IB Docs (2) Team
Case Study: Cuban Revolution (ATL)
The ATL on this page are designed to help students understand the causes, practices and effects of the Cuban Revolution. This works as a case study for both a civil war and a guerilla war.
Some videos are suggested below; other videos can be found here: Political developments in Latin America: videos
Guiding questions
Causes:
How important were long-term factors in causing the Cuban Revolution?
How important were short-term factors in causing the Cuban Revolution?
How significant were economic, ideological, territorial factors in causing the Cuban Revolution?
Practices:
How was the war fought by Castro and his troops?
To what extent did guerilla tactics determine the outcome of the war?
Effects
What was the impact of the War on Cuba?
The following activities are to give an overview of the key issues involved before going on to look at these in more detail
Starter activity 1:
In pairs look at the map below and the discuss the possible reasons for the US and Cuba to have had close relations up until the Cuban Revolution in 1959.
Starter activity 2:
Watch this clip from the People’s Century: War of the flea form 04:13 to 12:45.
Discuss with a partner the factors that led Castro to lead a guerilla war against Batista’s regime in Cuba.
1. What were the long term causes of the Cuban Revolution?
Note that the video on the paper 3 page on Castro here: Political developments in Latin America: videos is good for an overview of the causes of the civil war.
Task One:
ATL: Thinking skills
Read through the sources below. What evidence do these sources provide on:
- The nature of Batista's rule and the state of Cuba before 1959?
- The appeal of Castro and his ideas?
(this task can also be printed off on the PDF below)
Source A
From a book on the history of Cuba written by the Cuban Communist Party in 1977
US investment in Cuba totaling 50 million dollars in 1896, went up to 160 million in 1906, to 205 million in 1911, and 1.2 billion in 1923, which included the ownership of three-quarters of the sugar industry. The corrupt governments and the repeated Yankee interventions in the first few decades of the neo-colonial republic did their job of handing over the country’s wealth to foreign masters
Source B
From a report written by Arthur Schlesinger for the US government on the state of Batista’s Cuba
The corruption of the Government, the brutality of the police, the regime’s indifference to the needs of the people for education, medical care, for social justice and economic justice…is an open invitation for revolution.
Source C
From a modern textbook
Batista’s government favoured the elites and neglected the mass of the population. Illiteracy remained high and housing was poor, with a shortage of land available for small holdings. The repressive and corrupt nature of the regime started to alienate ever the US government and the military. Meanwhile, the middle classes had no voice in government
Source D
Extract from History Will Absolve Me setting out his aims, written between 1953 – 56 whilst Castro was in prison
- Restoration of the Constitution of 1940 ‘until such time as the people should decide to modify or change it’
- Full ownership of small farmers worked by tenants, share croppers and squatters
- The right of workers and employees ‘to share 30 per cent of the profits of all large industrial, mercantile, and mining enterprises as well as sugar mills’
- The right of agricultural workers on sugar plantations ‘to share 55 per cent of the value of sugarcane produced’
- Confiscation of ‘all property and wealth secured through politically protected fraud and graft during previous regimes’
Source E
From Castro’s speech to a Cuban Court in July 1953
Except for a few food, lumber and textile industries, Cuba continues to be primarily a producer of raw materials. We export sugar to import candy, we export hides to import shoes, we export iron to import ploughs. Everyone agrees with the urgent need to industrialise the nation, that we need steel industries, paper and chemical industries, that we must improve our cattle and grain production, the technique and the processing in our food industry in order to defend ourselves against he ruinous competition of the Europeans in cheese products, condensed milk, liquors, and edible oils, and of the united states in canned goods; that we need cargo ships, that tourism should be an enormous source of revenue. But the capitalists insist that the workers remain under the yoke The state sits back with its arms crossed and industrialisation can wait forever.
Source F
A historian writing on the state of Cuba before the revolution
Every section of society was dependent on the sugar industry – either its production or the importation and resale of American manufactured goods that had been purchased with the profits from the sale of sugar in the United States. This also meant insecurity for workers. People’s livelihoods were dependent on successful harvests; a bad harvest meant fewer jobs and lower wages.
Source task on Cuba under BatistaTask Two
ATL: Thinking and communication skills
In small groups read through the chart below. Identify the long causes of the Cuban Revolution up to 1953. Create an infographic of your own that: a] includes the information below and b] establish clear links between the economic factors, foreign influence, social tensions and political issues in Cuba at this time.
