cuba

• the cuban revolution

  • The USA had been an old ally of Cuba.
  • Until the Cuban Revolution, Cuba had been ruled by Batista (who was pro-American).
  • In 1959, Fidel Castro defeated Batista’s government and Cuba became a Communist state.
  • Castro fought with guerrilla warfare tactics against the government.
• americas reaction to the cuban revolution

  • Very worried about having a communist country – which was backed and supported by the USSR – so near to its own coast.
  • Cuba began receiving weapons from the USSR in 1960.
  • The USA broke off (ended) relations with Cuba.
  • President Kennedy paid for an invasion of Cuba by unhappy exiles (people who had left Cuba because of the revolution).
  • This invasion was a disaster – the Bay of Pigs, 1961 – as Castro defeated it easily.
  • It led to Castro getting more military support from the USSR (against a possible new attack by the Americans).
• the cuban missile crisis - causes

  • Arms race – both the USA and the USSR were building up their supplies of weapons (including nuclear weapons)
  • In 1960, a USA spy plane (a U-2 plane) had been shot down over Russia. The USSR complained about being spied on (the U-2 Affair).
  • Castro’s Cuba was becoming more anti-American
  • The failed Bay of Pigs invasion made Castro worried and angry; he wanted more Russian support (esp. weapons)
  • October 1962 – a US spy plane discovered a nuclear weapons base being built on Cuba. Nuclear weapons on Cuba could have destroyed American cities.
• cuban missile crisis events - part 1

  • President Kennedy did not dare to invade Cuba, because that action could have started a world war - yet he could not let the missile sites be completed. 
  • Khrushchev thought he could exploit Kennedy’s youth and lack of experience.
  • With his advisers, he decided on a naval blockade to prevent Russian ships delivering the missiles for the Cuban sites.
  • Khrushchev warned that Russia would see the blockade as an act of war. Russian forces were put on alert; US bombers were put in the air carrying nuclear bombs; preparations were made to invade Cuba. 
• cuban missile crisis events - part 2

  • There was massive tension in both Washington and Moscow. Everybody thought the world was going to come to an end. Secretly, the Americans suggested a trade-off of missile bases - US bases in Turkey for Russian bases in Cuba.
  • The Russians made the first public move. The ships heading for Cuba turned back, and Khrushchev sent a telegram offering to dismantle the Cuban bases if Kennedy lifted the blockade and promised not to invade Cuba. 
• cuban missile crisis events - part 3

  • Then, as though having second thoughts, he sent a second letter demanding the dismantling of the Turkish bases. At the vital moment, a US U2 spy plane was shot down.
  • However, Kennedy ignored the U2 attack and agreed publicly to the first letter, and secretly to the second. The crisis was over.
• Khrushchev (USSR) lost prestige after the Cuban Missile Crisis as he had failed.
• China broke from Russia following the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• Khrushchev was soon replaced as leader of the USSR after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• Khrushchev had tried to exploit/capitalise on Kennedy’s youth and inexperience during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but failed.
• Kennedy gained prestige after the Cuban Missile Crisis as he was seen as the man who faced down the Russians.
• Both sides had a fright during the Cuban Missile Crisis, leading to them being more careful in future.
• The two leaders set up a telephone ‘hotline’ to talk directly in a crisis during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• In 1963, Kennedy and Khrushchev agreed a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• In 1968, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed, with the superpowers promising not to supply nuclear technology to other countries.
• Cuba remained a Communist dictatorship after the Cuban Missile Crisis, but America left it alone.