Cuban Revolution
Almost every nation in the world has experienced a revolution. A revolution can be simply defined as "a change." When a country undergoes a revolution, its ideals that it once believed in are being modified. Sometimes revolutionaries act intellectually, yet others may respond physically through destruction. Some may be peaceful, some short lasting, and some pointless. Historians do argue on identifying whether a revolution has occurred. Revolutions usually follow a rupture in the nation's events, are directed by a hero, have an ideology and belief system, and use symbols or tools to get its points across to the people. Cuba and its leader today, Fidel Castro, have their own roots in a revolution that took place only some forty years ago. The causes of the Revolution itself laid behind the military dictatorship of General Batista.The overthrow of the June 1952 elections by Batista indirectly led to the Cuban Revolution. With this event the weakness behind Cuba's politics was revealed to the people. Their economy also fluctuated between high and low profits. Because Cuba, after the destruction of land in Europe in WWII, had the most sugar production in the world, small farm owners prospered. Yet because sugar was
During 1958, guerrilla warfare in rural areas and also urban movements increased. The Batistan rule weakened until its collapse on January 1, 1959, when Batista fled to the Dominican Republic. The "power vacuum" created was filled by the 26 of July Movement, lead by Fidel Castro. He brought upon rapid changes and gained Cuba worldly prestige and power. The six-year revolution was finally over with influential results. Changes in Cuba have been made that reflect democracy, agrarianism, and a humane society. A hero has been celebrated and declared el jefe maximo. The Cuban Revolution, both intellectual and physical, has lived up to its prestige and will alter history forever. Castro went to United States and Mexico looking for supporters and money to fund his revolution. On December 2, 1956, eighty-two men including Castro and the physician Ernesto "Che" Guevara, set sail once again for the Oriente on their yacht, the Granma. The campaign was doomed from the beginning. "Nobody could navigate the boat properly, everybody was seasick, most of the supplies were jettisoned in a storm, and the expedition landed in the wrong place."(Sinclair,15) On one occasion Guevara followed the wrong star to travel North, and on another, his comrade put the only the drink they had, milk, upside down in his pocket. By the end of the day the milk was gone. On December 5 in the battle of Alegria de Pio, Batista's troops killed all of the rebels except twelve. Among these survivors, coincidentally, were Castro and Guevara. Without this communication, Batista did know what was happening on the rural war front, thus he never knew when to send out the military. During the battle of El Uvero on May 27, 1957, the guerillas gained a major victory. Because they overtook a coastal military base in daylight, the guerillas received a great boost in self confidence. Batista was eventually forced to remove his troops from the Sierra Maestra. With the student protests occurring simultaneously, it looked as though an end to the Cuban Revolution was in sight. Historians argue on whom the "hero" of the revolution was. Some look upon the students as heros, yet others see Castro as the person most affiliated militarily wi
Some common words found in the essay are:
Fidel Castro, Cuban Revolution, Sierra Maestra, Europe WWII, Che Guevara, Torriente Cubans, Province July, Castro Guevara, El Uvero, Plata Barracks, cuban revolution, fidel castro, sierra maestra, student protests, 26 july movement, movement gained, 1953 batista's, march 13, military base, jefe maximo, military dictatorship, alegria de pio, battle alegria de,
Approximate Word count = 1483
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|