Chapter 17

The Cuban Revolution

The following material is designed to help you sort out the major themes and important information in our textbook Benjamin Keen, A History of Latin America, 5^th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996). You will be quizzed over this material in class. Also use this information as a study guide to prepare for the exam.

Learning Objectives

After you have read and studied Chapter 17, you should be able to:

1. Discuss the role played by the United States in Cuban history up until 1959.
2. Describe the conditions that enabled the relatively swift victory of the Cuban Revolution.
3. Suggest some of the reasons why Cuba, ninety miles from Miami, became the first socialist state in the Americas.
4. Describe the major changes in the Cuban economy and political system from 1959 to the present.

Chapter Summary

The chapter opens with a survey of Cuba under Spanish rule. Topics include growing Cuban discontent, the Ten Years' war and its impact on Cuban society, and the increasing economic ties between Cuba and the United States. Discussion then centers on the rise of a new revolutionary movement headed by José Martí, growing involvement on the part of the United States and the U.S. entrance into what became the Spanish-Cuban-American war, which was followed by the imposition of direct and indirect American rule over the island. The Cuban Revolution of 1959 led by Fidel Castro is shown to have its roots in older revolutionary traditions and discontent with the political, economic, and social consequences of American rule. Its swift transformation into a socialist revolution is partly explained by U.S. hostility to its reform program. The chapter then traces the trial-and-error process of the evolution of Cuba's economic and political system, including an assessment of its mixed economic record and social achievements. Concluding the chapter is a discussion of Cuba's international role, the impact of perestroika, Cuba's efforts to overcome its economic crisis, and the prospects for improvement of relations between Cuban and the United States.

Identification Terms

Be sure that you are able to identify and explain the historical significance of each of each of these terms from this chapter.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. This material is presented as a study guide exclusively for the use of students in Latin American History at Illinois State University. Please direct any questions to Marc Becker at mbecker@ilstu.edu.