Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution
Overviews
As the Cuban Revolution was part of the Cold War, most sources are heavily biased toward either American or Socialist interpretations of events. Please keep this in mind when studying this unit.
The best overviews are the primary-school looking books in the school library at NF 972.91. They will give you a quick introduction to the issues, including the colonial struggles that ultimately shaped the relationship between Cuba and the USA. Look especially for the "Nations in Conflict" series. These books do not, however, have many primary sources (see below for online primary sources).
For contemporary viewpoints, try the November 2012 or October 2014 issue of New Internationalist (left-wing bias) [http://newint.org/issues/2014/10/01/] which can be found at NF 300, or use your State Library log-in to access Time Magazine archives [http://time.com/3641168/cuba-1959/?iid=sr-link1].
Some introductory sites:
Softschools [http://www.softschools.com/timelines/cuban_revolution_timeline/77/] offers a timeline of event (with very little discussion of their significance)
The Cuban Economy [http://thecubaneconomy.com/articles/2010/10/cuba%E2%80%99s-achievements-under-the-presidency-of-fidel-castro-the-top-ten/] summarises the positive nad negative aspects of revolutionary Cuba. the comments are worth reading too.
Latin America in the Cold War [http://resources.primarysource.org/content.php?pid=86804&sid=645699]
History of Cuba [http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/scaw/scaw1.htm] has a simple overview and some interesting sidebars.
History Today's evaluation of the Cuban Missile Crisis [http://www.historytoday.com/john-swift/cuban-missile-crisis]
More detail
This review of The Two Cuban Revolutions [http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1963/4/26/the-two-cuban-revolutions-pthree-essays/] discusses some of the details historians debate
The Cuban Revolution, A Critical Perspective [http://www.iww.org/history/library/Dolgoff/cuba] is a classic text from 1971 which crtitcises many of Castro's policies (from a left-wing perspective).
Organised Labour and the Cuban Revolution [http://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/4901/1/Final-after-corrections.pdf] is a University thesis which explains the role of ordinary workers (including women) in supporting the well-known leaders to make the revolution successful.
Left-Wing (communist leaning) sites
Cuba: Continuing Revolution and Contemporary Contradictions [http://www.lahaine.org/petras/b2-img/july2007.pdf] discusses the challenges and achievements of the Cuban Revolution in the light of contemporary politics including the fall of the USSR and new economic poliices. A summary of this article can be found here [http://petras.lahaine.org/?p=1711].
The Unforgivable Revolution [http://williamblum.org/chapters/killing-hope/cuba] gives a very readable overview with a heavy (often sarcastic) bias against the USA.
Welcome to the Revolution [http://revcom.us/a/056/cubahist-en.html] is interesting because this writer does NOT consider Castro's regime to be communist! Can his allegations of Cuban oppression be substantiated? Cuba Verdad [http://www.cubaverdad.net/revolution.htm] seems to support this assessment with little-known facts about communism in Cuba prior to and during the revolution.
The Cuban Revolution and it's extension [http://www.reasoninrevolt.net.au/objects/pdf/d0157.pdf] is a classic socialist reading of the Cuban Revolution. the entire book is scanned into pdf here.
American (right-wing leaning) sites
Do those who lost out in the revolution deserve compensation? Breitbart investigates [http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/03/30/americans-who-lost-billions-during-cuban-revolution-seek-redress-following-thaw/]
The Economist [http://www.economist.com/node/12851254] looks back on 50 years of Cuban communism in the article "Heroic Myth and Prosaic failure"
Interesting asides
What the Cuban Revolution means to Older Cubans [http://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/Centers/Bildner%20Center%20for%20Western%20Hemisphere%20Studies/Publications/Strug6_000.pdf] is an interesting study based on interviews with cubans who experienced the revolution - most of them still support it!
Fidel Castro's Grand Strategy in the Cuban Revolution [http://digitalcommons.northgeorgia.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1115&context=papersandpubs] outlines his aims and objectives in terms of revolutionary politics and foreign relations.
