Cuban Decolonization Summary

     After World War II, Cuba, like many other nations, was trying to get rid of its colonial past. Although it had technically become independent in 1898, as a result of the Spanish American War, Cuba was still struggling with the legacy of colonization. Spain began settling this Caribbean island in the late 15th century and continued to control it for the next 400 years. The Spanish set up an unequal political and economic system with Spanish peninsulares and creoles at the top and natives and African slaves at the bottom. This society was challenged several times in the 19th century, and finally with the help of the United States, Cuba won its independence. Although independent in name, Cuba has remained under the control of foreign nations and corrupt dictators. The Platt Amendment, a forced stipulation of Cuban independence, granted the United States control over Cuba's foreign relations and land for military bases. Despite having fought for a more just, free society, Cuba did not gain what it had hoped for. Dictators, like Machado and Batista, only brought corruption and chaos to Cuba. Che Guevara and Fidel Castro sought to bring an end to the inequalities that had existed in Cuba since the reign of the Spanish. 

 The Cuban Revolution of the 1950’s was meant to bring justice to the people, who had been lied to and stepped on for generations. Cuban history is a continuous “back and forth” between periods of injustice and revolution. Even with its many attempts at change, Cuba has never really been free.

Spanish American War

     After hundreds of years of Spanish domination, the Cuban population wanted independence. This was inspired by the American Revolution and other revolutions in Latin America. Cubans wanted to experience the self-government and independence that other nations had been enjoying. There were many failed revolution attempts by the Cubans, and Spain thought they were being disloyal to them. As a result of this they sent Cubans to concentration camps where they could be monitored. The Spanish put General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau in charge of governing the island and enforcing the law. Weyler was nicknamed “the Butcher” because of how violent and cruel he was (1). Some revolutionaries, like José Martí, were able to escape to United States to plea for support from the Americans (2). He tried to convince Americans to help the Cuban cause. Although he gained the support of some humanitarians, most Americans were not concerned with Cuba. To be more persuasive, the revolutionaries targeted American economic interests on the island. Back in Cuba rebels threatened American businesses, particularly sugar plantations. Now the Cubans had America’s attention. As a way to gain support for a war, and to sell more papers, American newspaper companies like Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World and William Randolph Hearst, of the New York Journal, began printing about the atrocities caused by the Spanish in Cuba (3). This gained more support and sympathy from Americans who began demanding action from President McKinley. All the government needed now was a solid reason to get mad at Spain, and this came when an American ship, the U.S.S. Maine, which had been stationed off of Cuba, had blown up (4). Immediately Americans blamed the Spanish, and the war began. 

     The Spanish-American War was fought on two fronts, one in Cuba and one in the Philippines, which was another Spanish possession (5). The war in the Philippines was very short. Led by Admiral George Dewey, the navy quickly defeated the Spanish fleet and America was left to focus on Cuba (6). In Cuba, the battles were both fought on land and at sea. America was easily able to defeat the Spanish navy, and prevented supplies to get onto the island. The most famous land battles were fought by the infamous “rough riders” lead by Teddy Roosevelt. Because of the few casualties, and the fact that the war only lasted four months (7). Americans nicknamed the conflict “A Splendid Little War”. The peace agreement for the war was where Cuba finally got what it was looking for, although not without exceptions. In the Treaty of Paris Spain was forced to give up control of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines (8). Cuba was finally granted its independence. This independence was not complete, however, as the Platt Amendment, a required addition to the Cuban constitution, gave the United States informal control over the island. 

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(1) American History, s.v. "Spanish-American War (Overview)," (accessed May 19, 2013)

(2) Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition, s.v. "Martí, José Julián," (accessed May 21, 2013.)

