Essays on Cuban Revolution

July 26, 1953 - January 1, 1959

Cuba

Fulgencio Batista, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Raúl Castro

The Cuban Revolution was an armed uprising led by Fidel Castro that overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959. The revolution’s leader, Fidel Castro, went on to rule Cuba from 1959 to 2008. Fidel Castro, the revolution’s leader, went on to rule Cuba from 1959 to 2008.

Control of Cuba passed to the United States on January 1, 1899, as a result of the Spanish-American War. The U.S. military directly administered the island until 1902. After a financial crisis and governmental corruption, Gerardo Machado was elected as Cuba’s president in 1925. Machado was ousted in 1933 after a revolt led by Fulgencio Batista.

On July 26, 1953, Castro led around 160 men in an unsuccessful raid on a Santiago army barracks. That raid and imprisonment helped Fidel Castro’s to build his reputation as a revolutionary leader. On December 2, 1956, with 81 men on board the yacht Granma, Castro landed in eastern Cuba. Later, the Castro brothers and Ernesto (“Che”) Guevara began a guerrilla campaign against Batista in the Sierra Maestra mountains. Over the next two years, Cuba existed in a state of civil war.

On December 27, 1958, Che Guevara routed a rebel force in the garrison in Santa Clara and captured a train filled with arms and ammunition that were desperately needed by government forces. Batista relinquished the presidency on January 1, 1959. On January 8, a new government was established with Manuel Urrutia Lleó as president and Castro as prime minister.

Overthrow of Fulgencio Batista's government; Establishment of a revolutionary government led by Fidel Castro; United States embargo against Cuba; Severance and end of Cuba–United States relations.