H358(201) Cuba Mid-Term

What were several key episodes of the continuing US intervention of Cuba in the early 1900s?

1906-09: Second US Occupation 1917-22: The "Sugar Intervention". 1921: US bails out Cuban economy.

Key events in the "race war" of 1912

1908: Partido Independiente de Color founded. Central to it's platform is more representation for Afro-Cubans in all aspects of government. This threatened the Liberal Party, who up till that time had managed to most successfully court the Afro-Cuban vote. Led by Evaristo Estenoz 1910: Morúa law. This bans race-based parties in Cuba. This effectively bans the Partido Independiente de Color, based on Afro-Cubans, from being founded. 1912: Afro-Cuban insurrection in Oriente.

Key events of the Student Movement in the 1920s in Cuba

1923: the Federacion Estudiantil Universitaria (FEU) is created. 1927: Directorio Estudiantil Universitario (DEU) formed.

Key moments in Anarchism in Cuba in the 1920s

1924: Federacion de Grupos Anarquistas de Cuba (FGAC) is established Anarchists play a leading role in Cuban labour movement Anarcho-syndicalism predominant tendency.

Significant events of the Labour Movement in Cuba in the early 20th century.

1925: The Confederacion Nacional Obrera Cubana (CNOC), Cuba's first national labour organization, is founded. Revolutionary union, modeled on Spanish CNT. By 1933: Cuba has one of the most organized and radical labour movements in Latin America.

Key events of Communism (Marxism-Leninism) in Cuba from 1920s-1940s?

1925: workers and students form the Union Revolucionaria Comunista (URC) By 1933: approx. 3,000 members and dominates the labour movement. 1944: changes name to Partido Socialista Popular (PSP).

Key events of the ABC in Cuba in the 1930s

1931: radical intellectuals from the ABC. Clandestine terrorist organization. Represents growing militancy of Cuban middle class.

Karol seems to at times speak quite admiringly of Cuban communists and at other times be highly critical of them. How do we make sense of this seeming contradiction?

"Fidel did not blame them for their conduct during the anti-Batista struggle, simply because he had reached the conclusion that, at that stage, the Communist Party was no longer capable of making a revolution. If it had given the order for an insurrection against Batista, no one would have listened. This was due not only to the anti-Communist atmosphere prevalent on the entire American continent during the '50s, but also to memories of the tortuous history of the PSP. Fidel thus blamed historical circumstances rather than the men. But his judgment nevertheless implied a crushing political indictment, because what stronger condemnation is there of a Communist Party than the claim that it was honest, morally irreproachable, but had ceased to be a force capable of guiding or even influencing the course of events?" (Karol 1970, 59). NOTE: Karol here seems to suggest that the Communist Party had stuck to its principles TOO MUCH, and refused to compromise in the face of reality. Anecdotally, they committed the sin that Mao Tse-Tong later warned about.It was actually a combination of both. The real secret to the CCP's success was tactical flexibility backed by an efficient and disciplined party. Given the different local "ecology of revolution" encountered in different parts of the countryside, the CCP could not afford to be dogmatic in its policies. Bitter experience had taught them this. A flexible approach was therefore adopted. Cater to the needs of the local population in order to win them over - sometimes ideological appeals worked, sometimes patriotic appeals worked. In some cases, where the Japanese had brutalized the villages, the CCP to appeal with the patriotism. However, in cases where the villages faced no issue from the Japanese, the CCP could appeal to socio-economic inequalities. In all cases, the CCP adjust their mobilization strategies with the reality of the local populations which they are trying to mobilize. But all cadres answered to the Party center, and it ensured that local policy variations still served to further the overall strategy of the CCP: do whatever it takes to recruit the peasants. Mao's goals are the expansion of the Party's base of support, increased infiltration into KMT areas, and mobilization for the upcoming struggle with Chiang Kai-shek. There were also key ideological differences between the traditional Marxist-Leninist approach, and mao's approach. The Bolshevik party, a party led by professional revolutionaries, most of them urban intellectuals. The Bolsheviks were centered in the cities, and the basis of it's support were the industrial workers based in the two biggest industrial cities, Petrograd/St. Petersburg and Moscow. The revolution starts in the cities, in the working class, and then gradually spreads to the countryside. They are first and foremost a proletariat party. However, Mao and the CCP rebuild based on the packs of peasants. There are barely any industrial workers in the party. In Russia, the Communists seized power in the cities, and THEN the civil war spreads out. In China, the civil war occured, and THEN the Communists seized power. In Russia, when the Communists were in power, the Bolshevik regime had a LOT of external enemies, as well as internal enemies from the whites and the anti-communist resistance movemnets. Lenin and the communists had to resort to draconian measurements. In contrast, when the CCP seizes power, China has no external enemies. Finally, Marxist theory, despite claims to universality, is a very eurocentric theory. While it may be applied to Russia (maybe), the Marxist pattern of development from feudalism to capitalism to socialism did not apply in China. China was "semi-feudal, semi-colonial". There are still feudal elements, like the dominance of the landowning gentry in feudal China. Also, China has been partially colonized by the western powers and Japan. All Lenin and the Bolsheviks had to do was have a revolution to put the communists in power, and transition Russia from capitalism to communism. Mao and the CCP needed both a bourgeois-democratic revolution to eliminate the feudalism and propel China through capitalism, AND a nationalist revolution to cast off foreign dominance and make China an independent revolution, AND then proceeding on to socialism and communism. By contrast, the PSP, The Popular Socialist Party (Spanish: Partido Socialista Popular, PSP), as seen bythe below quote, refused to adapt to the local ecology of revolution. (p. 64) ... For all its initial successes, the Communist Party suffered from what we may call a congenital fault: it tried to transfer into the neo-colonial situation of Cuba, an underdeveloped country, the precise revolutionary scheme its comrades had developed for the capitalist countries of Europe. The fact that in Cuba "the crisis of a whole people" was the result of subordination to American interests seemed to concern the Communist Party far less than the contrasts—admittedly glaring—between capital and labor. Hence it failed to appreciate the potential value of all those anti-Machado and anti-American forces which did not acknowledge the truths of Leninism or even of socialism. The Communists were fighting on only one battlefield: the labor front. In Cuba's particular situation this was by no means the most important area—here the American throttlehold was thwarting "normal" capitalist developments. The tensions created by this domination overrode the contradiction that, in less dependent countries, would have given rise to the typical social crystallizations. Failing to grasp this fact, the Communists were unable to use, let alone control, those "other forces" which they dismissed as "petty bourgeois anarchists."" (Karol 1970, 64). The author goes on to praise a key member of the PSP, Julio Antonio Mella, for his devoutness and his willingness to go the extra mile for his beliefs. However, the Party "opposed his hunger strike on the grounds that only intellectuals, who could eat as much as they liked, were able to appreciate this type of protest--the workers would consider the whole thing pointless." (Karol 1970, 65-66). For Karol, there were many devout members fo the PSP who were sincerely motivated by a desire to make things right. However, the PSP also did a lot wrong.

What happened to Cuba's Sugar economy under U.S. domination?

"Population growth, urbanization, industrialization, and rising incomes in the 19th and 20th centuries resulted in an increase in world sugar production and consumption. Between 1820 and 1895, world sugar production increased from 400,000 tons to seven million tons; and from 1895 to 1925, world output further increased from seven million tons to 25 million tons. At the same time, Cuba's sugar production increased from 55,000 tons in 1820 to almost one million tons in 1895 and then to over five million tons in 1925. Cuba remained unchallenged as the world's largest sugar producer until the 1960s, when the Soviet Union, Brazil, and India increased their production to comparable levels. However, whereas most of the sugar in those countries was consumed domestically, Cuba exported up to 90% of its crop.[4] Cuba's independence from Spain after the Spanish-American War in 1898 and its formation of a republic in 1902 led to investments in the Cuban economy from the United States. The doubling of sugar consumption in the United States between 1903 and 1925 further stimulated investment in Cuba to develop the infrastructure necessary for sugar production. Most of the subsequent development took place in the rural, eastern region of Cuba where sugar production grew the most.[4]

Why is Pérez Jr. unsatisfied with the characterization of the Afro-Cuban rebellion of 1912 as a "race war"?

"The conventional historiographical wisdom concerning 1912 is not without some basis in fact. Race was indeed an issue. A decade after independence, Afro-Cubans found their position in the republic no better than their place in the colony. Nothing had changed a condition to which blacks were not reconciled. Having sought unsuccessfully to obtain redress through the political system, black leaders rebelled against the political system. The central tene)ts of the historiography have not, hence, entirely misrendered the events of 1912. The causes of rebellion were in- deed racial and political. The sources of rebellion, however, were social and economic." (Pérez Jr. 1986, 510) The CAUSE, that which triggered, the rebellion were race and politics. The SOURCE of those causes, however, were economic and political.

Gerardo Machado y Morales

(28 September 1871 - 29 March 1939) was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. Machado entered the presidency with widespread popularity and support from the major political parties. However his support declined over time, especially following his 1928 re-election, which violated his promise to serve for only one term. As protests and rebellions became more strident, his administration curtailed free speech and used repressive police tactics. Ultimately, in 1933, he was forced to step down in favor of a provisional government headed by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada and brokered by US ambassador Sumner Welles. He has been described as a dictator.

What combination of factors contributed to the social crisis in Oriente Province that led to the rebellion of 1912?