Havana Times [http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=113909] is a blog representing "open-minded" Cubans. Despite clearly seeking reforms, the journalist states that "Fidel Castro, however, was not a tyrant like the ones that are typical in the region, the kind subordinate to the interests of imperialism and focused on fattening their pockets. Castro was a dictator who was genuinely concerned about the health, education and spiritual becoming of the people, or what he understood as such. This paternalistic gesture and his rabid anti-capitalism earned him the sympathies of half of the world, particularly from those who longed for a better world."
By the time of the Cuban Revolution, many issues had arisen in the type of communism practiced in the USSR. This reply to Taaffe's Cuba:Analysis of the Revolution [http://links.org.au/node/457] suggests that the political needs of USSR and Cuba were vastly different.
Human Rights in Cuba [http://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/researchdigest/latinamerica/cuba.pdf] is an annotated bibliography of articles.
The impact on US-Cuban Relations of Rapprochement between Washington and Cuba [http://www.cries.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/007-hershberg.pdf] examines the possible consequences of Obama's renewed conversations with Cuba
The best overviews are the primary-school looking books in the school library at NF 972.91. They will give you a quick introduction to the issues, including the colonial struggles that ultimately shaped the relationship between Cuba and the USA. Look especially for the "Nations in Conflict" series. These books do not, however, have many primary sources (see below for online primary sources).
For contemporary viewpoints, try the November 2012 or October 2014 issue of New Internationalist (left-wing bias) [http://newint.org/issues/2014/10/01/] which can be found at NF 300, or use your State Library log-in to access Time Magazine archives [http://time.com/3641168/cuba-1959/?iid=sr-link1].
Some introductory sites:
Softschools [http://www.softschools.com/timelines/cuban_revolution_timeline/77/] offers a timeline of event (with very little discussion of their significance)
The Cuban Economy [http://thecubaneconomy.com/articles/2010/10/cuba%E2%80%99s-achievements-under-the-presidency-of-fidel-castro-the-top-ten/] summarises the positive nad negative aspects of revolutionary Cuba. the comments are worth reading too.
Latin America in the Cold War [http://resources.primarysource.org/content.php?pid=86804&sid=645699]
History of Cuba [http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/scaw/scaw1.htm] has a simple overview and some interesting sidebars.
History Today's evaluation of the Cuban Missile Crisis [http://www.historytoday.com/john-swift/cuban-missile-crisis]
More detail
This review of The Two Cuban Revolutions [http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1963/4/26/the-two-cuban-revolutions-pthree-essays/] discusses some of the details historians debate
The Cuban Revolution, A Critical Perspective [http://www.iww.org/history/library/Dolgoff/cuba] is a classic text from 1971 which crtitcises many of Castro's policies (from a left-wing perspective).
Organised Labour and the Cuban Revolution [http://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/4901/1/Final-after-corrections.pdf] is a University thesis which explains the role of ordinary workers (including women) in supporting the well-known leaders to make the revolution successful.
Left-Wing (communist leaning) sites
Cuba: Continuing Revolution and Contemporary Contradictions [http://www.lahaine.org/petras/b2-img/july2007.pdf] discusses the challenges and achievements of the Cuban Revolution in the light of contemporary politics including the fall of the USSR and new economic poliices. A summary of this article can be found here [http://petras.lahaine.org/?p=1711].
The Unforgivable Revolution [http://williamblum.org/chapters/killing-hope/cuba] gives a very readable overview with a heavy (often sarcastic) bias against the USA.
Welcome to the Revolution [http://revcom.us/a/056/cubahist-en.html] is interesting because this writer does NOT consider Castro's regime to be communist! Can his allegations of Cuban oppression be substantiated? Cuba Verdad [http://www.cubaverdad.net/revolution.htm] seems to support this assessment with little-known facts about communism in Cuba prior to and during the revolution.
The Cuban Revolution and it's extension [http://www.reasoninrevolt.net.au/objects/pdf/d0157.pdf] is a classic socialist reading of the Cuban Revolution. the entire book is scanned into pdf here.
