Cuba American Oppression

Words: 655
Pages: 3
Open Document
HISTORICAL CONDITION
To the United States south 93 miles away, an island country named Cuba is silently lying in the Caribbean. Cuba was found by Christopher Columbus in October, 1492. Then colonized by the Spanish conquistadors in 1511. During this time, the local indigenous people were almost wiped out because of various diseases and slaughters. To fill up the insufficient labor force, a huge amount of Africa slaves were transferred to Cuba for planting and mining industries. In 1762, Cuba was captured by Britain during the Seven Years’ War. However, the British occupation didn’t last long. A year after Havana was seized, Britain signed the Peace of Paris together with France and Spain, which gave it Florida in exchange for Cuba. When Cuba …show more content…
The Spanish-American War lasted for a few months and ended with the failure of Spain. Cuba eventually won independence after the two sides signed the agreement at 1902, and become the Republic of Cuba (Thomas 1998). However, Cuba was forced to accept the new constitution, Platt Amendment, to allow the United States reserve the right to intervene in Cuba’s domestic affairs. United States also was granted a permanent lease of the Guantanamo Bay. Since then, Cuba was basically ruled by authoritarian governments, resulting in unstable political situation. In 1933, Fulgencio Batista came to power, which caused the implementation of the military dictatorship in Cuba, ruling until 1944. In 1952, he pulled off a spectacular coup. He dissolved parliament, abolished the Constitution, and prohibited activities of political parties and mass rallies. He stole $40 million from the national treasury, sold the state to foreign capitalists, and connived at Mafia taking over casinos. Some opponents were even executed. Cuba became a heaven for drug lords, pimps and the capitalists. Eventually, the public anger grew rapidly, and armed uprisings against Batista occurred throughout the …show more content…
He was exiled to Mexico after the failure of the revolution, when he encountered Che Guevara. The two reorganized the 26th of July Movement and formed a disciplined guerrilla force. They finally overthrew Batista in 1959, later established the revolutionary government. In 1961, after the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuba became an ally of the Soviet Union and established the socialist system. Since then, the United States broke off its diplomatic relations with Cuba. And the U.S. government also imposed commercial, economic, and financial embargoes against Cuba. In the end of the 20th century, Cuba entered a special period, in which the shortage of petroleum and equipment caused its agriculture extremely weak. Meanwhile, due to the collapse of Soviet Union, Cuba lost a plenty of financial aids. Therefore, Cuba had to conduct a long-term economic reform. In 2011, Raul Castro was elected to be the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, succeeding his brother, Fidel Castro, to become Cuba's top leader. He improved the economy and people's living standards through the implementation of a series of economic reform measures. On April 11, 2015, U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro met during the Seventh Summit of the Americas, which was held in Panama City, Panama. They agreed that they would continue the process of normalizing
Show More

Related Documents: Cuba American Oppression

Cuban Culture

Republic of Cuba The Republic of Cuba, officially named República de Cuba, is a small island nation located just south of Florida in the Caribbean Sea. It enjoys nice tropical weather with sandy beaches and exotic produce. It has a distinctive culture that’s has changed due to the impact by many different events in recent years. Its culture has gone through many changes in the last 100 years due to its government reforms, religious oppressions, international conflicts, severe weather and…

Words 1474 - Pages 6

Summary Of Juan Gonzalez's Harvest Of Empire

Lend a helping hand is a way how human beings show empathy to the situations that others people face day to day. Cuba is a small island about 100 miles from the coast of South Florida. It was part of the Spanish Empire until it gained independence after the Hispano-American War of 1898. The United States occupied the country for several years in the first decade of the 20th century. "During the summer of 1994, thousands of Cubans appeared off Florida." Cubans decide to let behind their roots and…

Words 513 - Pages 3

Proxy Wars During The Vietnam War

had led a communist revolution in Cuba and eventually taken power. After taking power, Castro started relying on the Soviet Union both economically and militarily. Nikita Kruschev, the Soviet Leader at the time, convinced Castro to let him place nuclear missiles in Cuba. These missiles were aimed at the United States and due to their close proximity, could reach the US without a warning. In response, American president John F. Kennedy (JFK) made a blockade around Cuba and warned the Soviets about their…

Words 1070 - Pages 5

Effects Of United States Foreign Policy Toward Cuba

towards Cuba The foreign policy of the United States to Cuba in the course of recent years has created numerous issues for the Cuban culture and its kin, and relations between the two countries have been conflicting for a considerable length of time because of the savage foreign policy stance of the United States to Cuba. The United States has considered Cuba as its foe since July 1960 when Fidel Castro's new revolutionary government changed everything. Castro seized exclusive land in Cuba, nationalized…

Words 1907 - Pages 8

Essay about America Becomes A World Power

to gain an empire American borders already stretched from Atlantic to Pacific. America bought Alaska from Russia. It was time to look overseas. 3 Causes of American Expansion Desire for new markets and raw materials US economy boomed with products to trade and needed resources Companies built overseas factories. Need new markets to prevent financial panics Desire for naval bases and coaling stations International competition for colonies would leave America behind. American Security - 1890 funding…

Words 985 - Pages 4

Revolutionary Leaders Essay

Revolutionary leaders The late 1800s was a turbulent time period in Cuba and Philippines. In these countries, revolutions were storming the citizens. Notable revolutionary leaders were Francisco “Pancho” Villa, Jose Marti, and Emilio Aguinaldo. The backgrounds and actions of these leaders may have been different, but they had a common motive which was to overthrow the tyrannical Spanish governments in their respective countries. Francisco “Pancho” Villa was an outlaw who organized revolts against…

Words 561 - Pages 3

Cuban Identity

During the twentieth Century, Cuba faced a whirlwind of political change and unprecedented social mobilization, particularly during revolutionary periods between 1895 and 1959. Two revolutions, the 1895 Cuban War of Independence and the Communist Cuban Revolution, shifted the political landscape of the island and seemingly diminished racial boundaries. In Ada Ferrer’s Insurgent Cuba (1999) and Alejandro de la Fuente’s A Nation for All (2011), Cuban racial politics were exposed with indications of…

Words 1473 - Pages 6

Rhetorical Analysis Of John F. Kennedy's Address

during the Cuban Missile Crisis was an exceedingly influential speech because of its reassurance of the American populous in the face of nuclear annihilation. John F. Kennedy’s address to the nation during the Cuban Missile Crisis was a great and influential speech because it reassured its audience by explaining the dangers of their situation. First a bit of background on the Cuban missile crisis. Cuba felt threatened by the United States and sought help from the USSR or the Soviet…

Words 1730 - Pages 7

Cuba: Cuba and Castro Essay example

Cuba Notes * John Paul Jones II: pope used his fame to draw to the sufferings * Heroic figure; kind of Communist * Solidarity: dock workers’ union * Soviet Leadership: crackdown on the dock worker’s leadership * Brezhnev Doctrine: Communist version of the Truman Doctrine (containment of Communism) * Could have been the justification for the Soviets crushing the Hungarian uprising in 1986 * 1968: Prague Spring * 1979: End of détente when Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan…

Words 2358 - Pages 10

Essay on The Conflicts of Globalization

If globalization is a widespread notion shared across many nations that give ideas for how society should work, than I think it is safe to say that Cuba is a facing a serious social injustice. For years, We as a country have fought with the Cuban government for reasons that many of our own citizens don't understand. There are several instances that can be mentioned where it would appear that the Cuban government has been trying to help us. And yet, We refuse to lift the trade embargo we have against…

Words 2451 - Pages 10