(p. 510) "The conventional historiographical wisdom concerning 1912 is not without some basis in fact. Race was indeed an issue. A decade after independence, Afro-Cubans found their position in the republic no better than their place in the colony. Nothing had changed a condition to which blacks were not reconciled. Having sought unsuccessfully to obtain redress through the political system, black leaders rebelled against the political system. The central tene)ts of the historiography have not, hence, entirely misrendered the events of 1912. The causes of rebellion were in- deed racial and political. The sources of rebellion, however, were social and economic." (Pérez Jr. 1986, 510) The CAUSE, that which triggered, the rebellion were race and politics. The SOURCE of those causes, however, were economic and political. ¶4 "Afro-Cubans distinguished themselves in the war of independence. They advanced rapidly within separatist organizations. In every sector of- (p. 511) ¶1-the revolutionary polity, on the island and abroad, in the party and in the provisional government, as soldiers and as civilians, Cubans of color occupied positions of prominence, prestige, and power. The Afro-Cuban presence was especially significant in the Liberation Army, where blacks made up almost half the enlisted ranks and an estimated 40 percent of the senior commissioned ranks.5[5. See Matias Duque, Nuestro patria (Havana, 1923), p. 143; Donna M. Wolf, "The Cuban 'Gente de Color' and the Independence Movement, 1879- 1895," Revista/Review Interamericana, 5 (Fall 1975), 403-421; Ferimoselle, Politica y color- en Cuba, p. 26; and Otim, "The Politics of Color," pp. 31-49. For biographical profiles of some of the most prominent Afro-Cuban leaders of the independence movement, see Juan F. Risquet, Rectificaciones. La cuestión politico-social en la isla de Cuba (Havana, 1900).] ¶2 Peace changed everything. Gains made during the war were annulled. The expatriate juntas disbanded, the provisional government dissolved, and the Liberation Army demobilized. Suddenly, all the institutional expressions of Cuba Libre in which Afro-Cubans had registered important gains disappeared, and with them the political positions, military ranks, and public offices held by thousands of blacks. ¶3 These developments were hardly noticed inr 1899, for Cubans were then preoccupied with matters of greater urgency. The war was over, and all Cubans who had survived the conflict, participants and pacíficos alike, were anxious to resume their lives. Vast numbers returned to their origins: the land. And for the vast majority of Afro-Cuban veterans, the land of their origins was Oriente Province. ¶4 Generations of Cubans of color had found hope and haven in the eastern province. Oriente offered improvement for the impoverished,.opportunity for the oppressed. It also offered land to the landless and livelihood to the unemployed. The lure was irresistible. Fugitive slaves and freed slaves,6[6. The town of Palenque in Alto Songo traced its origins to settlements of runaway slaves. See Ricardo V. Rousset, Historial de Cuba, 3 vols. (Havana, 1918), III, 124. For a general discussion of fugitive slave settlements in Oriente, see Jose Luciano Franco, Los palenques de los uegros cimtorroues (Havana, 1973), pp. 102- 116.] after emancipation in i886 former slaves and after 1898 former soldiers, migrated eastward. Between 1887 and 1899, years during which all of Cuba suffered a io percent population decline, Oriente experienced a 20 percent population increase: from 272,379 residents to 327,716.7[7. United States War Department (hereafter USWD), Office of Director of Census (hereafter ODC), Informrie sobre el censo de Cuba, 1899 (Washington, D.C., 1900), pp. 78-79, 189. See also Centro de Estudios Demogrbficos, La poblaciou de Cuba (Havana. 1976), pp. 126-129, 139-140.] In the years following emancipation, thousands of landless former slaves migrated east, in search of work and land. Between 1887 and 1899, the total population of color in the three western provinces declined by 16.6 percent; the number of colored males diminished by 25.7 percent. During- (p. 512) ¶1-these same years, the total population of color in Oriente increased by 22.4 percent, while the number of colored males grew by 23.6 percent.8[8. See Secretario, Gobierno de la Isla de Cuba, "Memnoria: Censo de la poblacion de la Isla de Cuba, 1887," Nov. 12, 1889, Fondo Miscelenea, leg. 4041, lO. goo, ANC. USWD, Informe, pp. 78-79; Kenneth F. Kiple, Blacks in Colonial Cuba. 1774-1899 (Gainesville, 1976), pp. 98-99. The designation of race and color in Cuban census categories is, of course, often untrustworthy and always uncorroborated. The censuses used in this essay employed such terms as "mestizo," "inulato," and "de color-" interchangeably and without consistent distinction. In some cases, Asians were no doubt included. In most instances, the designation "de color-" or "blan-co" depended wholly on the impressions of Cuban enumerators, whose judgments were in turn shaped by cultural norms, regional distinctions, and local conventions. Hence, a person designated as "blanco" in Oriente could have been just as easily deemed "de color" in Pinar del Rio. In a larger sense, Cuban census data must be approached with no small amount of circumspection. The information is frequently inexact if not incorrect. For all their imperfections, however, the censuses provide a vast corpus of otherwise unobtainable information. Used with care, they can be made to yield vital insights into the nature of Cuban society.] So, one cause was the fact that so many now disenfranchised Afro-Cubans oriented to the Oriente province. The fact that these were veterans was anothe rfactor. (p. 516) ... ¶1 The Changing Face of Oriente ¶2 It was not only that there were more people arriving to Oriente. Numbers were not a problem. Purpose was. Cubans were not the only ones to recognize the promise of Oriente. North Americans, too, saw the opportunities in the province, and their presence was at once ubiquitous and overwhelming. They arrived first in 1898 in the form of an army of conquest and a government of occupation. They arrived later as brokers and vendors, homesteaders and settlers, speculators and investors, and they all came for the same thing: land. They arrived with capital resources well out of proportion to their numbers, and with an equally disproportionate advantage in an impoverished economic environment. They possessed the capital to buy up what land was available, and the political connections to make available what land could not be bought. Vast expanses of land passed under control of foreigners. And in this new order of things, it was not entirely clear what place Cubans would occupy what place they could occupy. The signs boded ill. Impressionistic observations at the time tended both to confirm these developments and foresee their consequences. Remarked a North American traveler to Cuba in 1911: "Foreigners own ninety percent of all the land in Cuba that is worth working, and, since this is the case, the more foreign capital that comes in, the better for the country. In other words, the only outlook for the Cuban is to serve as a hired man."21[21. Charles Harcourt Ainislie Forbes-Lindsay, Cuba and Her People of To-Day (Boston, 1911), pp. 122-123.]" (Pérez 1986, 516) A Social cause for the uprising was the fact that a lot of North Americans were buying up a lot of the land from the Afro-Cubans. (p. 517) ... ¶3 An inexorable, and fateful, cycle ensued. Across Oriente, farmers and peasants were losing control of the land. It was especially pronounced in the southeast. Land passed under the control of railroad companies-for terminals, for construction zones, for town and depot sites, and for rights of way. Mining companies expanded.23[23. See "Rollo de recurso de apelacion establecido por el Ferrocarril de Guantainamo en las diligencias que ha promovido contra los esposos Sanchez Toca, sobre expropiacion forzosa de una parcela de terreno del Ingenlio 'Confluente,"' Apr. 20, 1908, Fondo Audiencia de Santiago de Cuba, leg. 6, no. 5, ANC; "Rollo del rectirso de apelaci6n establecido por Ricardo H. Beathie y otros, en el expediente de expropiaci6n forzosa promovido por The Cuban Eastern Rail Road Company de una faja de terreno de la Estancia 'MacKinley,'" Sept. 8, 1906, Fondo Audiencia de Santiago de Cuba, leg. 17, no. Lo, ANC; "Lollo dcel re- curso de apelaci6n establecido por la 'Juragud Iron Company' en el expediente q(ue tiene promnovido sobre expropriaci6n de una faja de terreno de la finca 'Justisi,"' Sept. 3, 1910, Fondo Audiencia de Santiago de Cuba, leg. 1 i, no. 5, ANC.] During the early 1900s, North American settlers established 12 agricultural colonies in Oriente, accounting for tens of thousands of acres. The Cuban Agricultural and Development Company alone acquired 135,000 acres in Guailtdilai-no. But most of all land passed under the control of the sugar latifuindios. It mattered little whether it was in the form of corporate-owned land (administration cane) or colono-owned estates. The results were the same. Farmers and peasants were displaced, pushed deeper onto the interior sabanas or higher into the foothill regions of the northern and southern mountain chains." (Pérez 1986, 517) (p. 519) ... ¶2 The loss of land occurred at the same time as a dramatic increase in population. The pressure would eventually affect all Oriente, but it was experienced first in the southeastern region of the province, in the cluster of the five contiguous municipios of Alto Songo, El Caney, Guantcinamo, San Luis, and Santiago. The southeast had long served as a place of refuge in the late nineteenth century for runaway slaves before emancipation and freed slaves afterwards. In the early twentieth century, it became refuge for the veterans of the war as well as for the victims of the war. In fact, outcasts of all social types over three generations had found opportunity in the southeast. The municipios were located largely within the impenetrable high country, within or near the foothills and valleys of the Sierra Maestra mountain range-"a terra incognita," wrote one geographer in 1907, "unexplored, undescribed, and unmapped."26[26. B. E. Fernow, "The High Sierra Maestra," Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, 39 (1907), 257.] It was broken land, irregular, a succession of rising terraces, traversed and intersected by countless small valleys. It was also fertile land, bountiful and productive, without rival anywhere else in Cuba." (Pérez 1986, 519) ANOTHER source of conflict was that there was a loss of land to foreign ownership COMBINED with an increase in population. In particular, there was a large influx of veterans, people trained and experienced in combat. (p. 520) ... ¶2 "Several developments appeared to be occurring at once in the southeast. After several years of declining fertility, the region experienced a sudden and spectacular increase in the birth rate. Stability and security returned to the lives of orientales after the war of independence. The women were released from reconcentration camps. The men returned from the army. This was occurring everywhere in Cuba, of course, but it had particular significance in Oriente. Most of the soldiers returning to civilian life were originally from the east, and it was to the east they returned. Oriente had contributed heavily to the liberation of the island. An estimated 8o percent of the men of Alto Songo had joined the Army of Liberation, comprising nearly half of the original invading force.29[29. Rousset, Historial de Cuba, III, 118.] At the same time, the majority of Cuban army units disbanding between 1898 and 1899 were located in the eastern half of the island. The First Army Corps was stationed in Santiago, the Second Corps was located in Manzanillo, the Third Corps in Camagiiey, and the Fourth Corps in Santa Clara. Approximately 35,000 officers and soldiers out of 50,000 were disbanded in the three eastern provinces.30[30. See George H. Chadwick to Adna R. Chaffee, May 26, 1899, file 1899/2020, MGC/RG 140.] After the war, married soldiers returned to their wives, single soldiers returned to marry." (Pérez 1986, 520) In Oriente there was a massive population boom, in an area where there was very little land to own. (p. 523) ... ¶2 "The expansion of the sugar system foretold the extinction of small fincas and the expulsion of farmers. It was occurring in varying degrees everywhere in Oriente, but it was happening especially fast in the southeast and happening concurrently with the fastest rate of population growth in Cuba. The data are incomplete and imperfect, but they suggest the magnitude of the collapse of independent farms in Oriente. Between 1899 and 1905, the total number of fincas in Oriente diminished by almost half, from 21,550 to 10,854. ..." (Pérez 1986, 523) So, there was the extinction of small farms and the expulsion of farmers. ¶3 "The increasing population density told a similar story from another perspective, and the signs were no less ominous. The increase of the population together with the increase of the number and size of families placed new demands on the land. The rise in the population was occurring simultaneously with the decline of available land. The peasant population was increasing as the land available for subsistence agriculture was decreasing. The number of peasant households without adequate land multiplied. The land was passing into sugar cultivation in the form of the latifundio, reducing both the number of small farms and the amount of available land. A vicious cycle ensued, one of land hunger, rising land prices, and usurious debts. More and more people were crowding onto less and less land. It was not only an increase of population-it was this concurrent with a decrease of resources, principally in the form of diminishing land supply." (Pérez 1986, 523) ¶4 "Every parcel of land converted to sugar production meant a corresponding loss of land available for subsistence agriculture. But expansion- (p. 524) ¶1-of sugar into Oriente during the early 1900s displayed one other notable feature: the introduction of cheap contract labor from Haiti and Jamaica. The timing was portentous. ..." (Pérez 1986, 523-524) ¶3 "Foreigners in large numbers were arriving, and were displacing Cubans from the fields, the farms, and the factories. In the mines of El Caney, on the sugar estates of Guantanamo, along the railroads, and in the mills, cheap foreign workers glutted the local labor market and depressed local- (p. 525) ¶1-wages. An estimated ii percent of 85,044 agriculturists in Oriente were foreigners; so were 26 percent of the 7,328 day laborers. Almost 96 per- cent of the 1,603 miners were foreigners.43[43. See Censo de la Repfiblica de Cuba, 1907, p. 577.] ¶2 Cuban unemployment was on the rise, in some instances dramatically. By 1907, more than 20 percent of the total male population over the age of 17 years was classified as unemployed (sin ocupación lucrative). This included 16.7 percent in El Caney, i8.o percent in San Luis, 19.2 percent in Alto Songo, 20.6 in Guantainamo, and a staggering 35.1 percent in Santiago.44[44. See Censo de la República de Cuba, 1907, pp. 332, 512.]" (Pérez 1986, 524-525) FACTOR: Rising unemployment. ¶3 "Other telling trends provided additional insight into the developing rural crisis. Between 1899 and 1907, the percentage of Afro-Cuban men engaged in agriculture declined from 40 percent to 35 percent, while the number of Afro-Cuban women decreased by more than half. Both developments suggest the decline of family agriculture as the number of small fincas diminished. At the same time, wage employment increased. These years recorded an increase in the proportion of Afro-Cuban men in manufacturing and Afro-Cuban women in domestic services."45[45. USWD, ODC, Informne, p. 447 and Censo de la República de Cuba, 1907, p. 524.]" ¶4 "Hardship was not confined to those who lost their land. Depression occurred simultaneously with dispossession. The value of the small farmers' principal cash crops, coffee and cacao, was in decline. The international depression in the coffee market between 1900 and 1910 plunged Cuban growers into crisis. Low prices for cash crops reduced the ability of small farmers to meet past financial obligations or contract new ones. Many simply could not make it, and many failed. By 1911, Cuban coffee production had declined to the point where it could meet only one-fourth of the local demand, the balance provided by imports from Puerto Rico.46[46. Great Britain, Foreign Office, Diplomatic and Consular Reports, Annual Series (hereafter GBFO/DCR/AS), Cuba 1911 (London, 1912), p. 8.] The following year witnessed the lowest production of coffee at the lowest prices in a decade.47[47. Francisco P6rez de la Riva, El cafe: Historia de .Su cultivo y explotación en Cuba (Havana, 1944), pp. 214-215.] In the space of two years between 1904 and 1906, the number of cafetales declined from 1,220 to 1,029.48[48. Robert B. Hoernel, "Sugar and Social Change in Oriente, Cuba, 1898-1946, Journal of Latin American Studies, 8:2 (Nov. 1976), 230; GBFO/DCR/AS, Cuba 1907 (London, 1909), P. 7.] Although coffee prices increased again, by 1919 the total number of coffee fincas had dwindled to less than 200o.49[49. Cuba, Bureau of the Census, Census of the Republic of Cuba, 1919 (Havana, 1-19), p. 58.]" (Pérez 1986, 525) FACTOR: There was a decrease of people in subsistence farming, as well as farmer-owned agriculture. As Cuba moved to a mono-export economy, sugar, and began importing foreign goods those small domestic producers found that their products fetched lower and lower prices. (p. 526) ... ¶2 "There was neither enough land oin which to subsist nor sufficient work with which to survive. The size of peasant plots was dwindling and family lands were disappearing. The implications were clear: the next generation would be landless. Cubans of color, especially, faced the grim prospect of ending in worse conditions than their parents began. The loss of self-sufficiency portended the default of a promise, and more: it denied Afro-Cubans all possibility of promise. Generations of Afro-Cubans had found land and livelihood in the east. They had gone to Oriente as both a place of first choice and last resort. They were now facing the collapse of their world, and they had nowhere else to go." (Pérez 1986, 526) ¶4 "Developments in Oriente were simultaneous with mounting discontent elsewhere. The deteriorating condition of people of color in Oriente was not dissimilar to those experienced by Afro-Cubans everywhere on the island. Cubans of color had not fared well in the republic. For many, in fact, conditions had actually deteriorated. Their contribution to the cause of Cuba Libre had been on a scale well out of proportion to their numbers. Their compensation from free Cuba was well below the proportion to their numbers. They had been promised political equality and social justice. They received neither. "During the colonial days of Spain," (p. 527) ¶1-Arthur A. Schomburg wrote during a visit to Cuba in 1905, "the Negroes were better treated, enjoyed a greater measure of freedom and happiness than they do to-day." Schomburg continued: Many Cuban Negroes curse the dawn of the Republic. Negroes were welcomed in the time of oppression, in the time of hardship, during the days of the revolution, but in the days of peace . . . they are deprived of positions, ostracized and made political outcasts. The Negro has done much for Cuba. Cuba has done nothing for the Negro.52[52. Arthur A. Schomburg, "General Evaristo Estenoz," The Crisis, 4 (July 1912), Pp. 143-144.] "After the war ended," ex-slave Esteban Montejo later recalled, "the arguments began about whether the Negroes had fought or not. I know that ninety-five percent of the blacks fought in the war, but they started saying it was only seventy-five percent. Well, no one got up and told them they were lying, and the result was the Negroes found themselves out in the streets-men brave as lions, out in the streets. It was unjust, but that's what happened."53[53. Esteban Montejo, The Autobiograply of a Runaway Slave, Miguel Barnet, ed., Jocasta Innes, trans. (London, 1968), p.216.]" (Pérez 1986, 526-527) FACTOR: The rapidly diminished influence that Afro-Cubans, most of whom wre Oriente, also increased discontent. ¶2 "The condition of Afro-Cubans in the early years of the republic was exacerbated by the vast flow of immigration, particularly Spaniards. Between 1902 and 1912, an estimated 250,000 Spaniards emigrated to Cuba.54[54. Data compiled from Censo de la República de Cuba, 1907, p. 61 and Census of the Republic of Cuba, 1919, p. 183.] Competition for employment on this scale served at once to expel blacks from the labor market and to increase the urgency to accommodate Afro- Cubans within the expanding state bureaucracy. In fact, however, white Cubans were facing similar pressures, and showed little disposition to share public revenues with black Cubans. ¶3 The effects were striking. Afro-Cubans were underrepresented in elected office, in appointed positions, in the armed forces, and in the civil service. Cubans of color made up 30 percent of the total population, approximately 6io,ooo out of 2 million. Census information in 1907 offers only suggestive data concerning the status of Afro-Cubans in the public life of the republic. Three census categories clearly defined as public positions were teachers, soldiers and policemen, and "government functionaries" (fulncionarios de gobierno). Cubans of color were underrepresented in each: 55[55. Censo de la Repfiblica de Cuba, 1907, pp. 545-546. See also Arredondo, El negro en Cuba, pp. 60-61.]" (Pérez 1986, 527) (p. 528) ¶3 "In 1907, many black political leaders took the first step toward a portentous political realignment. They withdrew from the established political parties to organize a new movement, first in the form of the Agrupación Independiente de Color and later into a full fledged political party, the Partido Independiente de Color. The new party advocated honest government, improved working conditions, and free university education. Its principal concerns, however, centered on issues of race, specifically demands for increased representation of Afi-o-Cubans in elected office and public positions, including the armed forces, the diplomatic corps, the judiciary, and all civil departments of government.57[57. For an excellent account of these developments, see Oum, 'The Politics of Color," PP. 158-212. See also Fermoselle, Politica y color en Cuba, pp. 0lo- 149.]" (Pérez 1986, 528) FACTOR: There was now a political movement which could channel the frustrations of the Afro-Cubans into action. In Von Clausewitzian terms: there was the passion / people , and now there was the policy / reason / government / party. All it took was some chance / genius / commander. (p. 529) ¶2 "The formation of the Partido Independiente de Color served to direct attention to a wide range of injustices to the fact that the color of Cubans was as much an unsettled issue in the republic as it had 1)een in the colony. But Afro-Cuban political objectives found little endorsement and less enthusiasm among vast numbers of people of color in Oriente. Efforts at political organization in Oriente were unsuccessful. Most of the 200,000 people of color in Oriente (approximately 40 percent of the provincial electorate) looked on indifferently to the party's appeal. Indeed, the independientes failed to secure even the minimum number of signatures required to nominate candidates in the 9go8 provincial elections.58[58. 58. Oium, "The Politics of Color," pp. 153, 155; Mario Riera Herilndez, Cincuenta y dos anos de politico: Oriente, 1 900- 1952 (Havana, 1953), pp . 105 - 138.]" (Pérez 1986, 529) FACTOR: There was no successful legitimate effort.