(3) American History, s.v. "Spanish-American War (Overview)," (accessed May 21, 2013)

(4) “Ibid”

(5) “Ibid”

(6) Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition, s.v. "Dewey, George," (accessed May 21, 2013)

(7) Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition, s.v. "Spanish-American War," (accessed May 21, 2013)

(8) Hastedt, Glenn. "Spanish-American War." Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. American History Online. Facts On File, (accessed on May 21 2013)

Platt Amendment

The Platt Amendment was officially approved on May 22, 1903, it served as a treaty between Cuba and The United States of America in order to protect the freedom of Cuba from other foreign intervention and affairs. The amendment allowed the United States involvement in the domestic and international concerns; this was all in place for the implication and enforcement of Cuban independence. This was a condition the U.S. placed on Cuban to end the occupation of their country, they took this deal seeing that it was better than no freedom at all (1). Senator Orville Platt of Connecticut authored the document. This gave the U.S. the right to intervene in the Cuban government, and Cuba had to have the consent of the United States before making any trade agreements or treaties. The Platt Amendment was somewhere in between complete imperialism and Cuba’s freedom, a compromise for both sides. Cuban wanted freedom and the U.S. wanted naval and coaling stations, to earn profit as well as security from the bases. As Cuban nationalism rose and the great depression was occupying the attention of the U.S. the Americans agreed to sign a treaty repealing the Platt Amendment, with one exception. The naval base of the Americans in Guantanamo Bay stayed in tact, and under control of the U.S. being “retained” by the U.S. forces (2).

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(1) John H. Barnhill, "Platt Amendment," In Ackermann, Marsha E., Michael Schroeder, Janice J. Terry, Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, and Mark F. Whitters, eds. Encyclopedia of World History: Crisis and Achievement, 1900 to 1950, vol. 5. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com (accessed May 21, 2013).

(2) “Ibid”

Machados Dictatorship

     For the first quarter century as an independent nation, Cuba had a constitutional form of government, until the presidency of Gerardo Machado y Morales. As president of Cuba, Machado gave the Cuban people a strong sense of nationalism. While running for presidency he campaigned for national recognition, which got strong support from the Cuban people. Then when he got elected he wanted to further prove to other countries that Cuba was free and powerful. To demonstrate Cuba’s independence as a colonized country, Machado decided to tax American capital investments, showing that Cubans had a say in what happened to their country and rebelling against American control. He also constructed a 700-mile central highway to promote Cuban investments, industry, mining, and tourism (1). Machado had a strong sense of nationalism and he spread it to his people. His national pride most likely was formed when he fought as a general in the Cuban War of Independence. The Cuban War of Independence ended with U.S. occupation, during the occupation Machado served as Mayor of Santa Clara. During this time Machado started to campaign for Cuban sovereignty (2).  He did not want Cuba to take orders from other countries. Although he supported most

American interests he wanted a totally decolonized Cuba. He made this clear during his presidency. Wilfredo Fernandez, leader of the Conservative Party, said in December 1925 that Machado's programs were so "full of patriotism."(3). Machado gave a feeling of nationalism to his people in order for other countries to recognize Cuba, and for Cubans to recognize the country they lived in. Machado was able to use this support, however, to gain excessive control of the government. In 1930, President Machado suspended the Cuban constitution, putting the rights of Cuban citizens at risk. Even though he was elected with significant support, Machado seized control of political parties and used public dollars to boost his own status(4). Despite a seemingly democratic election process, with leaders like Machado, Cuba was all but free. 

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(1) Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Feb. 2013. Web. (accessed  May 21, 2013.)

(2) Sierra, Jerry A. "Gerardo Machado." The History of Cuba. N.p., n.d. Web. accessed (May 27, 2013.)

(3) Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition, s.v. "Machado y Morales, Gerardo," (accessed May 28, 2013)

(4) "Ibid"

