The Cuban Revolution
SS6H3 The student will analyze important 20th
century issues in Latin America and the Caribbean
A. Explain the impact of the Cuban Revolution
Early
 Cuba
th
20
Century Cuba
is an island nation located 90
miles south of Florida
20th century (1900 / 1950),
Cuba had political problems
 Early
 Leaders
came to power and then
were thrown out by others
 This
resulted in a very unstable
government for the citizens of Cuba
 At
the same time (1900 / 1950),
American businesses were trading
with Cuba
 Most
of Cuba’s international trade was
with the United States
 American
companies owned a large
amount of Cuba’s land
 Most
of Cuba’s sugarcane (their largest &
most important trade product), was sold to
the U.S.
 Late
 Fidel
 Castro
1950’s: Change in Cuban
leadership
Castro becomes dictator of Cuba
created the only communist country in
the Western hemisphere
How Castro Came to Power

Late 1950’s: Fulgencio Batista was ruler of Cuba

Batista had been elected president, but later made
himself dictator

Many people in Cuba were unhappy with his rule
 Much
 Poor
poverty (many people were very poor)
Education & Poor Healthcare (both of which
worsened the poverty problem)

Fidel Castro led a group of rebels against Batista

Because of Batista’s unpopularity, many people
followed Castro
This situation is similar to when the German people who, poor &
suffering after WWI (due to the financial demands placed on Germany
by the Treaty Versailles; because Germany was both the cause and loser of
WWI), followed & supported Hitler as he took power of the
German government. The people were so desperate for change,
that they were not concerned with how they got that change or
exactly what kind of change they would be getting

Castro defeated Batista and made himself dictator in
1959
Protestors against Batista
Fidel Castro leading the revolutionaries into
Havana, Cuba
Communist Cuba

Castro immediately began organizing a communist
government in Cuba


Declared that all property belonging to Americans, now
belonged to the Cuban government (also claimed all
Cuban owned property as well)
Had Batista’s supporters arrested (most were executed
by firing squad, others spent decades in prison)

Cubans no longer had the right to protest
against the Cuban government
 Newspapers,
Radio, and T.V. were shut down
(the Cuban government became the only
news source)
 All
churches were closed / church property
was taken by the government / Christians
were discriminated against
Communist Improvements in Cuba


Hospitals and Schools improved
Both women and blacks received better
educations and better jobs
United States Embargo

Because of Castro’s actions, and the communist
government he had created in Cuba, the United
States government placed an embargo on Cuban
goods (this meant that no Cuban goods could be sold in the
U.S.)
 Did
not allow Americans to travel to
or from Cuba
 Tried
to persuade other countries to
stop all trade with Cuba

The Soviet Union, (U.S.S.R.), became allies with
Cuba (Soviet Union was the most powerful communist
country in the world at this time and America’s greatest
enemy/threat: Cold War)
Bay of Pigs invasion



April 1961, Cuban exiles who were armed,
trained, and finances by the United States
invaded Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.
This invasion failed and made the United States
look bad.
Castro would make Communism, the official
government of Cuba shortly after the invasions.

The Soviet Union bought all of Cuba’s sugarcane, the
same sugarcane that had been purchased by the U.S.
before the embargo (this was necessary for Cuba’s economy to
survive… the final breakdown/collapse of the Soviet Union in the
late 1980’s, also led to the collapse of the communist economy in
Cuba)

Supplied Cuba with weapons and other goods

Helped Cuba to educate their children & train their
military
 Cuba
tried to spread communism to
other Latin American countries
 Supported
 Supported
revolutionary ideas in other countries
the revolutionaries by providing them
with military training, weapons, and money
Cuban Missile Crisis

1952: Cuba gave the Soviet Union permission
to build a missile launching complex in Cuba

Missiles launched from this site in Cuba (just 90
miles south of Florida), could reach U.S. cities
 U.S.
president, John F. Kennedy,
demanded that Cuba remove the missiles
 He
threatened Cuba with invasion of U.S.
military troops if they did not remove the
missiles
 This
led to a very tense time period between
Cuba and the U.S.
 The
threat of nuclear warfare so close to home
spread panic through the American public
 In
an attempt to calm the fears of its citizens, the
U.S. government developed a propaganda
program which promoted nuclear bomb
preparedness through ‘Duck & Cover Drills’
Duck and Cover!


The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest event
to creating a “Hot War” between the Soviet
Union and the United States.
Eventually the Soviets did comply with
Kennedy’s demand by removing all missiles
from Cuba
Current Cuba/U.S. Relations

Relations between Cuba and the United States
have not improved much over the last 50 years
There is still an embargo on Cuban goods
 But, Americans can now send money to family
members in Cuba


1980’s / 1990’s > Large numbers of Cubans
escaped to the United States

Before this time period, the U.S. had been accepting
Cubans who had escaped (many Cubans are desperate to
escape from Cuba because of the communist government that
controls almost every part of their lives)

But during this time period (1980’s / 1990’s),
thousands of Cubans were being allowed to
‘escape’
When the Soviet Union fell apart (during this same
time period), their partnership with Cuba, including
all of the military and economic support they had
been providing them with, stopped
 Cuba’s economy crashed as a result.
 The Cuban government actually began encouraging
people to ‘escape’


The massive number of people Cuba’s
government was allowing to ‘escape’ caused
greater tension between the U.S. and Cuba (once
the U.S. government accepts these refugees into the
country, they become a responsibility of the U.S.
government in that they are allowed to take part in
government funded programs such as public education for
their children and certain welfare support for health and
housing needs…the more refugees the government accepts,
the more expensive it becomes)

1994: U.S. / Cuban Compromise
The United States agrees to accept 20,000 Cuban
refugees per year (although there are many more that do
enter the country illegally every year)
 The Cuban government agrees to stop allowing so
many Cuban citizens to ‘escape’