Fidel Castro, with his brother Raul and Abel Santamaria led an attack on a military garrison, the Moncada barracks, on 26th July 1953. The aim of the assault was to seize weapons to use in a general rising against Batista. Castro also believed that a successful attack would inspire popular support for the overthrow of the regime.
However, the assault failed as the army was able to defend the barracks. Around 70 of the 140 rebels were killed. The rebels that escaped were hunted down by Batista’s forces and Castro and his brother were arrested.
Batista wanted to use the ‘trial’ of the surviving rebel leaders as a show piece of the regime’s strength. It was to act as a warning and deterrent to would-be opponents. Castro, a trained lawyer, chose to defend himself. It was during his trial that he made his infamous ‘History will absolve me’ speech.
Task Two
ATL: Thinking skills
In pairs examine the transcript of the full speech. It is very long. If you scroll down to the end you will read Castro’s powerful closing statement.
‘Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me.’
In pairs read through the speech and identify where Castro sets out his ideas on:
A] political reform
B] social reform
C] economic reform
What conclusions can you and your partner draw about the nature of Castro’s ‘social justice’ ambitions for Cuba?
The 26th July movement was established and named after the date of the attack on the Moncada barracks. Castro presented his movement as ‘martyrs of the dictatorship’ and Batista’s brutal response to the attack further undermined his regime and galvanized support for the 26th July movement in Cuba.
2. What were the short term causes of the Cuban Revolution?
Task One
ATL: Thinking skills
In groups discuss the following timeline of events leading to the outbreak of civil war.
What were the short term causes of this war?
Identify the reasons Cubans may have had to support a violent uprising against Batista’s regime.
- 1954 Batista holds elections whilst his opponents were disarray, the PSP banned and Castro was in prison. Batista presented his election victory as demonstrating his legitimacy as a democratically elected leader.
- 1955 Batista releases political prisoners in a gesture to underline his ‘democratic credentials’. Castro is released into exile in Mexico.
- Revolutionary groups grow in the countryside and engage in ‘guerrilla’ style acts of sabotage. Oil refineries, sugar mills and the infrastructure such as railroads and telephone lines were attacked.
- Food supplies and communications are disrupted leading to further discontent in the cities.
- Batista under pressure to hold another election – refuses to act.
- 1956 2nd December, Castro returns to Cuba on board a yacht called the Granma with 82 rebels and supply of weapons
- Leader of the urban section of the 26th July movement, Frank Pais, had prepared to lead a coordinated uprising in Santiago de Cuba once the Granma landed on the southern coast of Oriente. However, the Granma was delayed by two days and contact between the groups failed.
- Government forces detected the Granma’s forces as they struggled ashore through a swamp. Only 12 rebels survived an ambush by Batista’s forces.
- Castro led his forces into the Sierra Maestra in order to recover and rebuild. The civil war had begun.
3. How significant were economic, ideological and territorial factors in causing the Cuban Revolution?
Task One
ATL: Thinking skills
Review all of the information that you have so far on the long and short term causes of the Cuban Civil War.
Discuss the role of: economic, ideological and social factors in causing the Cuban Civil War.
You may want to show your results as a mind map.
4. How did Castro wage a guerrilla war in Cuba?
Task One
ATL: Thinking skills
The following were features of Castro’s guerrilla war. In pairs discuss how these factors would contribute to the success of the guerilla fighters:
- At their permanent camp at La Plata a government was established which administered justice via popular courts. Small cottage industries produced shoes, ammunition and other essential goods. A hospital and school were established.
- At La Plata a revolutionary newspaper was printed, El Cubano Libre. The also had their own revolutionary radio station. Radio Rebelde, which soon became the most popular radio station in the country
- Enemy soldiers, prisoners and civilians were treated as humanely as possible
- There was strict discipline: all food taken from locals was paid for and no drinking was allowed. Castro also announced that crimes of insubordination, desertion and defeatism were punishable by death.
- Informers were executed
- The guerrillas lived with the peasants in the Sierra Mountains and became familiar with their problems such as the need for land reform. They executed cruel landlords and provided free labour support for the harvests.
- The guerrillas were supported by an urban underground which provided arms, money and recruits. The urban leaders were known as the ‘Llano’. They also helped to spread strikes and sabotage across the island
- Castro did not associate himself with the Cuban Communist Party or with any one political group – he maintained a broad-based consensus front against Batista
- Castro did interviews with American journalists and magazines where he stressed the importance of ending corruption.
