Cuba

Question 1

Why was Batista unpopular?

Answer 1

He allowed US companies to control Cuban business and production

Question 2

Why did the USA become concerned about Castro’s political actions?

Answer 2

He began appointing communists to his government and signed a trade agreement with the USSR, sugar would be swapped for oil and guns

Question 3

How did the USA react to the Cuban trade agreement?

Answer 3

At first they stopped buying Cuban sugar and then banned all trade with Cuba.
By Jan 1961, all diplomatic relations stopped

Question 4

Who took part in the Bay of Pigs Invasion?

Answer 4

Cuban exiles supported by JFK who had given them training, weapons and transport from the CIA

Question 5

How many Cuban exiles were there?

Answer 5

1400 exiles landed in Cuba

Question 6

How many Cuban troops met the exiles upon their arrival?

Answer 6

Over 20,000 Cuban with superior weaponary

Question 7

Why was the Bay of Pigs Invasion a failure for the USA as well as the exiles?

Answer 7

Both Castro and Khrushchev knew that the invasion had been planned by the CIA and so JFK was humiliated

Question 8

What were the consequences of the invasion?

Answer 8

Castro was convinced he needed more USSR support against the USA.
In September 1961 Khrushchev openly announced he would provide Cuba with weaponary and by 1962 Castro had a well equipped army

Question 9

What did a U2 spy plane discover on October 14th 1962?

Answer 9

Missile sites being built, some appeared near completion

Question 10

What news did JFK receive shortly after finding out about the missile sites?

Answer 10

That there was a fleet of Soviet ships sailing to Cuba, it was presumed they were carrying the missiles for these sites

Question 11

What options did JFK then have after finding out about the ships on their way?

Answer 11

• Launch an air strike on the missile strikes
• Launch an invasion of Cuba
• Use diplomacy and negotiate through the UN
• Set up a naval blockade around Cuba

Question 12

What did JFK decide to do about the fleet of Soviet ships?

Answer 12

He decided to place a naval blockade, whilst preparing troops for an invasion of Cuba and asking the USSR to remove the missiles

Question 13

When did JFK decide to use a naval blockade?

Answer 13

22 October 1962

Question 14

How did Khrushchev respond to the naval blockade?

Answer 14

He claimed there were no Soviet missiles and that his ships would ignore the blockade

Question 15

When did Soviet ships reach the blockade?

Answer 15

24th of October 1962

Question 16

What happened when the Soviet ships reached the blockade?

Answer 16

They turned back and didn’t attempt to break the blockade

Question 17

What was the first offer made by Khrushchev?

Answer 17

The USSR would remove their nuclear weapons if the USA lifted the blockade and promised not to invade Cuba

Question 18

When was the first offer made by Khrushchev?

Answer 18

October 26th

Question 19

What was the second offer made by Khrushchev?

Answer 19

The USSR would remove their missiles from Cuba if the USA removed their’s in Turkey

Question 20

When did Khrushchev make the second offer?

Answer 20

October 27th

Question 21

How did JFK react to Khrushchev’s multiple offers?

Answer 21

JFK ignored the second offer and said he agreed to the terms of the first letter.
However the President’s brother told the Soviet ambassador in Washington that the missiles in Turkey would be removed

Question 22

What did the USA gain and lose from the Crisis?

Answer 22

JFK was no longer seen as weak and inexperienced.

However they lost their missiles in Turkey which were actually NATO missiles so NATO was not happy

Question 23

What did the USSR gain and lose from the crisis?

Answer 23

Cuba remained a communist country only 90 miles from the USA.
However they were seen as weak and to have backed down

Question 24

What did the world gain from the Crisis?

Answer 24

A direct hot line phone link between Washington and Moscow was set up.
A Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was set up in 1963

Question 25

Who rules Cuba before Castro and how did he gain power?

Answer 25

Batista, an army officer who had seized power with the help of the USA