Tensions over Cuba Flashcards
Who lead Cuba between 1933 and 1959?
corrupt and brutal government led by Batista- a dictator
Who supported Batista and why?
American government
This was because he was an anti-communist and kept things stable by cracking down on opposition.
Who did not support Batista and were fed up with his regime by the 1950s?
Many Cubans were fed up with Batista’s regime and life for ordinary Cubans was tough while members of the Cuban government became very wealthy?
Who called for revolution in Cuba? What were the consequences of this?
Fidel Castro
He was arrested and sent into exile.
What did Castro do following his exile from Cuba?
- returned to Cuba
- with some supporters
- in 1956 he began a two year guerrilla war campaign against the government
- his support grew
- on 1st january 1959 Batista’s government collapsed and Castro declared a new Cuba
What happened when Castro visited the USA shortly after coming to power?
- Castro said he was willing to work with the Americans
- Eisenhower refused to meet him
What were Castro’s political ideas?
- he and his supporters were left wing
- Castro never referred to communism
- talked of a fight by ordinary Cubans for a fairer and freer society
What new policies did Castro introduce?
- nationalised businesses
- requisitioned land, giving it to the peasants
With the USA unwilling to work with Castro, where did he turn?
- turned to the USSR
- the USSR provided loans and oil for Cuba totalling $100 million and began to arm Cuba
What was the plan for the Bay of Pigs?
- a large group of CUban exiles, trained by the CIA, would take control of Cuba
- the US Air Force would give the support
- the USA assumed that the invasion would inspire other Cubans to take up arms against Castro
What problems arose shortly before the plan for the Bay of Pigs was put into action? Why was the plan decided to be worth the risk
- it became clear that most Cubans supported Castro
- a number of senior figures in the US government felt that their involvement was illegal under international law
- having spent $5 million of preparations, it was decided that the plan was worth the risk
What happened at the Bay of Pigs invasion?
- the Cuban exiles landed on the beach in the Bay of Pigs
- at the last moment, Kennedy withdrew the support of the US Air Force
- this left the exiles totally exposed
- 200 were killed and 1197 were taken prisoner by Castro’s forces
- no one in Cuba came to their aid
What were the consequences of the Bay of Pigs invasion?
- it was obvious that the USA was involved
- the USA had broken international law
- the USA were humiliated
- Kennedy, just months into his presidency, looked weak and incompetent
- Castro knew that the Americans would not give up and this pushed him further into his alliance with he USSR
Following the Bay of Pigs incident, what did the USSR begin to do with Cuba?
In the summer of 1962, the USSR began to send nuclear weapons to Cuba
What did Kennedy do when these missiles were discovered?
- had a week of discussions with his advisors
- he then revealed the missiles’ existence to the American people
- ordered a blockade of Cuba saying that the US army would fire on any ship that tried to reach the island
- placed the USA on DEFCON 3
How did tensions rise following Kennedy’s response to the discovery of the missiles in Cuba?
- convinced that Kennedy would invade Cuba, he prepared for a fight
- Soviet ships approached Cuba carrying more missiles
- UN Secretary General, U Thant called for a compromise
- the ships faced each other waiting for the other side to back down
- US declared DEFCON 2
How was nuclear war eventually avoided during the Cuban Missiles Crisis?
- Khrushchev sent a second letter to Kennedy
- once again, he promised to remove the missiles but this time also demanded the removal of US missiles from Turkey and Italy
- Kennedy agreed on the basis that the removal of US missiles would be kept secret
What events happened following Khrushchev’s first letter beyond the two leader’s controls that increased the danger of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
The Soviet Submarine
- the US navy detected a Soviet submarine close to Cuba
- when the Americans try to force the submarine to the surface
- the captain almost launched a nuclear torpedo believing a war had begun
Soviet Spy Plane
- Cubans shot down a Soviet spy plane
American U2 Planes
- an American plane drifted into Soviet airspace
What were the positive consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis for Khrushchev?
- publicly claimed he had agreeded to remove the missiles to encourage world peace
- he believed his actions showed that the USST was willing to support smaller countries gains the USA
- Cuba remained a close ally of the USSR for the remainder of the Cold War
- the removal of American weapons from Turkey and Italy albeit secret was a major victory
What were the negative consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis for Khrushchev?
- senior figures within the communist party felt that Khrushchev had backed down just as he seemed to be gaining an advantage and had been reckless
-concerns over Khrushchev’s handling of the crisis was one of the issues that led to his removal from power in 1964
What were the positive consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis for Kennedy?
- shown that he could sand up to Khrushchev and was not weak, silencing many of his critics
- the removal of the missiles from Cuba meant that there was no direct nuclear threat to the USA
What were the negative consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis for Kennedy?
- the removal of American weapons from Turkey and Italy would have been seen as a major retreat from Europe by the USA
What consequences did the Cuban Missile Crisis have?
- drew attention to the risks of brinkmanship
- showed the importance of good communication between the two superpowers
- a special phone hotline was introduced between the White House and the Kremlin in order to evoke a similar crisis in the future
- the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 banned the testing of nuclear weapons except underground
- both sides maintained their heavy nuclear arsenals but it was recognised that the arms race could not continue in the same way