Task Two
ATL: Thinking and communication skills
In pairs, read through the overview chart below and investigate in more detail the guerrilla engagements, battles and campaigns of the Cuban Civil War. Make your own copy of the chart and add evidence from you and your partner's research.
5. To what extent did guerrilla warfare determine the outcome of the Cuban Civil War?
Task One
ATL: Thinking and self-management skills
In pairs read through the chart below.
Organize the information into the following themes: military reasons for Castro’s victory; political reasons for Castro’s victory; economic for Castro’s victory.
Discuss with your partner the significance of each factor in determining the outcome of the civil war.
The chart has ‘guerrilla warfare’ as its central thematic factor – do you agree that this was the key reasons for the overthrow of Batista?
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Task Two
ATL: Thinking skills
Read Sources A, B and C and answer the questions that follow.
Source A
‘Although Castro and Guevara believed that a guerrilla group in the country should be the flag bearer of Revolution, the support of an urban underground was essential to supply arms, money and recruits. Cuban official historians, wise after the event, have blown up the military importance of the guerrilla band out of all proportion: the heroic ‘battles’ which are recounted in such exhaustive detail were in fact little more than skirmishes involving 20 or so guerrillas. The opposition in the cities was probably much more significant in keeping relentless pressure on Batista’s regime. Without the struggle in the cities, there would have been no guerrilla army. At the same time, it is equally true that without the myth of the invincible guerrillas in the Sierra, the urban movement would not been so effective or inspired.’
Peter Marshall. Cuba Libre. 1987.
Source B
…the United States sought to persuade Batista to leave office, [however] the revolutionary momentum had sealed the fate of the regime. The failure of government offensives and the success of the guerrilla counter-offensives had a galvanizing effect on Cubans, provoking spontaneous uprisings across the island. Large amounts of arms and equipment fell into the control of civilians in the wake of the army retreat, including artillery, tanks and small arms of every type. In the closing weeks of 1958, both the ranks of the urban resistance and the guerrilla columns increased rapidly.
Louise A Perez in Cuba a short History. Ed. Leslie Bethell. 1998.
Source C
Castro… stepped into a power vacuum that was not entirely of his making. He had skillfully seized the opportunities offered by a conjunction of historical conditions that were unique to Cuba. His success, moreover, owed as much to his imaginative use of the mass media as the guerrilla campaign… By 1959 Castro had become the repository of many disparate hopes for Cuba’s regeneration. As he had made his slow triumphant way by road from Santiago to Havana, he was treated as the last in the long line of Cuban heroes – the last, unlike the others, he had survived and prevailed.
Sebastian Balfour. Castro. 2008.
Questions:
- What does Source A suggest about the role of guerrilla warfare in determining the outcome of the Cuban civil war?
- Identify one comparison and one contrast between Source A and Source B’s accounts of the war.
- In Source C, what factor is seen as important as guerrilla warfare in Castro’s victory?
6. What were the effects of the Cuban Civil War?
For more detail on this question, refer to the ATL on Castro under Topic 10: Case Study Topic 10: Castro ATL
7. How did the civil war impact the role and status of women in Cuban society?
Task One
ATL: Thinking and research skills
In groups investigate the role played by women in the Cuban Civil War and the impact of Castro’s victory on the role of women in Cuban society. You should follow up on the stories of the women outlined above and include details of legislation passed at the end of the war to offer women more equality.
You should create an exhibition on your research entitled:
‘The impact of the Cuban revolution on women’
Your exhibition must include an assessment on the extent women’s position in society changed. For example, your group should note the absence of women in powerful political positions at the end of the war.
Click on the eye for some ideas to start you off:
Pre-Cuban Civil War:
- Women had right to vote from 1934
- Equality in law in 1940
- Right to equal pay
- Social status remained ‘traditional’
- Women employed as teachers or nurses
- Discrimination at work
- Poor women had to work and take on domestic roles
From the beginning of the Cuban Civil War women played key roles in Castro’s 26th July movement for example:
- Vilma Espin
Involved in urban uprisings in support of the Granma landing.Married to Raul Castro.
- Haydee Santamaria
Participated in the assault on the Moncada barracks
- Melba Hernandez
Participated in the assault on the Moncada barracks
- Celia Sanchez
Responsible for assisting the landing of the Granma’s forces
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