The Cuban Revolution

Cuban

Revolution

The

Where is Cuba?

Cuba in the 1900s

•Cuba gained its independence from Spain in
1898.

•In the 1900s, Cuba’s wealth was controlled by
American companies.

•The main businesses in Cuba were sugar and
mining companies.

•The leader of Cuba was Fulgencio Batista.

Multiple Select

What were the main businesses in Cuba?

• sugar

• diamonds

• gold

• mining companies

Fulgencio Batista

Batista’s Cuba

•

Fulgencio Batista had originally been elected as president,
but made himself dictator of Cuba.

•

Many people were unhappy with Batista’s rule.
•

Poverty was abundant, education was poor, and
healthcare was limited.

•

Social and economic problems helped lead to the unrest of
many Cubans.
•

There was a small class of rich Cubans with all the
power, while the majority was very poor and had little to
no power.

Open Ended

Why were the Cubans unhappy with Batista's rule?

Power to the People

• Soon, revolutionaries lead by Fidel Castro began to rise up against the

government.

• Castro and his forces led an unsuccessful overthrow of the

government in 1953, but began a full scale war against Batista’s
government in 1955.

• Castro attempted to overthrow Batista’s government for seven years.

• Castro and his “army” lost many battles to Batista – he was even

arrested and sentenced to 15 years in jail!

• Castro was released in 1955 after serving only two years and fled to

Mexico to put together a new group of rebel fighters.

• By 1959, Castro and his men drove Batista and his supporters out of

Havana and took over the government.

Multiple Choice

Who overthrew Batista's rule?

• JFK

• Fidel Castro

• Gorbachev

• Hugo Chavez

Fidel Castro

Castro Released from Prison

Cuban Revolution

• In 1959, Castro defeated the Batista government.
• Castro seized absolute power and made himself

dictator of Cuba.
• He then had 700 of his enemies executed and

many more were thrown in prison.

• The US originally backed Castro because he

promised to make Cuba a democracy…
• US even sent him supplies to help defeat

Batista.

Multiple Choice

The US supported Castro's rule

• True

• False

Castro’s Promises

• Castro promised to:

• end American dominance over Cuban

businesses,

• re-distribute the wealth evenly to all Cubans,
• make every Cuban literate,
• and he wanted to give all Cubans healthcare

and higher life expectancy.

Open Ended

What did Castro promised Cubans?

The Real Changes

• Castro failed to do many of the things he promised he would do.

• Castro began organizing a Communist government right away:

• He declared that all property belonging to Americans now belonged

to the Cuban government.

• All farms, factories, & businesses now belonged to the government.
• Cubans no longer had the right to protest against the government.
• Cuban newspapers, radio, & TV were shut down.

• The government became the only source for news.

• Churches were closed and property was taken over by government.

• Castro’s government gave less freedom to Cuba’s citizens.

Open Ended

What were the changes that Castro start when came into power?

Impact on US

•

It was the ultimate goal of Fidel Castro to break ties between
Cuba and the United States.

•

After the revolution, relations between the American
government and Cuban government got worse and worse.

•

US didn’t like having a communist country so close.
•

US didn’t like Cuba having ties with the Soviet Union
because they were involved in the Cold War.

•

Americans who owned land and businesses in Cuba lost their
property.

•

Castro forced American civilians to leave Cuba.

Multiple Select

Why did the relations between Cuba and the US get worse?

• US didn't like having a communist country so close

• Americans lost their lands and businesses in Cuba

• Americans were forced to leave Cuba

• None of these are correct

Bay of Pigs

• This was a plan to arm Cuban exiles living in Florida

and send them to Cuba.

• Once the exiles arrived in Cuba, unhappy Cubans

would join them at the Bay of Pigs and they would
overthrow Castro.

• The invasion was a disaster because Castro’s forces

intercepted the plan and captured the invaders.

• No rebellion against Castro occurred, but this

sparked a deep hatred for the United States.

Multiple Choice

What was the Bay of Pigs?

• Cuba trying to invade and conquer Florida

• The US wanting to launch a nuclear attack on Cuba

• The US using Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro

• Cuba wanting to launch a nuclear attack on the US

Captured During Invasion