Cuban Sugar Revolution

As Pérez-Stable says, "safeguarding the Cuban quota in the U.S. market was their priority" (16-17). Conflicts arose between industrialists who wished to diversify Cuba’s economy by encouraging growth of other industries, and sugar producers who desired to maintain sugar’s economic dominance. According to Pérez-Stable, industrialists argued that a diversity of products would improve the Cuban economy and "change only the composition of Cuba-U.S. trade, not its overall amount" (23). For its part, the sugar industry continued to insist that its interests were best for the nation (Pérez-Stable 23). Despite some attempts at sugar reform, the Cuban government, which was reluctant to weaken its economic ties with the United States for fear of losing its support, refrained from taking any serious steps. The discontent produced by the lack of economic diversification added fuel to the fire of the revolutionary cause.

Many of these factors had either been introduced or improved by Castro and just the idea of having a country that is third world having these factors so long ago is an indication of how beneficial Fidel Castro was to Cuba. The extent to which the US — a superpower — felt threatened by a third world country like Cuba is also an indication of how beneficial Fidel Castro was to Cuba. This source further explains how under Castro there were food shortages, increased rationing and growing scarcities. The introduction of sanctions under Castro’s rule is said to have been damaging because the source these sanctions upset and disadvantaged the middle-class and therefore were a social disadvantage. This source also explores how the suspension of US exports under Castro was damaging as these badly affected people like retail merchants, manufacturers and industrialists and many of them found it difficult to remain in Cuba. Therefore, this particular policy under Fidel Castro proved to be both socially and economically

After it became officially globally acknowledged that Cuba was in fact a communist state and was being led through a dictatorship run by Castro, it did not take long before powerful enemies and essential allies were formed. The act of seizing all foreign land with none or very little compensation was received with great hostility amongst those who lost in their property through this process, and probably the reaction that had the biggest impact on Cuba’s economy was that of the US. Castro’s communistic policies did not of course help calm this resentment and also took part in leading to the establishment of trade embargos with Cuba from the US. This meant that Cuba would now lose a very valuable buyer of their precious sugar, [5] but they did however gain another one, a powerful nation that shared quite similar Marxist ideals and were quick to form an alliance with the Cubans, the USSR.

This was hading towards closing the gap between the rich and poor by nationalizing sugar and tobacco farms, electricity provider, transport, housing, produsing piotal services feel of cost. Now that cuba has no rich or poor the coutry will be better because there will be no segregation between the rich and the poor because there are all

Art in Cuba was drastically affected from nineteen fifty to nineteen sixty and changed in the years that followed because of the Cuban revolution. The oxford dictionary defines art as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power, as well as the branches of creativity, such as painting, music, and dance. Art and its many different forms were heavily influenced by the Cuban Revolution. Artists find inspirations for their works from a number of different resources. Inspiration can be found from a simple conversation that sparks and idea to portraying a grave passion. In the case of the revolution, artists used their art as a way to voice their views. This is why many writers, journalists, and academic people were exiled during this time.

One of the first areas in Latin America to be affected by the Cuban Revolution was the small Central American country of Nicaragua. Cuba prior to the Cuban Revolution, was under a dictator and many people lived in poverty, and in the 1960s Nicaragua was faced with same problem. The fact that Cuba was successful in their revolution, inspired the Nicaraguan Revolution. Nicaragua like Cuba had undergone major economical expansions, but these expansions only benefited a small portion of the population. According to John A., Booth, Wade, Christine

In the 1950’s, tourists visited the island of Cuba for its warm beaches, culture and Spanish colonial architecture. But underneath the surface, was a revolution ready to burst through the Cuban people they just needed the right person to lead them. Cuba at this time was run by a Political Dictator named Fulgencio Batista.

However although Batista and his friends were worth millions of dollars, the average Cuban lived in poverty and ill health. In Cuba, 600 000 out of 3 000 000 Cubans were unemployed, which, proportionately, was the same amount as were unemployed in the US during the great depression. As well as this, over half the population lived in huts, shacks and slums, without the slightest sanitary facilities. Consequently, they were desperate to see an improvement in their lifestyle, and supported Castro and his revolution wholeheartedly.