Why did the Partido Independiente de Color fail to attract major support from the Afro-Cuban peasants of Oriente province?

(p. 528) "In 1907, many black political leaders took the first step toward a portentous political realignment. They withdrew from the established political parties to organize a new movement, first in the form of the Agrupación Independiente de Color and later into a full fledged political party, the Partido Independiente de Color. The new party advocated honest government, improved working conditions, and free university education. Its principal concerns, however, centered on issues of race, specifically demands for increased representation of Afi-o-Cubans in elected office and public positions, including the armed forces, the diplomatic corps, the judiciary, and all civil departments of government.57[57. For an excellent account of these developments, see Oum, 'The Politics of Color," pp. 158-212. See also Fermoselle, Politica y color en Cuba, pp. 0lo- 149.]" (Pérez Jr. 1986, 528) (p. 529) ¶2 "The formation of the Partido Independiente de Color served to direct attention to a wide range of injustices to the fact that the color of Cubans was as much an unsettled issue in the republic as it had 1)een in the colony. But Afro-Cuban political objectives found little endorsement and less enthusiasm among vast numbers of people of color in Oriente. Efforts at political organization in Oriente were unsuccessful. Most of the 200,000 people of color in Oriente (approximately 40 percent of the provincial electorate) looked on indifferently to the party's appeal. Indeed, the independientes failed to secure even the minimum number of signatures required to nominate candidates in the 9go8 provincial elections.58[58. 58. Oium, "The Politics of Color," pp. 153, 155; Mario Riera Herilndez, Cincuenta y dos anos de politico: Oriente, 1 900- 1952 (Havana, 1953), pp . 105-113, 119-138.] ¶3 "In fact, the source and substance of Afio-Cuban grievances in the republic were varied, and they were not all the same for all people of color. Significant social distinctions existed within the population of color. The new Partido Independiente de Color tended to represent the interests of Afro-Cuban politicians, former ranking officers of the Liberation Army, professionals, and intellectuals, generally representatives of black petite bourgeoisie-those Cubans who aspired to gain entree into the expanding state bureaucracy, through either elected positions or appointed posts. The independientes directed their attention to institutional racism, to the formal practice of racial discrimination that obstructed their participation in the public life of the republic they had contributed to creating. The party charter addressed itself almost exclusively to matters political: it addressed grievances to government authorities and the leaders of the ruling political parties. ¶4 These were issues of only marginal interest to Afio-Cuban farmers, peasants, and rural workers in Oriente, who were, in any case, at the time of the party's formation, in serious crisis and preoccupied with urgent matters of subsistence and survival. It was not that they were unsympathetic with the political purpose of the new party. Rather, they were essentially unconcerned with political matters in the republic. Their lives were in disarray, their communities were in despair." (Pérez Jr. 1986, 529) NOTE: The idea is that class and economic factors trump race. Here, the PIC was perpetuating a status quo, with the urban educated elite dominating politics, ignoring the rural. The class intersts. This is definitely a Marxist critique of the idea of a "Race War". In effect, the PIC was the "Petite Bourgeoisie". They are educated, often foreign educated, and somewhat limited.

What were some of the fatal errors of the PSP leadership, according to Karol?

(p. 72) ... "The dictator was determined not to give in, and made ready for a fight to the bitter end. The next morning, however, after a dramatic reversal of policy, he held out an olive branch to those whom he had pilloried for the past eight years as the most deadly enemies of the fatherland: to the Communists of the Central Strike Committee. One day later came an even more dramatic development: the Strike Committee agreed to negotiate, provided only that all the claims of the transport workers were met. The dictator agreed to everything. After twenty-four hours of discussion and consultation, César Vilar, in the name of the Central Strike Committee and the Cuban Labor Confederation, gave orders for a resumption of work at noon on August 11." (Karol 1970, 72). (p. 74) ... Exasperated, Sumner Welles now alleged that the Communists had stage-managed the entire "mutiny," and declared that under no circumstances would the United States recognize the Grau- Guiteras government. He could not have been more mistaken: the Communists had had nothing to do with the course of events; indeed their relations with the other revolutionary groups were worse than ever before. Their strike committee's last-minute negotiations with the discredited Machado regime had played straight into the hands of those in the Directorio who were opposed to any form of collaboration with them, and had weakened the hand of all leftists anxious to form a common front. The Central Committee of the Communist Party met in- (p. 75) -plenary session on August 26, in Havana, to see what lessons there were to be drawn from the unhappy Machado deal, and to determine what tactics were demanded by the new situation. It concluded that the Strike Committee had gravely underestimated the militancy of the masses, and had been quite wrong to conclude that all the workers wanted was a wage increase. And since no Communist Party must ever lag behind the revolutionary masses, the Party decided to atone for its sins by calling on the Cuban proletariat to form soviets, "organs of popular power in every locality preparatory to the seizure of power at the top."17[17. See Historia de Cuba, p. 637.] The Party did not evidently bother to consult any other political groups, nor did it try to enlist outside support for its new tactics. It was convinced that the present popular upsurge would force all the rest to fall into line, would persuade them to accept Communist decisions and Communist leadership. The unexpected emergence of a government that was well to the left of de Céspedes, and which the United States refused to recognize, seemed to corroborate their view of the situation. To the Communists, Grau was just another Kerensky, and it was more urgent than ever to press for the formation of soviets, which alone could express the true will of the people. There could therefore be no question of Communist support for the new government, which, in its turn, was quick to denounce the "Red Diversionists." (Karol 1970, 74-75). So, one of the big mistakes the communists, the PSP, made was making a deal with Machado on August 11. Another mistake that happened that the Party did not seek to co-operate with any other political groups, and instead tried to form their own revolution. (p. 75) ... The revolution now developed on two almost parallel planes: that of the Grau-Guiteras government and that of the "soviets." The first promulgated decrees which, by Cuban standards, were highly revolutionary: an eight-hour working day, a minimum daily wage for cane cutters, restriction of the number of seasonal workers brought in from abroad, recognition of trade union rights, a 45 per cent cut in the electricity rate (the prelude to the nationalization of the U.S.-owned electricity company); a moratorium on all debts Machado had contracted with the Chase National Bank; a limitation on the purchase of- (p. 76) -land by foreigners; sequestration of the estates of Machadoist collaborators; the promise of agrarian reforms; and the convocation, in the near future, of a constituent assembly charged with the repeal of the Platt Amendment, and with presenting a new "social" constitution." (Karol 1970, 75-76). The fact that the new Grau-Guiteras government was able to promulgate decrees that appeared to address the average Cuban farmers needs really undercut the Communists appeal. (p. 76) "At first, the two revolutions proceeded apace while ignoring each other. But a clash between them was inevitable—the government simply could not tolerate islands of Communist dissent, particularly on the eve of the zafra. And so the army, now under the command of Batista, was sent out to attack them in force. Batista was no less ruthless in stifling the protests of a group of conservative officers which had gathered in the Hotel National, under the very nose of Sumner Welles.19[19. Discontented officers had moved into the Hotel National, where Sumner Welles was staying and, on October 2, organized an armed demonstration that had little chance of success and, in fact, ended in massacre. In his "History Will Absolve Me," Castro accuses Batista of murdering some officers after they had surrendered. The same thing happened during yet another army protest, on November 6, 1935 at For Atares where, as Castro himself has explained, "the besiegers' machine guns cut down a row of prisoners." (See "History Will Absolve Me," in F. Castro and R. Debray: On Trial, London, Lorrimer Publ., 1968, p. 40 f.).] On October 6, 1933, the government promulgated the historic Decree 2059,- (p. 77) -granting full autonomy to the university, and at the same time calling for calm and discipline. The appeal was heeded by the Directorio on the grounds that "for the past two months Cuba has been a free country at long last."20[20. The Directorio was paraphrasing Mella's famous book Cuba, the Country That Has Never Been Free.] The Directorio called for a vote of confidence in the government and in the future constituent assembly. The Communists did nothing at all. Though the soviets in the sugar refineries were falling to the army in quick succession, on November 10, the Party still kept sounding its famous clarion call: "All power to the soviets!" (Karol 1970, 76-77) NOTE: The Communist PSP made the serious mistake of ignoring the reality that the military under Batista, was crushing their soviets. The PSP failed to develop adequate plans to counter them.