American (right-wing leaning) sites
Do those who lost out in the revolution deserve compensation? Breitbart investigates [http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/03/30/americans-who-lost-billions-during-cuban-revolution-seek-redress-following-thaw/]
The Economist [http://www.economist.com/node/12851254] looks back on 50 years of Cuban communism in the article "Heroic Myth and Prosaic failure"
Interesting asides
What the Cuban Revolution means to Older Cubans [http://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/Centers/Bildner%20Center%20for%20Western%20Hemisphere%20Studies/Publications/Strug6_000.pdf] is an interesting study based on interviews with cubans who experienced the revolution - most of them still support it!
Fidel Castro's Grand Strategy in the Cuban Revolution [http://digitalcommons.northgeorgia.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1115&context=papersandpubs] outlines his aims and objectives in terms of revolutionary politics and foreign relations.
Havana Times [http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=113909] is a blog representing "open-minded" Cubans. Despite clearly seeking reforms, the journalist states that "Fidel Castro, however, was not a tyrant like the ones that are typical in the region, the kind subordinate to the interests of imperialism and focused on fattening their pockets. Castro was a dictator who was genuinely concerned about the health, education and spiritual becoming of the people, or what he understood as such. This paternalistic gesture and his rabid anti-capitalism earned him the sympathies of half of the world, particularly from those who longed for a better world."
By the time of the Cuban Revolution, many issues had arisen in the type of communism practiced in the USSR. This reply to Taaffe's Cuba:Analysis of the Revolution [http://links.org.au/node/457] suggests that the political needs of USSR and Cuba were vastly different.
Human Rights in Cuba [http://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/researchdigest/latinamerica/cuba.pdf] is an annotated bibliography of articles.
The impact on US-Cuban Relations of Rapprochement between Washington and Cuba [http://www.cries.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/007-hershberg.pdf] examines the possible consequences of Obama's renewed conversations with Cuba
Fidel Castro
BBC has a useful timeline of Castro's life [http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/zttpfg8]
PBS [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/castro/peopleevents/p_castro.html] has a short list of key influences on Castro's politics.
PBS [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/castro/peopleevents/p_castro.html] has a short list of key influences on Castro's politics.
Cuba's Impact on Latin America
Global Views on Castro and Cuba [http://www.pewglobal.org/2008/02/19/global-views-on-castro-and-cuba/] is an overview of other countries' relationships with Cuba, including a useful graph.
An article in The Atlantic [http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/67dec/lando.htm] looks at the ways Latin American governments have responded to the threat of revolution, coup and guerilla activists.
State Terrorism in Latin America [https://books.google.com.au/books?id=ztjV7GVNeiAC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false] identifies the Cuban Revolution as a keuy cause for the rise of other repressive regimes. (look at p20 ff)It's woprth reading more of the book if you're interested in governments who used torture, 'disappearances' and capital punishment as part of their political system.
Latin America's Cold War: An International History [https://www.utexas.edu/lbj/archive/osap/uploads/file/Brands_Dissertation.pdf] is a PhD thesis which looks in detail at the reasons for and consequences of US intervention in Latin America during the Cold War period (1940s-1980s)
Castro: Economic effects on Latin America [http://www.jstor.org/stable/165372?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents] set up a free Jstor account or go through the state Library.
The Economist [http://www.economist.com/node/10727865] points out that the current government in Venezuela is currently giving practical support (esp. high speed internet) to the Cuban regime. This may be worth investigating further.
An article in The Atlantic [http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/67dec/lando.htm] looks at the ways Latin American governments have responded to the threat of revolution, coup and guerilla activists.
State Terrorism in Latin America [https://books.google.com.au/books?id=ztjV7GVNeiAC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false] identifies the Cuban Revolution as a keuy cause for the rise of other repressive regimes. (look at p20 ff)It's woprth reading more of the book if you're interested in governments who used torture, 'disappearances' and capital punishment as part of their political system.
Latin America's Cold War: An International History [https://www.utexas.edu/lbj/archive/osap/uploads/file/Brands_Dissertation.pdf] is a PhD thesis which looks in detail at the reasons for and consequences of US intervention in Latin America during the Cold War period (1940s-1980s)
Castro: Economic effects on Latin America [http://www.jstor.org/stable/165372?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents] set up a free Jstor account or go through the state Library.
The Economist [http://www.economist.com/node/10727865] points out that the current government in Venezuela is currently giving practical support (esp. high speed internet) to the Cuban regime. This may be worth investigating further.
