Magill,+Patrick

The purpose of this investigation is to examine what accounts for the success of the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro in the late 1950s. The main part of the investigation will go in depth in looking how Castro and his forces were able to seize power in Cuba, looking at the methods they used, and the situation that was present at the time that allowed them to do this. Two of my main sources in this investigation are //Fidel Castro: My Life// and //Castro and the Cuban Revolution//, which I will find the origin, purpose, value and limitations of during my investigation. I will come to a conclusion at the end of the investigation of how Castro and his revolutionaries were able to seize power in Cuba.
 * Question: What accounts for the success of the Cuban Revolution in 1959?**
 * Section A: Plan of Investigation**

In my research I found lots of evidence, both from primary and secondary sources, that shows what accounts for the success of the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro in the late 1950s. The situation in Cuba was set for this revolution at the time that Castro and his revolutionaries chose to wage war. This began with the United States' first intervention into Cuban affairs, when they aided them in 1898 in achieving independence from Spain. Despite this, Cubans grew to resent the United States, due to their lack of representation at the meeting that rewarded them their own independence, and due to the Platt Amendment, which gave the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs (Rice 34-36). The next few decades saw Cuba struggling as a nation, with two cases of full intervention by the U.S. In 1933 there was a small revolution that was made up of several small revolts, and after which the president at the time, Gerardo Machado fled the country. After these incidents, the U.S. helped restore order to the government, and in 1940 Fulgencio Batista was elected president, backed by the United States. He lost after his frist term but was reelected in 1952, also with U.S. support, and this unlawful gain of power for Batista was what heavily influenced Castro to take action against the government (Rice 38). He did this on July 26, 1953 when he and his followers attacked the Moncada Barracks in the city of Santiago. This was the first step in his plan to take control of Cuba, and although it failed and he was arrested, it set the stage for the Revolution that he would lead a few years later, which would succeed in overthrowing and seizing control of the government.
 * Section B: Summary of Evidence:**

One of the primary reasons for the success was the careful planning and training the leaders of the revolution went through before returning to Cuba. They underwent extenseive military training in Mexico prior to the revolution, especially in guerilla tactics, and this would be put to great use when they battled the Cuban forces in the Sierra Maestra Mountains during the war (Castro 174). Fidel Castro, his brother Raul, and Che Guevara, a few of the primary leaders of the revolution, planned out how they would take the country, and they ended putting these plans into action in the war itself.

Another factor that accounts for their success was the economic situation in Cuba, as there was much poverty, and they were able to gather much support from the peasants in the countryside, as there were around 50,000 peasants living in the region where they made their central camp (Leonard 10). These Cubans were some of the first to join the rebel army, and they began to take towns from Batista’s government (Leonard 11-12). Another way that helped the success of the revolution was how they operated several different fronts, as this allowed them to take more land from the government, and gather more support. In addition, there was already substantial resistance to the government from the major cities such as Havana, which helped considerably since Castro and his forces operated out of the Cuban countryside. These own revolutionary actions set the stage for Castro and his forces to take Havana and the country itself in January 1959. Most of all perhaps, the hard fighting and attitude to not give up that let the revolutionaries succeed, as they were heavily outnumbered, as only eighteen revolutionaries survived the intial attack upon their landing (Sweig 15).

The origin of this source, //Inside the Cuban Revolution// is 2002 by Julia E. Sweig. The purpose of this book is to explain what happened in the Cuban Revolution, going in depth with how it was carried out, with much background on it as well, which fits my question perfectly. The value of this source is that it explains in detail the different ways that the revolutionaries overthrew the government, showing each front of it, such as the battles in the mountains, to the student revolts in the cities. It also provides details from extensive interviews done with some people who were there from the revolution, and these can be quoted in my investigation. The limitations of this book include the fact that it lacks interviews with Fidel or Raul Castro, or any other major figures from the revolution, but she addresses this in the epilogue, as she sought to interview mostly the rebels from the urban underground, rather than Castro and his forces in the mountains.
 * Section C: Evaluation of Sources**
 * Sweig, Julia E. Inside the Cuban Revolution. London: Harvard University Press. 2002**.