The Machado presidency, 1925-33

-1928 elections and cooperativismo -Impact of the Great Depression -Cycle of opposition violence and state repression escalates -May 1933: US sends Benjamin Sumner Welles to negotiate a settlement between Machado and opposition forces.

Briefly, Fulgencio Batista, 1901-73

-Born to poor peasants in Holguin -Born Aug 16 -Afro-Cuban -Enters military at 21 -He was Afro-Cuban, with some Chinese and indigenous heritage. He was of "mixed race". -He was not very ideologically committed to his position. Throughout his career, he shows willing to make alliances with leftwing elements, and when in power he is able to enact left-wing policies, to such a degree that the Americans are confused as to whether or not he is a communist. -As his reign continued, he was seen by many in the Cuban populace as a tyrant.

What are key features of the Platt Amendment?

-Cuban cannot "enter into any treaty or other compact with any foreign power or powers which will impair or tend to impair the independence of cuba". Essentially, this eliminates Cuban independence in foreign policy, and ensures American dominance. -Cuban government cannot go into debt. Of course, in reality the Cuban government was constantly in debt. -US has the right to intervene in Cuba, to "ensure good governance". The wording is deliberately vague. -Guantánamo Bay.

Main events of US. Occupation, 1898-1902

-July 1989: Spanish surrender to US -Feb 1901: New Constitution -Dec 1901: Tomas Estrada Palma elected the first president of Cuba. -May 1902: Cuban independence proclaimed.

What were the US political objectives during the US occupation of Cuba 1898-1902?

-Maintain political stability. -Rebuild economic infrastructure -Establish US hegemony.

Summarize the One Hundred Days Government aka the Grau-Guiteras government

-Not recognized by US -Significant labour, electoral, gender reforms. -Attacked by radical Right and LEft. BRIEFLY, what contributed to it's end? The U.S. government refuses to recognize it. The right, including business owners, and elements of the military, immediately begin to conspire against it. The left is divided, with the PSP/Communists setting up their own soviets in the countryside and start resisting the government. The Grau-Guiteras government is now forced to use police and military force against those elements on the Left. In addition, as a government set up by students, the Grau-Guiteras government lack a major popular base of support. -Lasts only 4 months

Why did the Cubans accept the terms of the Platt Amendment?

-Part of it may be corruption by the Cuban government. -Within the Cuban elite, there is the annexionist faction. This faction believes that Cuban's interest would be best served by being annexed by the United States. -Among others, there was a sense that the United States was holding all the cards. Among these pragmatists, the United States was too powerful a foe, and there were no grounds to challenge American might.

What were the US politicies during the US occupation of Cuba 1898-1902?

-Take control of Cuban treasury -Disband Cuban rebel army -Created Rural Guard. The Americans prefer to rule White Cubans. The Americans are worried that the Afro-Cubans, who are the most marginalized and oppressed segment of the Cuban population, will be a source of resistance to the U.S. hegemony. -Created electoral system. Franchise given to men who own property worth a certain amount of money. The poor, propertyless, and women cannot vote. -Build and improved infrastructure. -Build hospitals and schools. The U.S. does a very effective campaign to combat disease. -The U.S. Occupation does NOT offer any help to Cuban businesses. The U.S. is NOT interested in the economic recovery of Cuban businesses, as American businesses are taking advantage of the crippled Cuban businesses to dominate the Cuban market.

Key moments in the Initial Opposition to Batista

-The Auténtico Party -Joven Cuba -1935 General Strike -Marital Law and repression -May 1935: army assassinates Antonio Guiteras.

The Alfredo Zayas presidency (1921-25) and the Dance of the Millions (1919-20) chronology

-The Dance of the Millions: a massive fluctuation in sugar prices following WWI that devastates the Cuban economy. During WWI, the US has a fixed price for sugar: 5 ½ cents per pound. During, WWI, European beet sugar vanishes, creating a massive demand for Cuban sugar. Cuba gains a lot of money from exporting Cuban sugar. This incredibly profitable industry attracts investors. When WWI ends, the price of sugar spiked to 22 ½ cents per sugar. Now, people are borrowing money in order to invest in that economy. However, European beat sugar production recovers faster than expected. In fact, European beet sugar production recovers so fast that there is now an overabundance of sugar, flooding the market. The value of sugar plummets. This means that all the money that Cuban banks lent out are effectively recalled, and now worthless. As this is Cuba's biggest import, the Cuban government, which was dependent upon taxing the Cuban sugar exports, Between September 1919 and May 1920, raw sugar prices increased from 6½ cents per pound to 22½ cents. By December 1920 prices fell to 3¾ cents. Historically, 3¾ cents per pound was not bad. In fact, between 1885 and 1915, the annual average price of raw sugar not once exceeded 4 cents. My study examined the causes of the violent price fluctuations in the raw sugar market, and the consequences for Cuba. The period in Cuba between 1919 and 1920 is referred to as the Dance of the Millions. Other writings that discuss the Dance of the Millions generally give scant mention to the fact that the United States, like Cuba, experienced an economic boom and collapse; and price volatility was not unique to the sugar industry, but rather occurred across a broad range of commodities. U.S. monetary policy played an important role in stimulating commodity price movements, and was in no small way responsible for the Dance of the Millions. -US price of sugar per pound soars from 5.5 to 22.5 before crashing to 4. -US intervenes to bail out Cuban economy increases popular frustration with US domination, sugar dependency, and corruption in government. The US only bails out Cuba after several demands are made. Zayas relents. However, this is seen as capitulation to the Americans. -Worker and student militancy grows

What are the 2 ways that Batista keeps power?

1. Batista keeps his power through the military. He uses his military power to initiate a process of enlarging the military. He ensures that the military is well supplied. He promotes individuals who are loyal to him personally. 2. The United States government's support also keeps Batista in power. The US sees Batista as someone who can maintain American interests in the country, ensure political stability, and crush any threat from the left.

Timeline of Machado's resignation, the Sergeant's Reolt, and Ramón Grau being declared president

4 Aug, 1933: bus workers trikes grows into a general strike. Despite a deal made with the PSP (the Communsits), the strike quickly grows out of the Communists control, and the strikes escalate nationwide. 12 August: Machado jumps on a plane to the Bahamas. In the aftermath of his departure, there is widespread mob violence against Machado's supporters. 4 Sept: Sergeant's revolt 10 Sept: Ramón Grau declared president

José Julián Martí Pérez; January 28, 1853 - May 19, 1895)

A Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. During his life, he worked as a poet, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher. He was very politically active, and is considered an important revolutionary philosopher and political theorist.[1][2] Through his writings and political activity, he became a symbol of Cuba's bid for independence against Spain in the 19th century, and is referred to as the "Apostle of Cuban Independence."[3] From adolescence, he dedicated his life to the promotion of liberty, political independence for Cuba, and intellectual independence for all Spanish Americans; his death was used as a cry for Cuban independence from Spain by both the Cuban revolutionaries and those Cubans previously reluctant to start a revolt. _____ was also used as a figurehead by the Cuban government throughout the government of Fidel Castro, and his writings were commonly cited as supporting socialism within Castro's administration.[4] Born in Havana, _____ began his political activism at an early age. He traveled extensively in Spain, Latin America, and the United States, raising awareness and support for the cause of Cuban independence. His unification of the Cuban émigré community, particularly in Florida, was crucial to the success of the Cuban War of Independence against Spain. He was a key figure in the planning and execution of this war, as well as the designer of the Cuban Revolutionary Party and its ideology. He died in military action during the Battle of Dos Ríos on May 19, 1895. _____ is considered one of the great turn-of-the-century Latin American intellectuals. His written works include a series of poems, essays, letters, lectures, novel, and a children's magazine. He wrote for numerous Latin American and American newspapers; he also founded a number of newspapers. His newspaper Patria was an important instrument in his campaign for Cuban independence. After his death, one of his poems from the book, "Versos Sencillos" (Simple Verses) was adapted to the song "Guantanamera", which has become the definitive patriotic song of Cuba. The concepts of freedom, liberty, and democracy are prominent themes in all of his works, which were influential on the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío and the Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral.

Dr. Ramón Grau San Martín (September 13, 1881, La Palma, Pinar del Río Province, Spanish Cuba - July 28, 1969, Havana, Cuba)

A Cuban physician and President of Cuba (1933-1934, 1944-1948). He was the last president other than an interim president, Carlos Manuel Piedra, to be born during Spanish rule. He is sometimes called Raymond Grau San Martin in English.[1] After the 1933 Cuban Revolution Grau initially became one of the five members of the Pentarchy of 1933 government (September 5-10, 1933). Thereafter, on 9 September 1933, members of the Directorio Estudiantil Universitario met in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales and after intensive debate between various proposed candidates, it was agreed that Ramón Grau would be the next president. Grau's presidency became known as the One Hundred Days Government and ended on 15 January 1934.

ABC (Cuba)

A Cuban political organization founded in 1931 in opposition to the government of Gerardo Machado. It used a hierarchy of clandestine cells, in which each member would oversee a cell on the next level. The first cell was labeled A; the next tier B; then C, and so forth. The ABC gained prominence quickly through dissemination of propaganda and through acts of terrorism. The group accepted the invitation of US Ambassador Sumner Welles to participate in a new government, only to be forced out of power in less than a month, becoming again an opposition group during the One Hundred Days Government.

Partido Independiente de Color (PIC)

A Cuban political party composed almost entirely of African former slaves. It was founded in 1908 by African veterans of the Cuban War of Independence. The party was started by Afro-Cubans in response to the mistreatment they received at the hands of the revolutionary government. This was a result of the feeling of white superiority in early 20th century Cuba. The PIC advocated free university education as well as other civil liberties for the Black community. This movement eventually culminated in an armed struggle called the Cuban Race War in which U.S. Marines took part. This they did under the Platt Amendment, which authorized unilateral intervention by the U.S. in Cuban affairs. In 1912, the PIC led a revolt in the eastern province of Oriente. The revolt was crushed and the party disbanded.

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes del Castillo (April 18, 1819, Bayamo, Spanish Cuba - February 27, 1874, San Lorenzo, Spanish Cuba)

A Cuban revolutionary hero. Cespedes, who was a plantation owner in Cuba, freed his slaves and made the declaration of Cuban independence in 1868 which started the Ten Years' War.[1] (1868-78), which ultimately led to Cuban independence. Because of this person's actions during the Independence War, he is known in Cuba as the "Father of the Motherland".

Confederación Nacional Obrera de Cuba (National Workers Confederation of Cuba)

A Cuban trade union confederation. It was founded in Camagüey in the 1920s, by Alfredo López. CNOC led several labour struggles during its existence, such as the general strike during Machado's government in 1933. In 1939 CNOC was dissolved, and substituted by Confederación de Trabajadores de Cuba.

Máximo Gómez y Báez (November 18, 1836 - June 17, 1905)

A Major General in Cuba's Ten Years' War (1868-1878) against Spain. He was also Cuba's military commander in that country's War of Independence (1895-1898).

Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 - 31 May 1989),who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson.

A Trinidadian historian, journalist and socialist. His works are influential in various theoretical, social, and historiographical contexts. His work is a staple of subaltern studies, and he figures as a pioneering and influential voice in postcolonial literature.[2] A tireless political activist, ____ is the author of the 1937 work World Revolution outlining the history of the Communist International, which stirred debate in Trotskyist circles, and his history of the Haitian Revolution, The Black Jacobins, is a seminal text in the literature of the African Diaspora.

Pentarchy of 1933, formally known as the Executive Commission of the Provisional Government of Cuba

A coalition that ruled Cuba from September 5 to September 10, 1933 after Gerardo Machadowas deposed on August 12, 1933. Prior to the Pentarchy, General Alberto Herrera (August 12-13, 1933) and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada (August 13 - September 5, 1933) served as President of Cuba.

Describe the process by which an American company contributes to the rise of Cuba's mono-crop economy.

A company, like Coca-Cola, historically buys sugar from an importer from Cuba. However, when the Americans occupy Cuba, buys directly from a plantation from Cuba. Then, that company will expand the plantation buy buying up the local land and converting it to sugar Then, that company, to save even more money, stops paying for the freight cops, and hires their own cops to guard their own stores. Then, that company will put in their own infrastructure. And on, and on, it goes, with other American companies following suit, until Cuba becomes a full-blown mono-crop economy.

The Sergeants' Revolt (Spanish: Revuelta de los sargentos), also called the Cuban Revolution of 1933

A coup d'etat that occurred in Cuba in September 1933. It began as a revolt of sergeants and enlisted men in the military, who soon allied with student activists in the Directorio Estudiantil Universitario. The coup deposed Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada as President, installing a new government led by a five-man coalition, known as the Pentarchy of 1933. After only five days, the Pentarchy gave way to the presidency of Ramón Grau, whose term is known as the One Hundred Days Government. The leader of the revolt, Sergeant Fulgencio Batista, became the head of the armed forces and began a long period of influence on Cuban politics.

What is a revolutionary union?

A revolutionary union doesn't just try to reform the political institutions to better the lot of the workers. Rather, the union tries to have a revolution.

What is the legacy of the wars of independence in terms of the leadership of cuba?

Most important Cuban leaders dead. The men who would have formed a political class of Cuba instead died off, leaving behind a political power vacuum that would by other, less civic-minded individuals.

Anarcho-syndicalism (also referred to as revolutionary syndicalism)

A theory of anarchism that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and with that control influence in broader society. Syndicalists consider their economic theories a strategy for facilitating worker self-activity and as an alternative co-operative economic system with democratic values and production centered on meeting human needs. The basic principles of anarcho-syndicalism are solidarity, direct action (action undertaken without the intervention of third parties such as politicians, bureaucrats and arbitrators) and direct democracy, or workers' self-management. The end goal of syndicalism is to abolish the wage system, regarding it as wage slavery. Anarcho-syndicalist theory therefore generally focuses on the labour movement.[2] Anarcho-syndicalists view the primary purpose of the state as being the defense of private property, and therefore of economic, social and political privilege, denying most of its citizens the ability to enjoy material independence and the social autonomy that springs from it.[3] Reflecting the anarchist philosophy from which it draws its primary inspiration, anarcho-syndicalism is centred around the idea that power corrupts and that any hierarchy that cannot be ethically justified must either be dismantled or replaced by decentralized egalitarian control.[3] Sources 2 Jeremy Jennings, Syndicalism in France (St Martin's Press, 1990) ISBN 031204027X. 3 "1c. Why do anarcho-syndicalists oppose participation in statist politics?". Anarcho-Syndicalism 101. Class Struggle Online. April 2002. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.

The Second Occupation of Cuba by United States military forces

Also known as the Cuban Pacification, lasted from September 1906 to February 1909. When the government of Cuban President Tomás Estrada Palma collapsed, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt ordered U.S. military forces into Cuba. Their mission was to prevent fighting between the Cubans, to protect U.S. economic interests there, and to hold free elections in order to establish a new and legitimate government. Following the election of José Miguel Gómez in November 1908, U.S. officials judged the situation in Cuba sufficiently stable for the U.S. to withdraw its troops, a process that was completed in February 1909.

The Negro Rebellion (Spanish: Levantamiento Armado de los Independientes de Color, "Armed Uprising of the Independents of Color", also known as the Little Race War, the War of 1912, or The Twelve)

An armed conflict during 1912 in Cuba, between Afro-Cuban rebels and the armed forces of Cuba and the United States. It took place mainly in the eastern region of the island where most Afro-Cubans were employed. After a widespread massacre of Afro-Cubans by the Cuban Army, the intervention by the U.S. military brought an end to the rebellion in a matter of weeks. The leaders of Afro-Cuban rebels, Evaristo Estenoz and Pedro Ivonnet, were killed during the rebellion and their political movement, the Independent Party of Color, was dissolved.

What are the 3 primary ideological currents among the Cuban population?

Anarchism, Communism, Nationalism

International influences on Cuba 1930s?

Anti-Americanism across Latin America. Frequent American intervention in Central and South America stoked feelings of Anti-Americanism. The MExican Revolution, 1910-20. The Russian Revolution, 1917. This seems to demonstrate the actual viability of a communist, socialist state. Lenin and the Bolshevists provide a blueprint of revolution that isn't evolutionism. The revolution isn't something in the distant future, but something that the workers can bring into existence through organized force of will. In addition, the Marxist-Leninist movement now has a state under its control. The USSR creates the Communist International which co-ordinates and supports this international movement, and encourages the creation of communist parties around the world. Argentinian students at the University of Cordoba, 1918. Argentinian students at the University of Cordoba rebel in 1918, demanding the independence of the University from government control, they wanted a modernization of the curriculum, and the secularization of the University education.

Describe the shadow government era (1934-1940) of Batista

Batista then became the strongman behind a succession of puppet presidents until he was elected president in 1940. After Mendieta, succeeding governments were led by José Barnet (5 months) and Miguel Mariano Gómez (7 months) before Federico Laredo Brú ruled from December 1936 to October 1940.

What gave rise to the Student Movement in Cuba in the 1920s?

Because of the stranglehold of the Americans on the Cuban economy, Cuba does not fully develop its economy. Nevertheless, there is some diversification, aided in some way by immig Ration. With these growing industries, there is a growing middle class, who send their students to university. These students, who were raised by parents and grandparents glorifying the struggle for Cuban independence, sought to try to live up to such legacies by carrying on the struggle for Cuban independence. These students organized, giving birth to the Student Movement.

What is the legacy of the wars of independence in terms of the people's expectations for Cuba's future?

Big expectations. For Afro-Cubans especially, but also for all Cubans, Cubans expect a better life, society, and a life of social equality. When rising expectations are frustrated, there is rebellion and revolt.

What is the difference between anarchists and communists in early 20th century Cuba?

Both the anarchists and the communists share a basis in the belief in the outrage at, and the rejection of, the suffering of the labour class. They believe in the goal of a classless society, in which the workers rise up, overthrow their capitalist oppressors, and create a society where economic institutions are collectively owned and collectively distributed. However, there are some fundamental differences. Unlike communists, anarchists critique all power and hierarchy. The communists say that the workers should have the power and authority. The anarchists say that NO ONE should have the power and authority, but that rather power and authority are themselves the problem. The anarchists want to abolish the state, or a ruling class. While they are not about lawless, man-is-a-wolf-to-man chaos, the anarchists do want a complete end to government. By contrast, the communists believe in discipline and organization, and think the anarchists are too soft and idealistic. The communists emphasize that the revolution requires discipline and power. They believe in the "vanguard party", the idea that the communist party will organize and lead the revolution.

4 big figures of Cuban War of Independence

Carlos M de Céspedes Antonio Maceo Maximo Gomez José Marti.

How should open think (and not think) about Cuba?

Cuba is COMPLICATED Not a left v.s. right thing

Alfredo de Zayas y Alfonso (February 21, 1861 - April 11, 1934), usually known as Alfredo de Zayasunder Spanish naming customs and also known as Alfredo Zayas

Cuban lawyer, poet and political figure. He served as prosecutor, judge, mayor of Havana, secretary of the Constitutional Convention, Senator 1905, president of the Senate 1906, Vice President of Cuba 1908-1913 and President of Cubafrom May 20, 1921 to May 20, 1925.

What is the legacy of the wars of independence in terms of Cuba's economy?

Economic ruin. The constant fighting saw agricultural land ruined and livestock gone. One aspect of economic ruin and social breakdown were the ravages of disease.

Why is Cuba Important?

First and only lasting socialist revolution in the western hemisphere One of two socialist countries left in existence The Cuban Revolution didn't just change Cuba - it changed the world

What were the beginnings the One Hundred Days Government (Spanish: Gobierno de los Cien Días)?

Following the Sergeants' Revolt on 4 September 1933, a de facto military government took shape formed by unofficial sergeants, corporals and other soldiers and aided by student activists in the Directorio Estudiantil Universitario. After a brief period of collegial government called the Pentarchy of 1933 formed by five officials that lasted only five days, a new government was formed on 10 September with Ramón Grau chosen as president at the request of the university students. The new heterogeneous government incorporated three political factions: Antonio Guiteras represented the revolutionary left wing, Fulgencio Batista was the head of the traditionalist right wing, and Ramón Grau was the bridge between the two and representative of the national reform wing

The Directorio Estudiantil Universitario (DEU) (English: University Student Directory)

Founded in 1927 by University of Havana students against the backdrop of a power grab by President Gerardo Machado consisting of constitutional reforms designed to prolong his presidential term by two years, and to promote his reelection to an additional term of six years. In the period between pushing for these reforms and their adoption by the corrupt Constitutional Assembly, a strong opposition composed chiefly of university students formed against this "Machadato" (Machado + mandato, mandate).[1] The DEU held various protests against Machado's regime and was at the political forefront of the One Hundred Days Government led by Ramón Grau. The group dissolved itself on November 6, 1933. Source 1 "Directorio Estudiantil Universitario de 1927"[University Student Directory of 1927]. Directorio Democrático Cubano. Hialeah: Directorio Democrático Cubano. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-19.

The ideas of José Marti:

Freedom as both a right and an obligation. Freedom is not just something you enjoy, but also a commitment to ensure others are free. Freedom is an active struggle. Land ownership. Cubans should own their land, so that they would not be so economically dominated by foreign landowners Enlightened government; rulers must be men of "culture and love". The idea was that the state was responsible for educating and enlightening the people. Republican democracy. Cuba should be some form of democratic republic. "Individual Initiative, private property and honest profit". He believed in the ideal of capitalism, in which an individual, through his own work or merit, can enjoy the fruits of his labour. Economic independence. Cuba had to diversify its economy, and stop being so dependent on foreign exports and the U.S. markets.