Until sugar production made Cuba the wealthiest agricultural region on earth in the nineteenth century, the island was considered relatively diverse, compared to others in the Caribbean. The quality of soil was universally unparalleled, and gained countries interest. Although the French and Spanish were in feud over the island, merchants from Portugal, England, and Holland participated in trade, which brought diversity to Cuba. At the end of the eighteenth century, the Haitian Revolution changed the racial, social, and economical demographics on Cuba. Seeing that the Haitian revolution was a triumph of colossus proportions, the individuals who started it, embodied the spirit that initiated the great uprising. From the late eighteenth century, into the nineteenth century, formally freed slaved from Haiti migrated to Cuba in astonishing numbers. This not only altered the demographics on the island, it brought in a new workforce that proliferated local sugar production. Within a short period of time, Cuba became the biggest sugar cane producer in the world. The United States gained interest in capitalizing from the islands newfound wealth, and being close in proximity made the temptation of interfere with France and Spain irresistible. In the late nineteenth century, the United States interfered with Cuba’s fight for independence and increased their investments tenfold. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the US gained control of the island through ownership,

On January 8th, 1959, Fidel Castro and his rebel army marched triumphantly into Havana, Cuba, having overthrown corrupt dictator Fulgencio Batista the week earlier. It was the fruition of the Cuban Revolution, and the dramatic shift in power was about to radically alter the country’s political, social and economic course forever. The positive and negative effects of the revolution on the Cuban people, however, as well as the condition of Cuba’s economy pre and post-revolution, is subject to heated debate. Castro’s iron-fisted regime was the introduction of communism into the western hemisphere, and now, over fifty years later, the Cuban Revolution continues to be one of the most controversial events of the twentieth century. Despite the criticism levelled at Fidel Castro and his communist regime, however, the Cuban Revolution was necessary in improving the quality of life for the majority of Cuban citizens. The four fundamental categories on which to assess this are healthcare, education, economy and governance. By comparing the country’s overall performance under Fulgencio Batista versus under Fidel Castro in these areas crucial to a fully-functioning nation, it can be shown that the Cuban Revolution was a necessary and positive change in Cuban society which benefitted the majority of citizens.

Instead of hunter-gatherers who weren’t very productive, people became farmers (García, The Colonial Era). The development of agriculture was very important to the development of Cubans because before the Cubans did not have enough food to support people working in other professions like metalworkers (García, The Colonial Era). Not being able to have many other professions in a tribe was the reason why many of the tribes did not have complex cities or towns. The conquistadors discovered tobacco, a cash crop, which started a new trend in Europe and created a high demand for Cuban tobacco, which helped the Cuban and Spanish economy (García, The Colonial Era). Another cash crop that was harvested in Cuba because of the Spanish was sugar. As soon as sugar arrived in Europe, it was in high demand for Cuban farmers (García, The Colonial Era). Cuba was also used as a rest stop to house passengers and crews of ships while their ships would be repaired by the townspeople (García, The Colonial Era). It was very helpful for Spain as it allowed them to get to Mexico safer and easier (García, The Colonial Era). It also created jobs for Cubans (García, The Colonial Era). Slavery was also introduced to Cuba (García, The Colonial Era). It added all of the economic activities and created a more prosperous economy (García, The Colonial

Current events in Cuba have caught a lot of attention, as we witness a historical shift in

The Cuban coffee, tobacco, and sugar productions transformed in the 19th century due to the hurricanes of 1842, 1844, and 1846. The productions of coffee, tobacco, and sugar prior to the 1840’s hurricanes were profitable businesses. Many Cuban farmers saw the productions as a great way to grow and to invest in the future. But once the 1844 hurricane hit Cuba, many farmers were left completely devastated as the

Cuba’s early history is characterized by colonization, agricultural capitalism, the introduction of African slave labor, and a class system that divided the island (Mintz, 1971). Beginning in the 1800’s the Catholic Church ideology saturated Cuban society, which was the standard of Spanish-speaking Latin America at that time. Education at this time was an opportunity experienced by elite, white, males and centered on rigid Catholic tenets of philosophy. The base economy was agriculture, and African slaves

The Cuban revolution was the spark that ignited the flame of communism in Cuba. The developing nation gained independence only as recently as 1898, and was already filled with an atmosphere of distrust and resentment towards the United States. In July of 1953, a revolution began in Cuba between the United States backed President Batista and Fidel Castro. Fidel and his brother Raul Castro lead a series of guerilla warfare battles against the forces of President Batista. “I am Fidel Castro and we have come to liberate Cuba,” stated Fidel Castro. In January of 1959, Fidel Castro became the President of Cuba. With the regime of Fidel Castro, Cuba would fall to communism.