Castro, Fidel, and Ignacio Ramonet. __Fidel Castro: My Life__. New York: Scribner, 2006. Print. The origin of this source, __Fiedel Castro: My Life,__ is 2006 and is written by Fidel Castro, with questions being asked by Ignacio Ramonet. The purpose of this book is for Fidel Castro to tell the story of his life, offering details on his life that have never been shared. The value of this source is that Castro tells many details about the Cuban Revolution from a first-hand view. It serves as a great primary source for the investigation. Castro discusses many aspects of the revolution that only a person who was there could describe. The major limitation of the source is that is solely shares a perspective on the war of a revolutionary, and does not let the reader see any other perspective on the war, such as those from Batista’s regime. **D. Analysis** Word Count: 604 Finding a sole reason for the success of the Cuban Revolution is very difficult, as many factors contributed to its success. Fidel Castro and the revolutionaries succeeded due to their own planning, skilled leadership, and perseverance, but also due to the state the country was in at the time, as they gained support from many citizens in their cause. The planning and training that Fidel Castro and his forces underwent in Mexico prior to the war is one the greatest reasons for their success. After Castro’s failed attempt to overthrow the government in 1953 and his release from prison, he set about coming up with a better way to overthrow the Batista regime. This planning, along with the extensive military training they underwent made their forces much more prepared for the guerilla warfare they would use to great effect in the Cuban countryside. The first few weeks were the worst for the revolutionaries, as they lost over half of their eighty-two men, and without the training and planning they went through in Mexico they might not have been able to survive these tough weeks in the mountains (Castro 182-83). The leadership of Fidel and Raul Castro, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos was just as important, and is a large part of what is accountable for the success of the revolution. Fidel in particular led the group with a philosophy to succeed at all costs, and his leadership during the difficult early stages of the war was pivotal to their success, as they evaded Batista’s forces in the Sierra Maestra and gathered strength and support. Later in the war Fidel chose to split his army into multiple columns, giving Guevara and Cienfuegos control of the other column, and merged with local resistance groups, which allowed them to take more ground and usurp the government (Sweig 78-80). These kinds of decisions show why Castro’s leadership, and the leadership of the other major members of the revolution, was pivotal to the cause’s success. The social and economic situation in Cuba at this time was also a large part in the revolution’s success. Without the support of the many Cubans who were living in poverty and supported the change that the revolution would bring, Castro and his forces could not have taken control of the government. The fact that 50,000 peasants resided in the area where Castro and his forces had their camp was helpful, as these farmers and workers, who were hit badly by the poor Cuban economy, and they became supporters of the movement(Leonard 10). While it was the leadership that may have got these citizens to join, without the poor economic situation, many of these workers would not have had a reason to join a revolutionary cause. The anger that the revolutionaries felt at Batista’s government, his unlawful gain of power and the fact that he was backed by the United States, was a common idea of other groups in Cuba at this time as well, which helped the revolutionaries. Many Cubans already resented the United States for the role they played in past Cuban affairs, and did not want a U.S. backed leader, and the revolutionaries benefited from this thinking. Without other groups being present in the urban areas of the country, Castro’s forces in the countryside would have had a much harder time overthrowing Batista’s government, as these urban revolutionary forces helped not only fight against the government directly, but they spread the idea of revolution to parts of the nation that Castro would not have been able to easily. **E. Conclusion** Word Count: 111 The success of the Cuban Revolution can be attributed to several factors. The economic and political situation in Cuba had many people wanting a change in government, and there were other revolutionary groups operating in the country at the same time. The main reason for the success however was the careful planning, training, and skilled leadership of Castro and his group of revolutionaries. They were prepared to fight the war, and they fought against much larger forces to take the country. Without the leadership of these men and training they went through with their radicals, the regime of Fulgencio Batista would not have been overthrown so quickly, or even at all. **F. Works Cited** Castro, Fidel, and Ignacio Ramonet. __Fidel Castro: My Life__. New York: Scribner, 2006. Print. Leonard, Thomas M. __Castro and the Cuban Revolution__. N.p.: Greenwood Press, 1999. Print. Rice, Earl, Jr. __The Cuban Revolution__. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, 1995. Print. Stiers, David Ogden, narr. __Fidel Castro__. Mark Samels. PBS Home Video, 2005. DVD. Sweig, Julia E__. Inside the Cubn Revolution: Fidel Castro and the Cuban Underground__. New York: Harvard University Press, 2004. Print.