Transcript Document

Cuba
Charlie Dornfeld
Rachel Gonzalez
David Stingley
Background of Cuba
• 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, 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 Crisis
The 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>.