, July
26, 1953, an attack commenced on the Moncada
Barracks. This began the Cuban Revolution.
On January 1, 1959, Batista panicked and fled to the
Dominican Republic. His action led to the end of the
Cuban Revolution.
Fulgencio Batista died on August 6 1973, in Estoril,
Portugal.
Fidel Castro
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Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz
was born on August 13,
1926 near Birán in Cuba’s
eastern Oriente province to
Ángel Castro and Lina Ruz.
Castro started at a Jesuit
school in 1933.He did very
well with academics and
sports.
In 1945, Castro began Law
School at the University of
Havana, where student
gangs were common.
Castro associated with a
gang called the Unión
Insurreccional
Revolucionaria.
Fidel Castro (Cont.)
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Castro’s experience with revolution first began in
1947 when he temporarily left law school to join an
expedition to overthrow the Dominican dictator,
Rafael Trujillo. Next, he participated in the
Bogotazo, several riots in Bogotá, Columbia.
Afterwards, he returned to law school.
In 1950, Castro graduated with a doctorate in law.
Castro began the Cuban Revolution when he
launched the 26th of July Movement.
Castro became the prime minister of Cuba on
February 16, 1959 and the president of Cuba on
December 2, 1976.
Fidel Castro is still alive today.
Ernesto Che Guevara
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Ernesto Guevara de la Serna
was born on June 14, 1928,
in Rosario, Argentina.
Guevara excelled as an
athlete throughout his
childhood.
In 1948, Guevara entered
the University of Buenos
Aires to study medicine.
Guevara took a year off
from school to take a trip by
motorcycle in South Africa.
Guevara took notes and had
them published as The
Motorcycle Diaries, which
became a New York Times
best-seller . This gave him
the desire of revolution.
Guevara graduated from the
University of Buenos Aires
on June 12, 1953.
Ernesto Che Guevara
Ernesto Che Guevara (Cont.)
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After graduating, Guevara became politically
active in Argentina then traveled to Bolivia and
Guatemala to help there as well.
In 1954, Guevara met Castro in Mexico and
helped his efforts with The Cuban Revolution.
After The Cuban Revolution, Guevara was
appointed supreme prosecutor at La Cabaña
Fortress due to his help during the Cuban
Revolution.
Also, Guevara became president at a Cuban bank
and was appointed the minister of industry.
In 1966, Guevara tried to help the Bolivian people
to revolt against the government but failed and
was killed in La Higuera on October 9, 1967 by the
Bolivian army.
Conclusion
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Parade for
Fidel Castro
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Everything changed after the
Cuban Revolution.
Batista’s soldiers, policemen,
and agents were tried and
executed.
Manuel Urrutia Lleó became
president and José Miró
Cardona became the prime
minister.
Che Guevara was appointed
supreme prosecutor at La
Cabaña Fortress due to his help
during the Cuban Revolution.
Castro became the
Commander-in-Chief, but when
Cardona resigned the next
month, Castro became the
prime minister.
This new government was well
accepted and valued.
Geographic Location
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The Cuban
Revolution took
place in the
country of Cuba.
This includes areas
such as Havana,
Sierra Maestra,
and Santa Clara.
Cuba
History Will Absolve Me: Conclusion
•
This speech was made by Fidel Castro before
his sentencing for his attack on the Moncada
Barracks. This is only the conclusion.
I come to the close of my defense plea but I will
not end it as lawyers usually do, asking that the
accused be freed. I cannot ask freedom for
myself while my comrades are already suffering
in the ignominious prison of the Isle of Pines.
Send me there to join them and to share their
fate. It is understandable that honest men
should be dead or in prison in a Republic where
the President is a criminal and a thief.
History Will Absolve Me (Cont.)
To you, Honorable Judges, my sincere gratitude
for having allowed me to express myself free
from contemptible restrictions. I hold no
bitterness towards you, I recognize that in
certain aspects you have been humane, and I
know that the Chief Judge of this Court, a man
of impeccable private life, cannot disguise his
repugnance at the current state of affairs that
compels him to dictate unjust decisions. Still, a
more serious problem remains for the Court of
Appeals: the indictments arising from the
murders of seventy men, that is to say, the
greatest massacre we have ever known.
History Will Absolve Me (Cont.)
The guilty continue at liberty and with weapons in
their hands - weapons which continually threaten
the lives of all citizens. If all the weight of the law
does not fall upon the guilty because of cowardice
or because of domination of the courts, and if
then all the judges do not resign, I pity your
honor. And I regret the unprecedented shame
that will fall upon the Judicial Power. I know that
imprisonment will be harder for me than it has
ever been for anyone, filled with cowardly threats
and hideous cruelty. But I do not fear prison, as I
do not fear the fury of the miserable tyrant who
took the lives of 70 of my comrades. Condemn
me. It does not matter. History will absolve me.
Works Cited
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"Rayne, Trevor. "History of the Cuban Revolution." 28 Apr.
2008
<http://www.rcgfrfi.easynet.co.uk/ratb/cuba/cuba_rev.ht
m>
“Cuban Revolution." ThinkQuest. 17 May 1999. 18 Apr.
2008
<http://library.thinkquest.org/20176/crevolution.htm>.
"Cuban Revolution." 2005. 28 Apr. 2008
<http://unimaps.com/cuba-revolution/print.html>.
"History Will Absolve Me." Marxists Internet Archive. 1
May 2008
<http://www.marxists.org/history/cuba/archive/castro/19
53/10/16.htm>.
"Timeline: Cuba." BBC. 26 Feb. 2008. 19 Apr. 2008
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_prof
iles/1203355.stm>.