What was the end of the One Hundred Days Government (Spanish: Gobierno de los Cien Días)?

Grau's One Hundred Days Government lasted until January 15, 1934 when Grau was forced to resign by Batista, who had been conspiring with Sumner Welles of the American State Department. Grau was replaced by Carlos Mendieta, and within five days the U.S. recognized Cuba's new government.

What is the legacy of the wars of independence in terms of nationalism?

Growth of nationalism. The struggle against Spanish rule fomented a sense of nationalism. The constant travel and co-operation of Cuban natives against the Spanish broke down class and racial barriers and fostered a sense of a "Cuban" identity.

What was the ABC's Manifesto and ideology?

In 1932, the ABC issued a Program Manifesto, written predominantly by Martínez Saenz, Mañach, and Ichaso. The Manifesto called for a range of reforms, including women's suffrage, worker's rights (unions, eight-hour day, right to strike, pensions), the elimination of latifundios through taxation, and the creation of cooperatives.[1][7] It also called for the creation of a Cuban National Bank.[8] Though wide-ranging, the ABC's program has been described as more pragmatic or realistic than those of other opposition groups at the time.[9] The ABC was sometimes criticized (especially by the Communist Party of Cuba) as fascist, elitist, or crypto-imperialist.[7][10][11] The British Ambassador John J. Broderick related his "surprise to hear university professors and lawyers and doctors of education and intelligence attempt to justify the nightly bombings in the capital and its surroundings, on the grounds that they serve to keep alive amongst the people a spirit of uneasiness and revolt until comprehensive plans have been prepared for a series of systematic direct attacks on the machinery of the Government."[12] The ABC itself declared its opposition to both communism and fascism.[10] Its green banner contrasted notably with the gray, black, and blue colors of contemporary European right-wing groups, and its logo inspired by the Jewish star was intended to connote persecution.[7] Sources 1 Aguilar, Luis E. (1972). Cuba 1933: Prologue to Revolution. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-0660-9, 118-121. 7 Cuadriello, Jorge Domingo (April 2012). "El ABC fue otra esperanza de Cuba" (PDF). Espacio Laical. pp. 82-88 - via Centro Cultural Padre Félix Varela 8 Whitney (2001), p. 85. "The ABC supported rural cooperative societies, which would be aided by an Agricultural Bank. Cuba did not have a national bank, so the ABC's program called for formation of such an institution, which could provide credit to small and medium-sized producers and businesses." 9 Geoff Simons, Cuba: From Conquistador to Castro; Hampshire & London: Macmillan, 1996; ISBN 978-1-349-24419-5; p. 245. 10 Whitney, Robert W. (2001). State and Revolution in Cuba: Mass Mobilization and Political Change, 1920-1940. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-2611-1, pp. 84-85. "The ABC's program opposed the politics of class struggle. Instead, they tried to build a multiclass and mass insurrectionary movement favoring a 'new Cuba' based on national capitalist development. Their program was corporatist and protofascist. Corporatist movements were a response to the development of a mass workforce and the creation of new urban social classes; corporatists wanted to work out ways to control and manage the process of rapid social class formation while guaranteeing capitalist development. [...] The ABC's view of the new Cuba was elitist. They believed that the Cuban people were not ready for liberal democracy and that state intervention, directed by an intellectual elite, was required to prepare Cubans to assume their civil responsibilities. At the same time, the ABC Manifesto stated that the organization was opposed to both fascism and communism because both ideologies contradicted the principles of political liberty." 11 Yusleidy Pérez Sánchez, "Mañach, el ABC y el proceso revolucionario del 30 en Cuba"; Perfiles de la Cultura Cubana 01, January-April 2008. 12 Whitney, Robert W. (2001). State and Revolution in Cuba: Mass Mobilization and Political Change, 1920-1940. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-2611-1, 86.

How does a neo-colonial regime, like Cuba under U.S. domination from 1902-33 create teh conditions for political corruption?

In a neo-colonial regime, the foreign policy, as well as the economy, is under foreign domination, while the government is ostensibly supposed to be for the native people. Remember, the vote is in the hands of wealthy landowners. The local elite is barred from getting involved in business, since that it is under foreign control. So, the best way for the local elite to get wealth and influence turn to politics to enrich themselves.

What did the Americans do on 1933 in response to the growing violence in Cuba?

In early May, 1933, the Roosevelt administration outlined a tentative policy approach to help relax political tensions on the island. The administration instructed the new Ambassador to Cuba, Sumner Welles, to offer the "friendly mediation" of the United States government. Secretary of State Cordell Hull hoped negotiations would lead to a "definite, detailed, and binding understanding between the government and leaders of the opposition factions.

Why don't the communists of the URC/PSP think that Cuba is ready for a communist takeover in the early 20th century?

In the traditional Marxist formula, society requires a capitalist, industrialized phase that gives rise to an industrial working class. Only then, once that working class has been developed, can those workers then organize and rise up against the capitalists, and bring about a true socialist country.

What is the long-term results of the 1933 Cuban Revolution?

It is the birth of the Batista Era, which lasted from 1933-1959. The Revolution opened a door that could no longer be closed. The Americans, and the Cuban elites, realized that they had to address the grievances of the Cuban people. During the following years, many Cuban governments tried to at the very least in some way to enact the policies that were demanded in the 1933 Revolution. These governments therefore tried to assert independence from the U.S., and 1933 brings the birth Authenticos (The Authentics), they were student-based political party formed from members of the overthrown Grau-Guiteras government. More broadly, for those Cubans who want radical change, 1933 will take on an emotionally resonant symbol of change. 1933 was the continuation of the dream of Jose Marti for a more just and equal and free society, a dream that was thwarted by Cuba's enemies. The 1933 Revolution was "revolution deferred", a revolution stymied by Cuba's enemies. Therefore, the future goals of Cuban revolutionaries will be to try to repeat the success of 1933, but in a way that cannot be stymied by anti-revolutionary elements.

For the revolutionary nationalists, who was the most important figure?

José Marti.

What is the legacy of the wars of independence in terms the legacy of violence and trauma?

Legacy of violence and trauma. In the last days, 1895-1898, an estimated 200,000 civilians alone died of starvation and disease. This does not include soldiers. A "concentration camp" policy was pursued. As a result of this violence, there was a militarization of politics. The logic that political power came through violence became entrenched.

What are the 2 forms of immigration predominant in Cuba during the Republic of Cuba from 1898-1930s?

Massive immigration from Spain. Contract labour, mostly black labour from the rest of the Caribbean, primarily from Haiti and Jamaica, brought in on contract. They come, work for a time, and then go home.

What distinguishes the ABC from other movements?

Not their ideology, which was very secretive. Their public demands were essentially nationalist. Rather, the ABC were distinguished by their methodology: terrorism. The ABC used bombings and assassinations.

What 2 developments inspire further violence against Machado?

November 1928: new federal elections. Anti-Machado elements hope that Machado is voted out. However, Machado meddles with election and constitution to ensure that he is re-elected. His re-election is successful because by 1927, the Cuban chief executive had forged a coalition among the national political sectors, binding the Liberal, Conservative, and Popular parties to his candidacy for re-election. Through the appropriate application of patronage and coercion, the President had imposed a political consensus dissolving partisan autonomy, traditionally the source of anti-re-electionist violence. COOPERATIVSIMO, as the arrangement became known, conferred on parties outside the circumference of power the prerogatives, perquisites, and government posts inherent in the past only during national incumbency.Of course, to anti-Machado elements, the situation appears to reveal Machado's dictatorial ambitions, as well as the idea that peaceful politics do not work. 1929: the advent of the Great Depression. As the Cuban economy is critically dependent upon the American economy, the lack of U.S. investment brought a severe decline in teh quality of life for Cubans.

What ends the Levantamiento Armado de los Independientes de Color, ("Armed Uprising of the Independents of Color")?

On 23 May, President Gómez requested aid from U.S. President William H. Taft, who sent additional marines. The first reinforcements arrived on 28 May, landing at Deer Point, Guantanamo Bay, to link up with Major Thorpe's battalion. Colonel Lincoln Karmany was in command of this new force, designated the 1st Provisional Regiment of Marines. It numbered 32 officers and 777 enlisted men.[6] The 2nd Provisional Regiment of Marines with 1,292 officers and men under Colonel James E. Mahoney was also en route. Most arrived at Guantanamo Bay on 7 June, while one battalion was landed at Havana on 10 June. USS Mississippi landed her detachment at El Cuero on 19 June. Of the 1,292 men who landed at Guantanamo, only one battalion was deployed. Colonel Karmany took command of all the unassigned troops. Together, the American forces in Cuba totaled 2,789 officers and men and were organized into the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade. About half of them were sent to occupy towns and cities in eastern Cuba. The rest remained at the naval base. In June Estenoz rapidly began losing control of his territory to the Cuban military, which was dispersing large bands of the rebels and bystanders. Rebel forces had once numbered at least 3,000 men, but by June there were an estimated 1,800 left alive, although some sources cite 6000 exterminated.[5] The Marines were assigned to protect the American-owned sugarcane plantations and their associated properties, as well as copper mines, railroads and trains. The Afro-Cubans attacked the Marines only once, at El Cuero, but were repulsed without casualties on either side.[6] President Gómez offered amnesty to any of the rebels who surrendered by 22 June, but Estenoz continued to fight with a few hundred men, though most of the rebels surrendered. By the end of June the majority had returned to their homes. Estenoz was killed by government forces who shot him in the back of the head at Miraca on 27 June.[1][6][7][8][9] References 1 ""Cuba 1912: La masacre racista", AfroCubaWeb". Afrocubaweb.com. Retrieved 13 October 2014. 6 Clark, George B. (2010). Battle History of the United States Marine Corps, 1775-1945. McFarland. ISBN 9780786456215. 7 "USS Mississippi, Battleship (BB-23) History". Josediaz.net. Retrieved 15 March 2014. 8 "The 1912 Massacre of AfroCubans". AfroCubaWeb. Retrieved 22 February 2016. 9 J. A. Sierra,. "Race War of 1912 - A Timeline". History of Cuba.com. Retrieved 22 February 2016.

What is the 1901 Constitution and Platt Amendment

On March 2, 1901, the Platt Amendment was passed as part of the 1901 Army Appropriations Bill.[1] It stipulated seven conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops remaining in Cuba at the end of the Spanish-American War, and an eighth condition that Cuba sign a treaty accepting these seven conditions. It defined the terms of Cuban-U.S. relations to essentially be an unequal one of U.S. dominance over Cuba. On December 25, 1901, Cuba amended its constitution to contain, word for word, the seven applicable demands of the Platt Amendment.[2] On May 22, 1903, Cuba entered into a treaty with the United States to make the same required seven pledges: the Cuban-American Treaty of Relations of 1903.[1] Two of the seven pledges were to allow the United States to intervene unilaterally in Cuban affairs, and a pledge to lease land to the United States for naval bases on the island. (The Cuban-American Treaty of Relations of 1934 replaced the 1903 Treaty of Relations, and dropped three of the seven pledges.)

Plantation Theory and the Dependency Dilemma

Plantation Societies are colonial societies where the colonizing power has NO interest in developing a society. Rather, the colonizer merely uses the colony as a place from which to extract resources, like sugar. The colonizer focuses on the single, most profitable resource to the exclusion of all others. This continues even when slavery is abolished, as businessmen bring in dirt cheap labour to undercut the domestic worker.

Lt. General José Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales (June 14, 1845 - December 7, 1896)

Second-in-command of the Cuban Army of Independence. Fellow Cubans gave this person the nickname "The Bronze Titan" (Spanish: El Titan de Bronce), which was a reference to the person's skin color, stature and status.[1] Spaniards referred to this person as the "Greater Lion" (El Leon mayor). This person was one of the most noteworthy guerrilla leaders in 19th century Latin America, comparable to José Antonio Páez of Venezuela in military acumen.

What are the 3 phases of the Batista era?

Shadow government 1934-40 Presidency 1940-44 Dictatorship 1952-59

What was the background to the Directorio Estudiantil Universitario (DEU) (English: University Student Directory)?