Revolutions of the 1930's

     The situation of Cuba in the 1930’s demonstrated how disadvantaged the Cuban people really were. The difficult conditions of the Great Depression impacted Cuba significantly. Not only did the Depression cause trouble and economic turmoil for the Cubans directly, but the struggles of partner nations, like the United States, caused a lack of exports that further worsened the economy in Cuba. The United States was unable to afford Cuban sugar, and the Cuban economy relied on purchases like this. With its economy a mess, Cuba entered a downward spiral of political chaos, and experienced a series of short-lived, frequently corrupt governments. The instability in Cuba led people to challenge President Machado’s rule and he was eventually forced into exile. With Machado gone, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada became the new president of Cuba (1). This change did not bring stability, however, as Céspedes was quickly overthrown in 1933 and a new government was instituted under Ramón Grau. The Grau government lasted for only 100 days (2). With the help of the United States government, the “Revolution of 1933” put leftist groups into power. Cuba became a military state, led by a series of “puppet presidents”, with the strings being pulled by future dictator Fulgencio Batista (3). The chaos and confusion of the 1930’s did not allow Cuba to grow as an independent nation. Without continuity, there was little that could be done for the Cuban people. Although Cuba was able to remove the chains of the Platt Amendment during this time, the United States was still able to secure influence in Cuba once again by helping to put pro-American, anti-communist dictators in place. Despite bloodshed and political overthrow, Cuba still lacked a truly free, self-sufficient government. 

_____________________________________________________  (1) Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition, s.v. "Batista, Fulgencio," (accessed May 28, 2013)

(2) Pino, Julio César. "Fidel Castro." In American History. ABC-CLIO, 2000-, (accessed May 28, 2013) http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/.

(3)Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition, s.v. "Cuba," (accessed May 28, 2013)

Strongman Batista

     Strongman Batista showed the Cuban people what it was like to be colonized and ruled by other countries. During his six years of presidency he allowed Cuba to be a “puppet” to other countries (1). As a puppet of the U.S. he didn’t allow much change in Cuba’s identity. He kept their ties with the U.S. close which led to them being overpowered by the U.S. and not leaving any room for continental growth, within their own countries borders.

     Batista allowing other countries to rule Cuba behind the scenes did not settle well with Castro and the Cuban people. The Cuban people were unhappy with this way of life and decided to follow Castro and revolt. The revolts that started because Batista

did try and break away from other countries was the start decolonization in Cuba.  There were several revolts against Batista one very important one was the Guerrilla campaign led by Fiedel Castro in 1956.This is when Batista’s regime was overthrown by Castro’s forces (2). All in all the decolonization of Cuba was not directly influenced by Batista, he was one that stood in the way of  severing of relations with foreign countries, which could have lead to the freedom of Cuba.


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(1) Fredriksen, John C. "Batista, Fulgencio." Biographical Dictionary of Modern World Leaders: 1900–1991. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com (accessed May 23, 2013)

(2) Seelye, James E., Jr. "Batista, Fulgencio." In Ackermann, Marsha E., Michael Schroeder, Janice J. Terry, Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, and Mark F. Whitters, eds.Encyclopedia of World History: Crisis and Achievement, 1900 to 1950, vol. 5. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com (accessed May 23, 2013)

Cuban Revolution

     The Cuban Revolution was a civil war that lasted 3 years and battles were fought in mountains and small towns. Many naive Cubans were subdued by Fidel’s promises of freedom and unity for all of Cuba so they joined his revolutionary cause. Nothing was more enticing to the natives then a free democratic society. Little did they know that they would get the exact opposite from Fidel, who would eventually set up a Marxist regime. Fidel fought this war against the “government army”(1) that was controlled by Fulgencio Batista. The whole revolution ended up with Cuba was decolonized into a strict ruling with little to no democratic freedoms.

     The revolution included guerrilla warfare in violent battles throughout the struggle. It all started with an underground movement against the Batista regime and violence was soon initiated (2). The rebels even led an armed attack on the Presidential Palace.

On May 24, 1958, Operación Verano was launched which consisted of seventeen battalions, planes, tanks and ships, they had planned to enter the Sierra Maestra and attempt to force a showdown with many of Castro's rebels.  Though greatly outnumbered, the rebels repeatedly inflicted heavy casualties on the army and drove them back, this was a huge win for Castro and their advancement in the fight for what many thought would have resulted in freedom.

Overall the revolution separated Cuba from Batista who was essentially a “puppet” of the United States, so this was helpful to separate Cuba from the foreign powers that had previously been controlling.

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(1) Phillips, Charles, and Alan Axelrod. "Cuban Revolution." Encyclopedia of Wars, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/ (accessed May 26, 2013)

(2) Leonard, M. Thomas "Cuban Revolution." Encyclopedia of Latin America: The Age of Globalization, vol. 4. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com (accessed May 28, 2013)