SGQ14, March 17, 2010

MWH p. 147-149 and 162-165

A. