Cuban+Revolution

Patrick Magill/Patrick O’Neill Cuban Revolution September 28, 2009 The Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution was a civil war fought between the established Cuban government run by Fulgencio Batista and the guerilla forces led by Fidel Castro, who sought to overthrow the dictatorship. Castro’s forces, who fought using guerilla tactics, were referred to as the 26th of July Movement, as that was the day that Castro and his followers first used force to attack the government. The revolution took several years to fully take hold, but once it did Castro’s forces won several key battles and forced the flight of Batista and his supporters. The revolutionaries fought total war, living in the mountains, and gave many lives for their cause. The after effects of this revolution are wide ranging and are still being felt today. The origins behind the Cuban Revolution trace back many years before Castro and his revolutionaries landed on the Cuban shore with plans to overthrow Batista’s regime. A major issue that had plagued Cuba for years, and one that would later lead to problems between the countries, was Cuba’s dependence on the United States. For centuries Cuba had been under the rule of Spain, but the U.S. had always taken an interest in the island (1). [1 During the 1800s Cubans began to fight for their freedom, and these wars with Spain, with the help of the United States, gave Cuba their freedom, but still with many ties to the United States. This shaky independence would eventually help lead to Castro’s revolt. When in March 1952 Batista seized power by taking over the military, the events directly leading up to the Cuban Revolution began (2). Many aspects of Batista’s rule pushed Castro and his fellow revolutionaries to violence against the dictatorship. Batista suppressed democracy in the country, and although he helped Cuba’s economy for a time, he did so with much help from the United States (3). There was also much corruption in the government, and these causes led for many citizens to protest, sometimes violently, against Batista’s forces. While it took place several years before the Cuban Revolution officially started Castro and his followers’ attack on the Moncada barracks in southern Cuba on July 26, 1953 was the first act of violence by the group that would eventually take hold of the government against the established regime (4). Their attack was very unsuccessful however, with most of the revolutionaries being captured, including Castro and his brother Raul. They were imprisoned for less than two years however, and once released they left for Mexico, where they began training for and plotting their return and revolution. It was there they met Ernesto “Che” Guevara, who became an integral part of the Cuban Revolution. After over a year of preparation, 82 revolutionaries sailed on the //Granma//, a boat Castro had acquired and sailed back to Cuba to begin their revolution (5).

