Cuban Revolution PPT Notes

Cuban Revolution PPT Notes

Fulgencio Batista

•  Ruler in Cuba in late 1950s

•  Elected president but later made himself dictator

•  Much poverty in Cuba under his rule

•  Education and health care were not good for most citizens

•  Became unpopular with many Cubans

•  Castro led a group of rebels against Batista

Fidel Castro

•  Defeated Batista in a military coup and made himself dictator in 1959

•  Created a Communist government

•  Everyone who supported Batista arrested; most were executed by a firing squad

Cuba’s Communist Government

•  Declared all property belonging to Americans now to belong to Cuba’s government

•  All farms, factories, and businesses also became Cuba’s property

•  Cuban newspapers, radio, and television were shut down

•  Government was the ONLY source for news

•  Churches were closed – all church property was taken by the government

Cuba Under Castro

•  Poor people supported Castro’s changes because their healthcare and education improved

•  People who were already successful did not support these changes and felt that the government was stealing from them

Relations with the United States

•  In 1961 the U.S. cut off all diplomatic relations with Cuba

•  The US placed an embargo on goods from Cuba and tried to get other countries to do the same

•  The U.S. did not allow Americans to travel to Cuba

•  The Soviet Union became allies with Cuba and began to buy sugarcane from Cuba

•  The Soviet Union supplied weapons to Cuba and helped train their military

Cuban Missile Crisis

•  Occurred in 1962 when Cuba allowed the Soviet Union to build a missile launching complex in Cuba

•  These missiles could reach US cities since Cuba is only 90 miles from the U.S.

•  President Kennedy demanded that the missiles be removed or the US would invade Cuba

•  The world carefully watched as two of the most powerful countries in the world faced off against each other and threatened nuclear war

•  After 13 very tense days the Soviets agreed to remove missiles so the US did not invade

U.S. and Cuba Hostilities Gradually Fade

•  For more than 40 years the two countries had a poor relationship but then gradually things began to change

•  In 1991, Castro lost an important ally and trading partner when the Soviet union broke up

•  Food shortages became a real problem for Cubans

•  In the U.S. many people began to want a better relationship with Cuba

•  In 2008 Raul Castro took over as President of Cuba when Fidel Castro became very ill

•  In 2014 the U.S. restored diplomatic relations with Cuba and started allowing travel to the island country

•  The embargo however remained in effect

•  In 2016 President Obama became the first U.S. President to visit Cuba since 1928

•  Fidel Castro died later in 2016