The Soviets countered this action by agreeing to buy the brown sugar instead. On February 8, 1963 President John F. Kennedy imposed travel restrictions following the Cuban Missile Crisis. This prevented U.S. citizens from traveling to Cuba. Over the years travel regulations to Cuba have lapsed and been reinstated. Currently there are no restrictions on travel to Cuba But, it is currently illegal to spend money or receive any form of gifts while in Cuba.
Later that night Kennedy got on television to tell the U.S that the Soviet Union had secret installed nuclear missiles in Cuba that were aimed at American cities. Kennedy didn’t know how to get the missiles removed without starting a nuclear was with the Soviets. If this were to happen tens of millions on both sides would be killed. Communism was a threat and it was coming to America in 1959 when Castro staged a revolution in Cuba and became allies with the Soviet Union. Khrushchev thought that by moving nuclear missiles to Cuba, he would not only help close the missile gay with the U.S but that it would also prevent another American invasion of Cuba.
As a result of the accessibility of the Cuban ports, the Cubans denied Cuban ports to German U-boats. The Cubans also created and trained a Cuban Air-Force to fight in France. The people who wanted to be pilots received their training in 1918 in the United States. Since the war ended in November of 1918, the Cuban Air-Force was never used and the Army was never sent
In this essay it will be argued that indeed the Cuban Missile Crisis was the point of highest tension during the Cold War and also that Kennedy benefited the most from the outcome as opposed to Khrushchev who was the leader of the USSR. Firstly the Cuban Missile Crisis began on the 16th October 1962 when an American U2 spy plane photographed Soviet missiles sites in Cuba. The fact that the USSR had responded to appeals for help from Cuba following the Bay of Pigs invasion was a large problem for the USA and straight away increased the tensions of the Cold War. It was an issue because Cuba was lead by Castro, a communist who had already overthrown the pro- American government in 1961 and so he was motivated to possibly harm the United States of America and working with Khrushchev gave him the means to do so. Furthermore Cuba was only 90 miles off the coast of America, which meant these missiles, particularly the long-ranged weapons could reach major American cities.
The new government took control of the country by nationalizing industry, redistributing property and collectivizing agriculture. In June 1960, Cuba's sugar import quota was reduced by 7,000,000 tons, and as a result, Cuba nationalized some $850 million worth of U.S. property and businesses (Knowles, 1962). Health care was also socialized. In addition, Castro created policies that would benefit the poor. While popular among the poor, these policies alienated many former supporters of the revolution among the Cuban middle and upper-classes.
The relationship between our two nations turned sour shortly after Fidel Castro forcibly took control of the island in the late 1950’s. The embargo, put in place just a couple years later was, as Patrick Doherty (2009) pointed out in his article published in Washington Weekly, done “in the vain hope that doing so would lead to the downfall of the island’s Communist regime” (p.10). Fifty years later, the embargo, even with the few changes made to it over those many years, is still as it was in 1962. The embargo is “one of the last great historical anachronisms of the Cold War, outliving the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union, despite the fact that it has never accomplished what it was supposed to do” (Doherty, 2009, p.10). The feelings that the United States needs to put aside our differences with Cuba has been a topic of discussion not only here in America, but also around the world.
The coup d’état that saw Fidel Castro’s army roll into Havana on January 8, 1959, marked the end of President Fulgencio Batista’s government and the birth of another led by a young, bearded, and popular Castro. Despite denying any communist tendencies in his politics, Castro was quick to ally himself to the USSR and to expropriate many American businesses in Cuba, further alienating himself from the United States until finally declaring himself a communist in December 1961. A short time later, in February 1962, the United States imposed an embargo on the Republic of Cuba. Castro’s republic, by that point, had grown closer to the USSR and had, following its ally’s example, tightened its control over all levels of government, education, and media. In his nearly fifty years in power, Castro never diverged significantly from his communist views, and in keeping with them, never loosened his grip over the Cuban media.
“Slavery in Cuba on the whole was a rural phenomenon. Nevertheless, the average sugar mill in the Havana area relied on twenty to thirty slaves.” (Garcia). French, English, and Dutch sea marauders recognized its strategic advantage early when they attacked the city during the 16th century. It wasn’t until 1762 that Havana was actually captured by British
Both of them had few allies and did not follow the guide line set for them by the leaders of other nations. When Hitler rose to power he ignored the boundaries that had been set on Germany as a result of World War I. Germany was not allowed to have an air force, but they could have a small navy, and an army of just 100,000 men. Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles; it did not allowed them to place any troops in their Rhineland a strip of land 50 miles wide next to France. In 1935 Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles and resumed the draft. In complete violation of the treaty, Hitler invaded the Rhineland in 1936, claiming it was Germany's ancient homeland.
As the country of Cuba began to flourish, Cuba engaged in several conflicts, including the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union began to install nuclear missiles in Cuba creating tension with The United States. Today, Cuba is a communist country ruled by dictator, Fidel Castro. Cuba is known merely for its festive holidays and celebrations. The largest of all Cuba holidays is Revolution Day (July 26).