Primary sources
Casa Historia [http://www.casahistoria.net/cuba.htm#5. The Castro Revolution] has a wonderful portal with links to all sorts of primary sources
Fidel Castro History Archive [https://www.marxists.org/history/cuba/archive/castro/] contains some of Castro's key speeches from the 1950s and 1960s.
Teachwar [https://teachwar.wordpress.com/resources/war-justifications-archive/cuban-revolution-1953/] has key speeches from Castro and Batista
Spartacus, 1963 lists the achievements of the Revolution [https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/document/icl-spartacists/cuba/cuba-rev.html]
columbia University [http://www.columbia.edu/~lnp3/mydocs/state_and_revolution/cuba.htm] identifies and evaluates significant statistics to demostrate the success of the Cuban revolution
National Security Archive [http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/index.htm] includes declassified documents, photographs and audioclips as well as some historiographical articles by leading (US) historians.
International Spy Museum's Youtube channel [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8p1_ubNPTRkJX_CFNEVfdginN77i39Zn]
Fidel Castro History Archive [https://www.marxists.org/history/cuba/archive/castro/] contains some of Castro's key speeches from the 1950s and 1960s.
Teachwar [https://teachwar.wordpress.com/resources/war-justifications-archive/cuban-revolution-1953/] has key speeches from Castro and Batista
Spartacus, 1963 lists the achievements of the Revolution [https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/document/icl-spartacists/cuba/cuba-rev.html]
columbia University [http://www.columbia.edu/~lnp3/mydocs/state_and_revolution/cuba.htm] identifies and evaluates significant statistics to demostrate the success of the Cuban revolution
National Security Archive [http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/index.htm] includes declassified documents, photographs and audioclips as well as some historiographical articles by leading (US) historians.
International Spy Museum's Youtube channel [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8p1_ubNPTRkJX_CFNEVfdginN77i39Zn]
Lesson Plans and Units of Work
- Lesson plan Latin America in the Cold War [http://resources.primarysource.org/content.php?pid=86804&sid=645699] gives general background and analyses a protest song
- University of California's unit of work for high schools On the Brink: From the Bay of Pigs to the Cuban Missile Crisis [https://www.humanities.uci.edu/history/ucihp/resources/11th%20grade%20for%20website/11.9%20HOT%20On_The_Brink.pdf] has good sources and questions you can answer (from a US textbook, I think?)
- National Geographic's Kennedy in Castro's Eyes [http://education.nationalgeographic.org/activity/kennedy-castros-eyes-impact-bay-pigs-invasion-fidel-castro/] examines the impact of the Bay of Pigs invasion on US/Cuban relations
- Stanford History's Education Cuban Missile Crisis Lesson Plan includes questions about US and Russian primary sources.[http://sheg.stanford.edu/upload/Lessons/Unit%2011_Cold%20War/Cuban%20Missile%20Crisis%20Lesson%20Plan.pdf]. A similar lesson is provided here [https://scholar.vt.edu/access/content/user/lauram8/SocialStudiesPublic/time%20cont%20change.pdf].
- The International Spy Museum's Minute by Minute: The role of Intelligence in the Cuban Missile Crisis [http://spy-museum.s3.amazonaws.com/files/CMC%20FINAL%20VERSION.pdf] allows students to analyse real CIA documents. For a naval perspective try Chesnee Middle School's lesson [http://usnavymuseum.org/pdf/Activity15-1_complete.pdf] which looks at navy reconaissance photos.
- Active History [http://www.activehistory.co.uk/Miscellaneous/menus/igcse/cuban_missile_crisis/] have designed a set of role-play activities based on the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Tangential Lessons
- PBS Lesson plan about Race Relations in Revolutionary Cuba [http://clacs.as.nyu.edu/docs/IO/18882/CLACS_RaceGovtCuba_DiscussionQuestions.pdf]
- CLACS Perspectives on the Cuban Revolution: social Class, equal opportunity and equality of outcomes before and after the cuban revoloution [http://clacs.as.nyu.edu/object/clacs.k12outreach.curricularmaterials.cubansocialclass] links the aims of ther revolution with discussion about what defines good governance