Student activism flourished in the 1920s. In 1922-1923, students formed an organization called the Federación Estudiantil Universitaria (FEU; University Student Federation) which addressed political as well as scholastic issues and took a stance against American imperialism. After the election of Machado in 1924 some of the gains in student power were reversed, and non-educational student organizations, including the FEU, were banned. The Student Directory formed in this context as an assembly of the leaders of existing athletic and cultural organizations.[2][3] Sources 2 Aguilar, Luis E. (1972). Cuba 1933: Prologue to Revolution. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-0660-9. 3 Marcin Kula, "Los estratos medios de la sociedad en el movimiento revolucionario. La revolución de 1933 en Cuba"; Revista Mexicana de Sociología 43(3), July-September 1981; JSTOR.

How does Cuba speak to the fundamental questions about the world in which we live?

Studying Cuba can help answer questions such as: Is there an alternative to capitalism? Can countries in the Western hemisphere successfully challenge US hegemony? Why do revolutions happen? What do they achieve? Do they always result in tyranny? Can we change human nature?

From 1902-1933, how corrupt was the government of Republic of Cuba

There was incredible corruption, violence, and disfunctionality. Corruption becomes endemic within the Cuban government, where there is widespread clientism.

Briefly narrate the 1935 general strike

The 1935 strike began in late February when the teachers and students of Cuba's public schools unexpectedly staged a walkout. They initially struck for increased government funding for public schools. By February 25th 4,000 teachers and 100,000 students were on strike. They were soon joined by the students of the University of Havana, who organized a strike committee, appealing to the general population to join the movement in a General Strike. The students called for full reestablishment of all constitutional guarantees, the subjection of the military to civil authority, and withdrawal of all troops from educational institutions. Soon the university faculty joined the strike, criticizing the government's inability to restore social and economic stability. Labor unions were the next group to join the strike. Prior to the strike there had been a breakup of the coalition supporting Mendieta, resulting in a number of groups leaving the government, including the Menocalistas, the revolutionary group ABC, and prominent cabinet members. These groups along with the Autentico group and other government employees threw their support behind the strikers, bringing the total participation in the general strike up to 500,000 people. Both the Coordinadora Nacional de Organizaciones Campesinas (CNOC) and the Communist Party were at first reluctant to support a general strike, feeling it had been enacted prematurely. Guiteras was also hesitant to give his support warning the campaigners that the environment was not right and that the strike lacked the proper organization. However, as the strike gained more and more popular support these groups hesitantly gave their support to the general strike. The reaction to this strike by President Mendieta and Batista was ferocious. They immediately suspended the constitution, declaring martial law in Havana. The University of Havana, viewed by the government as a foundation of the resistance, was taken over by the military and remained closed for over three years. Many leaders of the strike were abducted from their homes and brutally assassinated. In addition special courts were created solely for the purpose of convicting strikers of illegal opposition. Mendieta also dismissed large amounts of government employees and sent soldiers to Union Headquarters to vandalize the buildings and burn the archives. Finally, Mendieta brought in large groups of strikebreakers to occupy the positions of the strikers in order to keep Havana running. These actions succeeded in crushing the strike. The defeated strike was followed by a period of intense suppression, in which all unions and free speech was banned. In addition, the months following the strike were the first time civilians were executed by firing squad. However, this suppression backfired on Mendieta, creating widespread dissention within his government. This resulted in Mendieta losing the remainder of his support, and in December 1935 he was forced to resign the presidency. Therefore, despite the defeat of the strike, the goal to overthrow Mendieta was achieved. Nonetheless, Batista remained in power and replaced Mendieta with another puppet president.

What is the significance of the ABC?

The ABC is significant because it showed that the Cuban middle class was willing to use violence to effect political change.

What is the Cuban's peoples attitude toward the United States during the 1900s-1910?

The Cuban people view the American ambassador, not the President of Cuba, as the most powerful man in the United States.

How does Plantation Society create social disruption?

The Plantation society begins with slavery, and as such the economy does not develop along normal lines, as the slave does not get paid money that he/she can spend. Even when slavery is abolished, the plantation owner imports cheap labour, rather than . So, you have an economy that is heavily focused on one export, while being heavily dependent on importing those neglected goods and services. This economic dependency on foreign imports creates a sense of political dependency, and as a result a psychological dependency upon foreigners. If the value of the single exported good drops, then this has serious consequences for that plantation economy. Suddenly, the devalued exports brings back less money, which means less foreign essential imports can be purchased. This lack of essential resources, like food or medicine, brings about starvation and disease, and social disruption.

When the U.S. intervened in the Cuban War of Independence, and thus triggered the Spanish-American War, how exactly did the U.S. intervene?

The U.S intervene in a very imperialistic and paternalistic way.

How did the various Cuban factions receive the arrival of Sumner Welles in May 1933?

The arrival of the new Ambassador in Cuba had immediately a salutary impact. The government pledged constitutional reforms, lifted censorship, and released a host of political prisoners. By the end of June, the Cuban government and the large portion of the opposition sectors, including the ABC, the OCRR, women's opposition groups, and normal school instructors, had agreed to participate in the protect negotiations. However, groups like the Communists, and the student Directorio Estudiantil Universitario (DEU) were, at the very least, very apprehensive towards further American intervention.

What is the connection between plantation society and progressive movements of Cuba?

The drive to escape this plantation society motivated the rise of progressive movements in Cuba.

Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (/bəˈtiːstə/;[1] Spanish: [fulˈxensjo βaˈtista i salˈdiβaɾ]; born Rubén Zaldívar;[2] January 16, 1901 - August 6, 1973)

The elected President of Cuba from 1940 to 1945, and the U.S.-backed authoritarian ruler from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown during the Cuban Revolution. Batista initially rose to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of the Sergeants, which overthrew the provisional government of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada. He then appointed himself chief of the armed forces, with the rank of colonel, and effectively controlled the five-member "pentarchy" that functioned as the collective head of state. He maintained this control through a string of puppet presidents until 1940, when he was himself elected President of Cuba on a populist platform.[3][4] He then instated the 1940 Constitution of Cuba [5] and served until 1944. After finishing his term he lived in Florida, returning to Cuba to run for president in 1952. Facing certain electoral defeat, he led a military coup against President Carlos Prío Socarrás that preempted the election.[6] Back in power, and receiving financial, military, and logistical support from the United States government,[7][8] 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.[9] Eventually it reached the point where most of the sugar industry was in U.S. hands, and foreigners owned 70% of the arable land.[10] As such, Batista's repressive government then began to systematically profit from the exploitation of Cuba's commercial interests, by negotiating lucrative relationships with both the American Mafia, who controlled the drug, gambling, and prostitution businesses in Havana, and with large U.S.-based multinational companies who were awarded lucrative contracts.[9][11] To quell the growing discontent amongst the populace—which was subsequently displayed through frequent student riots and demonstrations—Batista established tighter censorship of the media, while also utilizing his Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities secret police to carry out wide-scale violence, torture and public executions; ultimately killing anywhere from hundreds to 20,000 people.[12][13][14][15][16][17] Catalyzing the resistance to such tactics, for two years (December 1956 - December 1958) Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement and other nationalist rebelling elements led an urban and rural-based guerrilla uprising against Batista's government, which culminated in his eventual defeat by rebels under the command of Che Guevara at the Battle of Santa Clara on New Year's Day 1959. Batista immediately fled the island with an amassed personal fortune to the Dominican Republic, where strongman and previous military ally Rafael Trujillo held power. Batista eventually found political asylum in Oliveira Salazar's Portugal, where he first lived on the island of Madeira and then in Estoril, outside Lisbon. He was involved in business activities in Spain and was staying there in Guadalmina near Marbella at the time of his death from a heart attack on August 6, 1973.[18] SOURCE 1 "Batista". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. 2 Cino, Luis (March 13, 2006). "Rubén el terrible"[Rubén the terrible]. Cubanet. Coral Gables, FL: CubaNet News, Inc. Archived from the original on November 30, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2017. En las actas del juzgado de Banes siguió siendo legalmente Rubén Zaldívar hasta que en 1939, al ser nominado a la candidatura presidencial, se descubrió que la inscripción de nacimiento de Fulgencio Batista no existía. Conseguirla le costó postergar la presentación de su candidatura y quince mil pesos para pagar al juez." - "In the minutes of the courthouse at Banes he remained legally being Rubén Zaldívar until 1939, when, nominated to the presidential candidacy, it was discovered that Fulgencio Batista's birth certificate did not exist. To obtain it cost him the postponing the presentation of his candidacy and fifteen thousand pesos to pay the [local] judge. 3 "Elections and Events 1935-1951 - The Library". Libraries.ucsd.edu. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014. 4 Argote-Freyre, Frank (2006). Fulgencio Batista. 1. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. p. 50. ISBN 0-8135-3701-0. 5 Wright, Robert; Wylie, Lana, eds. (2009). Our Place in the Sun: Canada and Cuba in the Castro Era. University of Toronto Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-8020-9666-1. Retrieved July 6, 2013. 6 Cavendish, Richard (March 2002). "General Batista Returns to Power in Cuba". History Today. Vol. 52 no. 3. London: History Today Ltd. Retrieved September 30, 2017. 7 Guerra, Lillian (2010). Grandin, Greg; Joseph, Gilbert M., eds. Beyond Paradox. A Century of Revolution. American Encounters/Global Interactions. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. pp. 199-238. ISBN 978-0-8223-4737-8. 8 Fidel: The Untold Story. (2001). Directed by Estela Bravo. First Run Features. (91 min). Viewable clip. "Batista's forces were trained by the United States, which also armed them with tanks, artillery, and aircraft." 9 Historical Dictionary of the 1950s, by James Stuart Olson, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000, ISBN 0-313-30619-2, pp. 67-68. 10 Fidel: The Untold Story. (2001). Directed by Estela Bravo. First Run Features. (91 min). Viewable clip. 11 Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution, by T. J. English, William Morrow, 2008, ISBN 0-06-114771-0. 12 Wickham-Crowley, Timothy P. (1990). Exploring Revolution: Essays on Latin American Insurgency and Revolutionary Theory. Armonk and London: M.E. Sharpe. P. 63 "Estimates of hundreds or perhaps about a thousand deaths due to Batista's terror are also supported by comments made by Fidel Castro and other Batista critics during the war itself." 13 Guerra, Lillian (2012). Visions of Power in Cuba: Revolution, Redemption, and Resistance, 1959-1971. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 42 "The likely total was probably closer to three to four thousand." 14 Conflict, Order, and Peace in the Americas, by the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, 1978, p. 121. "The US-supported Batista regime killed 20,000 Cubans" 15 nvisible Latin America, by Samuel Shapiro, Ayer Publishing, 1963, ISBN 0-8369-2521-1, pg 77. "All told, Batista's second dictatorship cost the Cuban people some 20,000 dead" 16 The World Guide 1997/98: A View from the South, by University of Texas, 1997, ISBN 1-869847-43-1, pg 209. "Batista engineered yet another coup, establishing a dictatorial regime, which was responsible for the death of 20,000 Cubans." 17 The Third World in Perspective, by H. A. Reitsma & J. M. G. Kleinpenning, ISBN 0-8476-7450-9, pg 344. "Under Batista at least 20,000 people were put to death." 18 "Batista Dies in Spain at 72". New York Times. August 7, 1973.

What were the key characteristics of the Cuban economy during the Republic of Cuba from 1898-1930s?

The exportation of sugar was a critical feature of the Caribbean economy Cuba became the main exporter of cuba. -Increased US ownership of the economy.The United States acquired a virtually unchallengeable dominance of the Cuban economy. U.S. businesses regularly squeezed out any Cuban competition. -Increased monopolization. -Cuba increasingly a mono-crop economy. Cuban Sugar became by far the most important export of the country. -Growth of the US tourist economy. As U.S. companies buy up and dominate more and more of the Cuban economy, During the Prohibition Era of 1920-1933, Havana becomes a "sin city" where tourists can get access to liquor. -Growing dependency on US imports. As Cuba's economy became primarily about exporting sugar, Cuba was forced to import other goods such as food and medicine. This made the country incredibly reliant on the US for imports. -Immigration. American's bring in foreign workers as cheap labour, which sugar plantation owners hire so that they don't have to pay for Cuban workers.

