The Cuban Revolution and the emergence of Fidel Castro

Bay of Pigs

In April 1961, a group of Cuban exiles organized and supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency landed on the southern coast of Cuba in an effort to overthrow Fidel Castro. When the invasion ended in disaster, President Kennedy took full responsibility for the failure.

Moncada Barracks assault

The site of Castro's first short-lived uprising. This event marked the beginning of the July 26th movement as it took place on July 26th, 1953. The purpose of the uprising was to acquire weapons for the planned revolution. This occurred in the Granma Province.

Propaganda

information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

Jose Marti

led the fight for Cuba's independence from Spain from 1895 through the Spanish-American War; The leader of the "first rebellion", seen kind of like a Cuban George Washington

Sierra Maestra

mountains where Castro and 16 others flee after massacre after landing on Cuba after exile

1958: Pact of Caracas in Venezuela

pledge by various Cuban revolutionaries to end the Batista dictatorship and restore democracy to Cuba

Populism

support for the concerns of ordinary people; the political doctrine that supports the rights and powers of the common people in their struggle with the privileged elite

Partido Ortodoxo

"Orthodox Party" or "People's Party"

The Cuban Revolution

(1958) A political revolution that removed the United States supported Fugencio Batista from power. The revolution was led by Fidel Castro who became the new leader of Cuba as a communist dictator; the revolution led by Fidel Castro and a small band of guerrilla fighters against a corrupt dictatorship in Cuba

Cubiana

19th century Cuban rebel term referring to "Cuba for the Cubans"; anti-foreign investment

Fidelistas

A believer of Fidel Castro's beliefs, tenets, and goals.

Marxism

A branch of socialism that emphasizes exploitation and class struggle and includes both communism and other approaches.

Frank Pais

A full-time activist for the July 26th Movement after Batista's coup of 1952. He was instrumental in supplying weapons and supplies to the guerillas. He was the head of the civic resistance movement based in Havana. He encouraged the journalistic coverage of Herbert Matthews and others. He was assassinated by the Cuban police in Santiago in July 1957.

Cuban Communist Party

A group which, formed under Castro, absorbed the earlier Popular Socialist Party and demonstrated Castro's share of responsibility in the country.

guerilla Warfare

A hit-and-run technique used in fighting a war; fighting by small bands of warriors using tactics such as sudden ambushes; an unorthodox war tactic in which attacks are carried out by independent groups such as citizens and rebel groups.

Ernesto "Che" Guevara

Argentinean ally of Fidel Castro killed trying to spark a revolution in Bolivia, Argentine revolutionary; aided Fidel Castro in overthrow of Fulgencio Batista regime in Cuba; died while directing guerrilla movement in Bolivia in 1967, basically barren and anyone who went in there rarely came out because it was seen as death. here the che brothers and some other generals and stuff decided on guerrilla warfare

Fidel Castro

Cuban socialist leader who overthrew a dictator in 1959 and established a Marxist socialist state in Cuba (born in 1927); Born to a middle class family, Fidel Castro study law, established the first, and still standing, communist state in the Western Hemisphere after leading an overthrow of the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. Castro's regime was successful in reducing illiteracy, stamping out racism and improving public health care. Though, his ruling has been highly criticized for not letting Cuba's express against his government.

authoritiarian

Enforce rigid rules and demand strict obedience to authority; children are obedient and self-controlled

Military Dictatorship

Government in which military generals have supreme power and gain power by means of military and force

Rural Guard (paramilitary police force)

Government forces

Fulgencio Batista

He was a pro-American dictator of Cuba before Castro. His overthrow led to Castro and communists taking over Cuba, who was now friendly to the Soviets; Batista initially rose to power as part of the 1933 "Revolt of the Sergeants" that overthrew the authoritarian rule of Gerardo Machado. Batista maintained control of the government through a string of puppet presidents until 1940, when he was himself elected President of Cuba on a populist platform. In 1952 Facing certain electoral defeat, he led a military coup that preempted the election. Back in power, Batista suspended the 1940 Constitution and revoked most political liberties, including the right to strike. He then aligned with the wealthiest landowners who owned the largest sugar plantations, and presided over a stagnating economy that widened the gap between rich and poor Cubans. Batista's increasingly corrupt and repressive regime then began to systematically profit from the exploitation of Cuba's commercial interests, by negotiating lucrative relationships with the American mafia, who controlled the drug, gambling, and prostitution businesses in Havana, and with large multinational American corporations that had invested considerable amounts of money in Cuba. Batista established tighter censorship of the media, while also utilizing his anti-Communist secret police to carry out wide-scale violence, torture and public executions. The Batista regime received financial, military, and logistical support from the US. HIs atrocities as dictators motivated the Cuban Revolution.

US arms embargo

In 1958, The USA stopped allowing its citizens to sell weapons to Cuba. This demoralized Batista's supporters and made it more difficult for them to get weapons.

Nationalism

Loyalty and devotion to a particular nationality

Cuban Missile Crisis

The 1962 confrontation bewteen US and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba.

U.S. PLATT amendment

The Platt Amendment was introduced in 1902. It secured US interests in Cuba by restricting Cuba's conduct of foreign policy and commercial relations, it gave the right to the US to intervene in Cuba's affairs, allowed the US to install military bases in the island, which was one of the main motives for Cuba's revolution. These lead Cuba into an economic dependency with the US. All these combined ignited Cuba's Revolution.

The Granma attack, 1956

The name of both the landing of Cuban revolutionary forces and the yacht which transported revolutionaries from Mexico to Cuba in 1956 for the purpose of overthrowing the Batista regime. It is also the province where the Moncada Barracks raid occurred.

July 26th Movement

The of July 26th Movement was a revolutionary movement led by Fidel Castro that overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba (1959). Its name commemorates an attack on the Moncado barracks on July 26, 1953.

Monoculture Economy

This refers to the situation of Cuba's economy, which was almost entirely dependent on sugar. This makes the island very vulnerable to fluctuations in the market and very dependent first on the USA then the USSR to buy its products. Since 1991, Cuba has had a lot of trouble finding markets.

Raul Castro

Younger brother of Fidel Castro who also took place in the Cuban Revolution and is now the current President of Cuba.

Camilo Cienfuegos

a leader of the 26th Movement; disappeared in a plane "accident" -- dislike left? too popular?

puppet president

a leader put in place that is under the control of the US who is "pulling the strings"

Manifestos

a public declaration of policy and aims, especially one issued before an election by a political party or candidate.