Due in no small part to Cuba’s geographical proximity to the U.S., it is little wonder that Americans have had a vested interest in the political and economic status of the island 80 miles south of the tip of Florida. Even before the American Civil War planters in the South had their eye on annexing Cuba into the U.S. in order to create another slave state and increase the political power of the South. Shortly after the conclusion of the U.S. Civil War, native Cubans sought to free themselves from Spanish rule and fought for independence in 1868 in what came to be known in Cuba as the Ten Years War. Although this war did not create a free and independent Cuba as her leaders intended, the War of 1895 did finally allow Cubans to self-rule.
The War of 1895 is known and taught in America as the Spanish-American War, and they are remembered quite differently depending on which side of the 80 miles of water you live on. Its nickname in America became “the splendid little war” that lasted through one summer; the war raged for over 7 years on the island. More American soldiers died to disease than combat; over 300,000 Cubans died in fighting. The war also ushered in America’s first attempt at gaining at least partial control of the island, through the Platt Amendment.
Following the conclusion of the War and the departure of Spanish rule, American troops occupied the island to aide Cubans with, among other things, establishing a new government. Not surprisingly, the new Cuban constitution was very similar to the U.S.’s, except for the Platt Amendment. Under this provision, America claimed authority to approve Cuba’s treaties with other nations, intervene in Cuba’s international affairs, and establish a coaling station on the island (today’s Guantanamo Bay). This angered the Cubans, who rightly pointed out that the U.S. would not have agreed do these stipulations had France tried to force them upon the newly formed United States in 1781, but the old adage of “might makes right” proved true, and the Cuban constitutional convention agreed to the Platt Amendment under threat of continued occupation by American forces. By 1906, 40% of Cuban businesses were owned by U.S. citizens.
U.S. interest – both political and economic – in Cuba continued through the first half of the twentieth century, but that is where American interest ended. Living conditions for many Cubans was sub-standard, leading the World Bank to issue the ominous statement in 1950 that in Cuba “disease is not a problem but health is.” Malnourishment, economic disparity among citizens, and the perception of a corrupt government that allowed the abuse to continue made Cuba an area rip for revolution.
In 1952 a young rebel named Fidel Castro – who had participated in revolts in other Latin American countries – led an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada Barracks near the city of Santiago. Although the attack failed in its objective, the subsequent trial where Castro credited the idea behind the attack to War of 1895 and national hero Jose Marti, Castro not only national notoriety, but a following and a voice of the poor. Following a year’s imprisonment, Castro retreated to Mexico where he planned another rebellion. This one ultimately proved successful. Castro’s army famously used guerilla warfare tactics in the mountains of Cuba and eventually defeated the Cuban army in 1959, where he appointed himself as president and established and maintained the government in the same way he had maintained his troops: as an authoritarian.
Conditions in Cuba in 1950 were ripe for revolt; basic health and nutrition needs were not being met for a significant portion of the population, and the growing economic division only exacerbated the situation. When a member of the elite class (Castro was the son of wealthy Spanish planters) revolted, he quickly found many willing participants among the nation’s poor, who felt they had little to lose. The Cuban Revolution was a result of a government not meeting her citizens needs and men of means who were willing to risk their lives in order to gain political power, which the Castros wielded for over five decades.
For more information on the Cuban Revolution, click here: Cuban Revolution
J Williams blog 