What did the One Hundred Days Government do about the Platt Amendment?

They effectively declare that they refuse to recognize the Platt Amendment.

The Good Neighbor policy

The foreign policy of the administration of United StatesPresident Franklin Roosevelt towards Latin America. Although the policy was implemented by the Roosevelt administration, President Woodrow Wilson had previously used the term—but subsequently went on to invade Mexico. Senator Henry Clay had coined the term Good Neighbor in the previous century. The policy's main principle was that of non-intervention and non-interference in the domestic affairs of Latin America. It also reinforced the idea that the United States would be a "good neighbor" and engage in reciprocal exchanges with Latin American countries.[1] Overall, the Roosevelt administration expected that this new policy would create new economic opportunities in the form of reciprocal trade agreements and reassert the influence of the United States in Latin America; however, many Latin American governments were not convinced.[2]

Where did the idea of anarchism come from?

The ideas of anarchism came from Spanish immigrants.

The Cuban War of Independence (Spanish: Guerra de Independencia cubana, 1895-98)

The last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868-1878) and the Little War (1879-1880). The final three months of the conflict escalated to become the Spanish-American War, with United States forces being deployed in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands against Spain. Historians disagree as to the extent that United States officials were motivated to intervene for humanitarian reasons but agree that yellow journalism exaggerated atrocities attributed to Spanish forces against Cuban civilians.

What were the social and political measures enacted by the One Hundred Days Government (Spanish: Gobierno de los Cien Días)?

The new government promoted important democratic measures for the Cuban people, which Grau and Batista would interpret as imposed by Guiteras. Batista played the self-appointed role of Colonel-in-chief of all the Armed Forces of Cuba, and repeatedly disagreed with Guiteras's decisions, many of which went against the Cuban oligarchy and imperialism, and as such affected the interests of many U.S. companies. Various measures were taken, such as the establishment of the Secretariat as a Ministry of Labor, the establishment of a minimum wage, the 8-hour work day, the confiscation of the property of Gerardo Machado and his collaborators, the cleanup of state institutions, the nationalization of labor and ensuring that half the jobs were carried out by those born in Cuba, price cuts for everyday necessities, reductions in electrical rates, autonomy in the universities, and the intervention of the Cuban Company of Electricity (which was a subsidiary of the American company Electric Bond & Share), realized personally by Guiteras as Secretary of Interior and War via Decree 172. These measures were not fully implemented because of the brief duration of the government. Reformists were accepted by the administration for the first time in Cuba, which made it possible for Guiteras to carry out his struggle for the general welfare of Cuban society more directly than before. Nevertheless, internal disagreements in the government, and the lack of experience on the part of the labor movement and the masses in their struggle to achieve their objectives, hindered their effectiveness in achieving it.

What forms of discrimination were faced by Afro-Cubans in the New Republic (circa 1900s)?

They were excluded from government They faced widespread discrimination in employment. Growing U.S. dominance of the Cuban economy brought U.S. racist attitudes toward Africans. They had twice the illiteracy rate of white Cubans. Schools and hospitals are far more likely to be build in White Cuban Their economic power undercut through immigration. Cuban employers are far more likely to hire a white spaniard then an Afro-Cubans, leaving Afro-Cubans destitute.

Who were Cuba's early presidents?

Tomás Estrada Palma, 1902-06 Jose Miguel Gomez, 1909-13 Mario Garcia Menocal, 1913-21 Alfredo de Zayas, 1921-25.

What was the reaction of many Cubans to the Platt Amendment?

Widespread cynicism.

What was the impact of the failure of the Levantamiento Armado de los Independientes de Color, ("Armed Uprising of the Independents of Color") upon Afro Cubans?

With the failure of the Levantamiento Armado de los Independientes de Color, ("Armed Uprising of the Independents of Color"), Afro-Cubans no longer attempt to pursue their interests through an party organized along Afro-Cuban (i.e. racial) lines. From then on, Afro-Cubans pursue their interests via other political avenues.

The Spanish-American War (Spanish: Guerra hispano-americana or Guerra hispano-estadounidense; Filipino: Digmaang Espanyol-Amerikano)

____ was fought between the United States and Spain in 1898. Hostilities began in the aftermath of the internal explosion of USS Maine in Havana Harbor in Cuba, leading to U.S. intervention in the Cuban War of Independence. U.S. acquisition of Spain's Pacific possessions led to its involvement in the Philippine Revolution and ultimately in the Philippine-American War.[14] The main issue was Cuban independence. Revolts had been occurring for some years in Cuba against Spanish rule. The U.S. later backed these revolts upon entering the Spanish-American War. There had been war scares before, as in the Virginius Affair in 1873, but in the late 1890s, U.S. public opinion was agitated by anti-Spanish propaganda led by newspaper publishers such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst which used yellow journalism to call for war.[15][16] The business community across the United States had just recovered from a deep depression and feared that a war would reverse the gains. It lobbied vigorously against going to war. The United States Navy armored cruiser USS Maine had mysteriously sunk in Havana Harbor; political pressures from the Democratic Party pushed the administration of Republican President William McKinley into a war that he had wished to avoid. President McKinley signed a joint Congressional resolution demanding Spanish withdrawal and authorizing the President to use military force to help Cuba gain independence on April 20, 1898.[17] In response, Spain severed diplomatic relations with the United States on April 21. On the same day, the U.S. Navy began a blockade of Cuba.[18] On April 23, Spain stated that it would declare war if the U.S. forces invaded its territory. On April 25, Congress declared that a state of war between the U.S. and Spain had de facto existed since April 21, the day the blockade of Cuba had begun.[19]The United States sent an ultimatum to Spain demanding that it surrender control of Cuba, but due to Spain not replying soon enough, the United States assumed Spain had ignored the ultimatum and continued to occupy Cuba.[20][not in citation given] The ten-week war was fought in both the Caribbean and the Pacific. As U.S. agitators for war well knew,[21] U.S. naval power proved decisive, allowing expeditionary forces to disembark in Cuba against a Spanish garrison already facing nationwide Cuban insurgent attacks and further wasted by yellow fever.[22] American, Cuban, and Philippine forces obtained the surrender of Santiago de Cuba and Manila despite the good performance of some Spanish infantry units and fierce fighting for positions such as San Juan Hill.[23] Madrid sued for peace after two obsolete Spanish squadrons sank in Santiago de Cuba and Manila Bay and a third, more modern, fleet was recalled home to protect the Spanish coasts.[24] The result was the 1898 Treaty of Paris, negotiated on terms favorable to the U.S. which allowed it temporary control of Cuba and ceded ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine islands. The cession of the Philippines involved payment of $20 million ($602,320,000 today) to Spain by the U.S. to cover infrastructure owned by Spain.[25] The defeat and loss of the last remnants of the Spanish Empire was a profound shock to Spain's national psyche and provoked a thorough philosophical and artistic reevaluation of Spanish society known as the Generation of '98.[24] The United States gained several island possessions spanning the globe and a rancorous new debate over the wisdom of expansionism.[26]

What aspects of Cuban society in the first three decades of independence made it fertile ground, in Karol's view, for the communist party (PSP)?

ground, in Karol's view, for the communist party (PSP)? (p. 61) "Cuba had made indescribable sacrifices, only to exchange the domination of a distant and declining power for that of a nearby and far more powerful one, a country in the process of rapid economic expansion. Paradoxically, it was at the point of acquiring her "independence" that Cuba began to develop, and develop fast, all the characteristics of a colonial dependency." (Karol 1970, 61) One key note here is the idea that, after it's war of independence, Cuba became a colonial dependency. In short, anti-colonial philosophies like communism became very attractive because of the economic exploitation. AND because that economy domination was at the hands of another foreign power, the United States. "Creole landowners, lacking economic resources to prevent massive American penetration2[2. Purely by way of illustration, we quote the following figures on U.S. investments in Cuba: 1902-1906 $ 80,000,000 (excluding the public debt) 1909 $ 200,000,000 (including the public debt) 1922 $1,200,000,000 (with control of 75 per cent of the sugar industry) See Historia de Cuba (Havana, Dirección Política de las FAR, 1967), p. 583.], could not turn themselves into that class of entrepreneurs which presides over "normal" capitalist development and helps to run the kind of bourgeois republic described in the Cuban Constitution. Cuba was transformed into a paradise for compradores, speculators, and other agents in the service of the new masters. The enrichment of this "elite" necessarily led to the impoverishment of the people, and social contrasts became more glaring from year to year. The misery of the countryside, which contained 52 per cent of all Cubans before the Second World War, defies the imagination. Those who pulled up their roots in the hope of finding work in the cities found themselves in shantytowns, where they barely eked out a living on the fringe of society. Sugar, the country's chief crop, accounted for 80 per cent of the gross national income, but provided no more than 30,000 permanent jobs—the number of employees went up to 400,000 during each zafra- (p. 62) -or sugar harvest. However, the sugar companies, most of them American or under direct U.S. control, preferred to "import" large contingents of Jamaican or Haitian "semi-slaves," who proved even more tractable when it came to wages than did the Cuban seasonal workers. All in all, by the end of the '20s, the Cuban proletariat accounted for a mere 16.4 per cent of the working population, while the tertiary sector, hypertrophied as in all colonial countries, had already absorbed 35 per cent.3[3. All these data are taken from Julio Alienes y Urosa: Caracteristicas fundamentales de la economica cubana (Havana, Barco Nacional de Cuba, 1950).]" (Karol 1970, 61-62). "Memories of the patriotic war were still fresh in many minds, and a country that had made so many sacrifices and had had such high hopes was unlikely to resign itself to so much blatant dishonesty and moral decay. What was more, the apostle of Cuban independence, José Marti, had prophetically warned Cubans against Yankee imperialism ("I have lived in the entrails of the North American monster, I know of what crimes it is capable") and had taught them that "rights are not obtained by begging but must be seized by force." Hence it was not at all astonishing that young Cubans should have had a fondness for violence. "To get rid of gangsters you need dynamite," the young poet Rubén Martínez Villena proclaimed in 1923." (Karol 1970, 62). "It was in this explosive atmosphere that the young Communist Party was founded. Everything seemed to favor it: as a branch of the Third International, it was anti-imperialist, and its anti-Yankee denunciations re-echoed José Marti's. It was anti-racist and so appealed to the numerically important colored sector, which after supplying more than 60 per cent of the soldiers in the anti-Spanish army, was now suffering rank economic and social discrimination. Last but far from least, its political rivals were groups split into numerous factions based on personal ambition and a great deal of ideological confusion. In short, the Communist Party was in an excellent position to establish what Antonio Gramsci has called its hegemony." (Karol 1970, 63) NOTE: Here are several key aspects that are mentioned here, several "areas of opportunity" FIRST, the resentment against American imperialism in Cuba. Most of the money was predominantly in the hands of th eAmerican companies. SECOND, there was widespread racism. Afro-Cubans were regularly excluded from participating in the labour market. The American copanies regularly imported arge contingents of Jamaican or Haitians, who were more tractable when it came to wages than the Cuban seasonal workers THIRD, the widespread individualism and lack of unity amongst those more conservative, pro-American elements in the Cuban political establishment. Many of those that might have otherwise become entrepreneurial capitalists were instead employed as "compradores, speculators, and other agents in the service of" the Americans (Karol 1970 61). FOURTH, the public discourse of Cuba heavily featured narratives promoting resistance to foreign powers. Figures like Jose Marti were seen as exemplars of Cubans fighting against foreign oppression, and warning of Yankee domination. Such discourse gave voice to feelings of Anti-American sentiment.

The One Hundred Days Government (Spanish: Gobierno de los Cien Días)

the name normally used in Cuba to refer to the Cuban government of Ramon Grau which lasted from September 4, 1933 until January 15, 1934.

Why is it important that Canadians understand Cuba?

•Cuba is your neighbour! •Long history of Canadian-Cuban relations •What happens in Cuba impacts Canada, and vice versa •Canada as (unequal) counter-balance to US