The outcome of the Cuban Revolution had effects that are wide ranging and are still being felt today. The victory of Castro’s forces and their turning Cuba into a communists changed relations not only between Cuba and the United States, but also with the Soviet Union and it had a great effect on the Cold War as a whole. The Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the US embargo of Cuba are all direct results of the Cuban Revolution. As very few people expected the guerillas to succeed in overthrowing Batista’s regime, it shocked many nations when they set up a government and began to run the nation. Castro did not immediately take power, but became head of the military, but would seize full power in the coming months (6). An immediate event that the war brought on was the mass executions by the new government of suspected Batista loyalists. Over 550 were killed, and these actions may have been a reason for the hostilities between Cuba and the United States (7). These relations have never truly been healed, as since this time the U.S. has maintained a trade embargo with Cuba, and their relationship has been very unstable, with the United States even backing attempts to overthrow Castro, such as the Bay of Pigs. These dealings with the United States have been the most widely felt effect of the war, but Cuba’s relations with the Soviet Union also had a large impact, and they helped turned Cuba into more of a world power than ever before. Due to the war Cuba needed economic help, and the Soviets supplied this aid for years after, with it accounting for 75% of the total Cuban economy (8). The dependence on Russia was, along with the problems with the United States the longest ranging effects of the revolution, and after the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s Cuba’s economy suffered tremendously. These effects show how the Cuban Revolution left lasting effects on Cuba and also with their foreign relations. The Cuban Revolution was during the end of the 1950’s and the beginning of the 60s. It was before the Vietnam War and after the Korean War. This put the Cuban Revolution in the middle of the Cold War. The odds were against the revolutionaries or Fidelistas as they were called. But, “ Over  the next two years they attracted hundreds of  Cuban    volunteers ,  won  several battles over Batista's increasingly demoralized  armed  forces, and  advanced    westward    across  the  island  .” (9)  The major wars of the 20th century were not like this. The Revolution was fought in the streets with by outmanned and outgunned militia soldiers who had nothing but a want for a new regime. Burt Glinn saw first hand the desperation shown by these Cuban militia forces. “Everybody got whatever weapon they could get there hands on and it was a real mish-mosh, shotguns, old pistols, machetes, anything and they were all of a sudden brave revolutionaries (10).” The revolutionaries would fight in the middle of the streets early on against Batista’s secret police. The major wars of the 20th century were not like this. The common theme of wars in the 20th century was a powerful and technologically advanced army (such as USA or the Soviet Union) against a weaker and guerilla style foe (such as Afghanistan, Vietnam or Iraq). In the Cuban revolution, The Fidelistas were weak in numbers and guns early on in the war, but gained both with the escalation of the war. This created a less lopsided battle with the advantage slightly to the Fidelistas with their full lives given to the cause and the sheer intent of destroying the Batista regime. The war was like most wars of the 20th century with a severe amount of casualties compared to population of the country. 20,000 people had been killed in the liberation war (11). Another common theme of the revolt was the success of the revolt. The revolt cannot be successful unless the masses are suffering as well. It was The masses, 'the 600,000 Cubans without work%. The 500,000 farm labourers who live in miserable shacks,% the 100,000 small farmers who live and die working land that is not theirs,% the 30,000 teachers and professors,% so badly treated and paid; the 20,000 small businessmen weighed down by debts; the 10,000 young professional people who find themselves at a dead end% These are the people, the ones who know misfortune, and are therefore capable of fighting with limitless courage (12).' The Vietnamese people were suffering greatly before the arrival of Ho chi minh. With his arrival, many of these suffering people joined the Viet Kong. The only difference was they defeated a greater adversary in the United States and millions died in their efforts to become a socialist state. Castro even agrees with the resemblance of revolts to his own. A Revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past (13). The past was the Batista regime or the pathetic government setup put in place by the United States in Vietnam. The future is the (soon to be) socialist rule of Castro and the socialist rule of Ho Chi Minh. Fidel Castro was not just a revolt leader who used force and power over the people to complete his task. Fidel once said, “Man does not shape destiny, destiny produces the man for the hour (14).” He was captured and imprisoned in the early stages of the revolution. In other standards he should have been dead. As he said, destiny did not allow it and he was able to accomplish his feat with huge support to go along. “The ever more sophisticated weapons piling up in the arsenals of the wealthiest and the mightiest can kill the illiterate, the ill, the poor, and the hungry, but they cannot kill ignorance, illness, poverty or hunger (15).” – Fidel Castro

1 Rice, Earle. //The Cuban Revolution//. San Diego, California: Lucent, 1995. Print. 2 Tkacik, Michael. "Cuba and the United States: Revolution, Nationalism and Enemies Next Door." //History Behind the Headlines: The Origins of Conflict// //Worldwide//. 2001. //Gale Virtual Reference LIbrary//. Web. 11 Sept. 2009. .

3 Tkacik 1-2 4 Rice 19-20 5 Rice 52-56 6 Tkacik

7 "Cuban Revolution ." //Oracle Thinkquest//. Education Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2009. . 8 "Cuban Revolution ." //Oracle Thinkquest//. Education Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2009. .

9 Knight, Franklin W. "Revolution." //Britannica// //Online School// //edition//. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2009. . 10 Glinn, Burt. //The Revolution//. //Magnum in Motion//. Magnum in Motion, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2009. . 11 http://www.rcgfrfi.easynet.co.uk/ratb/cuba/cuba_rev.htm 12 http://www.rcgfrfi.easynet.co.uk/ratb/cuba/cuba_rev.htm 13 http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/revolution 14 http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/revolution 15 http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/revolution

Works Cited

"Cuban Revolution ." //Oracle Thinkquest//. Education Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2009. .

Glinn, Burt. //The Revolution//. //Magnum in Motion//. Magnum in Motion, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2009. .

Knight, Franklin W. "Revolution." //Britannica Online School edition//. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2009. .

Rayne, Trevor. "History of the Cuban Revolution." //History of the Cuban Revolution//. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2009. .

Rice, Earle. //The Cuban Revolution//. San Diego, California: Lucent, 1995. Print.

Tkacik, Michael. "Cuba and the United States: Revolution, Nationalism and Enemies Next Door." //History Behind the Headlines: The Origins of Conflict Worldwide//. 2001. //Gale Virtual// //Reference LIbrary//. Web. 11 Sept. 2009. . Word Count:1,451