Historical Study of Cuba

Continuing on with my summer of Latin American appreciation, I now turn my attention to Cuba. This initial inspiration was brought on by my reading of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. I intend to later write a separate post about the very interesting life of this famous American author. But it was actually the setting in the book, that inspired me. Here was a quiet peaceful coastal town in Cuba where simple minded folk just seemed to care about fishing, drinking, and talking baseball. Hemingway himself spent some time in Cuba, and this book was no doubt a personal homage to his love of fishing but also the nation itself. 

This actually isn't the first time I've been inspired by Cuban culture and history. It was during my time in Chicago 2009, when I was most invested in politics, that I became fascinated with the life of Ernesto Che Guevara (see Tribute to Che). I bought this massive book, a biography of his life, and I later discovered some of my all time favorite movies Motorcycle Diaries and Che. It was in learning about him, that I became inspired to travel to Costa Rica and have my own adventures. What most inspired me about this man, was how he came from a wealthy family with medical career prospects and decided to throw all that away just to help the impoverished throughout Latin America. While he was Argentine, his greatest claim to fame was his role in the Cuban Revolution. 

It seems this year I just can't get away from the historical pull of the Cold War. It began in March after watching the film Oppenheimer, I became very fascinated with our nuclear development. Then in April there was the rare Solar Eclipse, and I suddenly found myself in a space appreciation phase, which pertained to the space race, thus bringing me back to the Cold War. Now several months later I am drawn to Cuba, who happened to be a close ally to the Soviet Union, and a key battleground throughout the Cold War. In this post I simply intend to better understand their historical evolution, beginning with their pre-Colombian conquest, Spanish occupation, Independence, American influence, and their revolution.   

Pre-Colombian Era

Just like most of Mesopotamia and Central America the island of Cuba was inhabited by indigenous peoples. The oldest inhabitants were the Guanajatabey, who were later pushed aside by tribes from Hispaniola (present day Dominican Republic) known as the Taino and the Arawak. These tribes cultivated yucca, tobacco, potatoes and maize. It is estimated that the population of natives living on the island of Cuba was around 350,000 prior to the Spanish discovery. 

On his maiden voyage in 1492, Columbus first landed in the Bahamans and then explored the eastern coastline of Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic before returning to Europe. On his second voyage he landed in the famous Guantanamo Bay and established a settlement to spread Christianity to the natives. From here they Spanish spread among the locals like a virus, seeking fortune much more so than religious conversion. The Tainos made several minor confrontations against their conquerors, but none were prevalent. By 1519 the settlement of Havana was established and became a new Spanish stronghold in the Caribbean.  

Spanish Colonial Age

Just as with Mexico, the native locals had to assimilate to Spanish customs, but eventually the two merged intoa new culture. Also during this time waves of slave ships were brought into Cuba to establish a sugar and tobacco industry (to this day 65% of Cuba are descendants of African slaves). Piracy throughout the bays of Cuba became rampant during the 1600s-1700s. By 1800 however they had still managed to establish a booming sugar market which brought on the development of better infrastructure. Their biggest customer was the United States who bought 82 percent of the sugar produced in Cuba.

In 1820 Spain abolished slavery, which made a lasting impact on the business of Cuba. Furthermore there was a wave of revolution that had spread throughout Latin Americas and local Cubans became aware of the need for independence. New secret political societies began to emerge inspired by the success of Simon Bolivar from Colombia. Many efforts throughout the 1830s-1860s were quickly squashed and repelled by the Spanish Empire. In 1968 The Cuban Liberation Army was established under the leadership of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes and waged the Ten Year War against Spain. Although unsuccessful this was followed up by two more military conflicts the Little War of 1879-1880, and the Cuban War of Independence (1895-1898).

American Influence

As far back as the 1820s the United States had a political interest in the affairs of Cuba, mostly since it was only 90s miles from the southern state of Florida. When Spain prohibited slavery in 1820, many prominent Cuban landowners turned to America, where slavery was still legal, to intervene on the situation. President Franklin Pierce and his southern democrat coalition began to push for a policy to annex the island of Cuba. This was known as the Ostend Manifesto written in 1854, which sought to establish Cuba as a slave state. The intent was to buy Cuba from Spain and if they refused to conquer it militarily. The idea however was heavily denounced by the northern states who had begun to favor abolition. 

By the late 1890s, the US returned their heightened interest in Cuban affairs thru the medium of yellow journalism. Famed media moguls, Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst began publishing stories pertaining to the injustice ongoing in Cuba. Soon public opinion turned against the Spanish occupation and favored the Cuban's struggle for independence. America was finally drawn into the military conflict against Spain after the explosion of their battleship, the USS Maine. The explosion killed 268 crewmen, and while the cause was not entirely clear, it forced President McKinley to declare war on Spain in 1898.

The American navy's first major assault was on Guantanamo Bay in July of 1898 and was arguably the decisive blow to the Spanish navy. From here the main object became to capture the city of Santiago. This lead to a siege and several key engagements such as the Battle of Guasimas, El Caney, and the Battle of San Juan Hill. It was during the bloody Battle of San Juan Jill that Colonel Theodore Roosevelt rose to fame, alongside his regiment known as the Rough Riders. The American army had captured the city of Santiago by July 17th thus controlling Cuba. The United States also spread their campaign to other major Spanish islands such as the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The Spanish-American war came to end in December of 1898 lasting only 7 months. Cuba was now under the influence of the United States.

Batista Regime

Under American influence Cuba was finally independent from Spain and established the Republic of Cuba in 1902. Tomas Estrada Palma, general of the Ten Years War, became the first president of Cuba. Havana became the capital city, while Guantanamo Bay was leased to the United States as a naval fort. Despite Cuba's desire to rule itself America stayed continuously involved due to civil conflicts, as well as political and business interests. From 1925-1933 the 5th President Gerardo Machado became a popular leader of the country as he modernized the infrastructure and economy. However overtime he became seen as a tyrant which lead to his resignation and the eventual coup in 1933 during the Sergeants Revolt led by Dr. Ramon Garu.

Throughout the 1930s-1940s Cuba underwent several provisional governments under the leadership of Dr. Ramon Garu and the military leadership of Fulgencio Batista. Following WWII, the country began to experience an economic boom in sugar production and tourism. However there were also concerns of growing crime as well as a heightened mafia presence, notably in hotel and casino businesses. By the 1950s under American pressure, Batista had shifted some of his labor union policies to favor the wealthy landowners, particularly American businessmen. This of course caused new civil unrest and set the path towards a renewed push for revolution. 

Cuban Revolution

In 1952 the young lawyer Fidel Castro began public outcries that Batista had abused the electoral process and should resign. His petitions were ignored and he later led an assault on the barracks of Santiago de Cuba. The assault was unsuccessful and Castro was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was later released in 1955, where he went into exile in Mexico. There Fidel and his brother Raul, met the legendary Ernesto Che Guevara to plan their new revolution. The 26 July Movement was thus established and in December of 1956 Fidel led an army of 82 soldiers onboard the Granma yacht to begin their military campaign in Cuba. 

Castro's rebels landed on the southern coast of Las Coloradas and were then confronted by Batista's army. The rebels suffered heavy losses, and only 20 survived the engagement including Fidel, Raul, Guevara, and Camilo Cienfuegos. They then began their northern trek thru the Sierra Maestra mountains. Castro's military tactical plan was one of guerilla warfare, with an intention to attack small barracks to acquire arms, while also recruiting local fighters to join their cause along the way. The insurgency had quickly become widespread, and in March of 1957 an unassociated group from Fidel known as the Directoria Revolucionario, led a failed assassination attempt on Batista. 

Batista heightened his anti-revolutionary policy with new secret service and aid from the United States. He was able to hunt and execute the perpetrators of his assassination attempt in the Humboldt Massacre. Batista also had the urban organizer Frank Pais, a key ally to Fidel's campaign, executed in Santiago. A minor rebel victory occurred in the uprising of Cienfuegos, which was later crushed by heavy air bombers and tanks. The US continued to supply Batista with military arms, while Castro found aid from the Soviet Union as well as Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia. By 1958 the United States began to fear the revolution might succeed, withdrew their embassy, and even began to pour some finances to the rebels. 

While Castro continued his journey thru the mountains he was aided by the CIA operative Frank Sturgis who provided arms and military training. They also used new means of propaganda and pirate radio to broadcast their cries of resistance to the general public. Castro's guerilla force was no more then 200 fighters, however they were clever in their tactics of hit-and-run. In the summer of 1958 Batista sent a large force of 12,000 soldiers into the mountains to purge the rebels, known as Operation Verano. However the rebels achieved many victorious skirmishes throughout the Battle of La Plata. In the later Battle of Las Mercedes, the Cuban rebels were captured and nearly forced to sign a surrender until they managed to escape back into the mountains.

Several months later in December, Castro organized an offensive on Batista's army by coordinating simultaneous assaults. Camilo Cienfuegos attacked the military garrison of Yaguajay while Guevara surrounded the city of Santa Clara. Guevara's forces were later joined by Cinefuego's to capture the city by late December. Meanwhile Fidel's rebel forces had also achieved a key victory in the southern region of Guisa. After the fall of Santa Clara, president Batista began to panic and fled to the Dominican Republic. From this point on Castro was easily able to capture the city of Santiago and finally the capital city of Havana. 

Socialist State of Cuba

In 1959 Castro became prime minister of Cuba and appointed Manuel Urrutia Leo to serve as the interim president while the government underwent it's socialist transition. His brother Raul was put in charge of the armed forces. While Guevara was put in charge of the political tribunals and purging Batista- loyalists and counter-revolutionaries. Following the success of the Cuban Revolution, Castro was welcomed to the United States to begin diplomatic relations. At this point Castro denied his ties to communism and America's number one enemy the Soviet Union. However that would later change as the government became more dictatorial. 

By 1960 President Eisenhower, Nixon, and J Edger Hoover sensed that Castro had significant favor to the Soviet Union and thus posed and major threat. The United States began to boycott Cuban trade, while Castro responded by nationalizing many major American industries in Cuba such as their oil refineries, the International Telephone and Telegraph Company as well as the United Fruit Company. The tension continued to grow into John F. Kennedy's administration with further trader restrictions and even travel bans.

The hostility hit new heights with the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion coordinated by the CIA. This was a covert American operation to weaponize Cuban counter-revolutionaries in an attempt to overthrow Castro's regime. The operation was a complete failure and humiliation for the United States and only further increased the ongoing tension of the Cold War. Castro knew he would need stronger protection to stand a chance against the United States and thus he and Guevara established a nuclear alliance with Nikita Krushchev of the Soviet Union. When Kennedy discovered this plot, it brought on one of the greatest nuclear scares in history known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The standoff went on for over a week, in which the United States and Soviet Union worked to reach a peaceful solution. Finally the Soviet Union agreed they would remove their nuclear warheads from Cuba as long as the United States did not invade Cuba. 

Although the Soviet Union stopped moving their nuclear weapons they still continued to pour in heavy tanks and weapons into Cuba for the next 30 years. By 1982 thanks to the free supply of Soviet weapons, Cuba had the strongest military in Latin America. However despite this military build-up there was still much civil unrest and discontent throughout the general public of Cuba. By the 1970s-1980s Cuba become overrun by crime, unemployment, persecution, and waves of emigration to the United States. Thousands of Cuban immigrants referred to as Marielitos or Balseros set sail for the 90 mile voyage to Florida. However many died along the trip due to overcrowded boats, weak rafts, and poor sea navigation.

Also during this time they poured heavy resources into socialist revolutions throughout Latin America and Africa. Che Guevara became the chief diplomat of Cuba for nearly five years until he later returned to his revolutionary ways. He joined a military conflict in Congo in 1965 and later attempted to lead a socialist revolution in Bolivia (which led to his eventual capture and execution by the US secret service). Aside from Guevara's foreign efforts, Cuba partook in a total of 17 liberation movements and had approximately 40,000 soldiers abroad by the late 1970s. One of their biggest military involvements was in the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002), where they provided 50,000 soldiers. 

Post Cold War

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba found itself without it's military resources and hence fell into an economic depression referred to as the Special Period. This crisis went on for nearly ten years which saw major shortages of employment, electricity, and food. As a solution to this Cuba re-opened their trade market to the United States and accepted US dollars once again. While they were able to make a profit off of this new model, it also brought greater civil unrest for the lesser classes who could only use pesos. In 1994 the general public took to the streets of Havana in a massive protest known as the Maleconazo, the biggest anti-government demonstration since Fidel's Cuban Revolution.

Despite the civil unrest and economic struggles, Castro still endured the hardships and tightened his grip on the national order. He created new agencies to deal with the civil unrest, imprisoned any outspoken journalists, and made a new strong alliance with president Hugo Chavez of Venezuelan in 1999. However by 2006 Fidel began to grow ill, and shortly after made his formal resignation passing the presidency over to his brother Raul. From this point on Cuba began to improve it's foreign relations and in 2012 president Barack Obama agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba. Once again there was an American embassy in Cuba and tourism was welcomed for the first time since the 1950s. 

Fidel Castro, referred to as "El Comandante" died in 2016 at the age of 90. Despite his mixed legacy he was without question the most significant Cuban leader throughout the nation's history. To this day Cuba is still considered a socialist state however continues to open up new policies and streams of revenue. The economic crisis of the Special Period has long turned around and Cuba has managed to sustain itself much better now. Their major market of tourism has re-opened the doors to foreign trade and I think it won't take long for people to really embrace the rich culture of Cuba (especially their food and music).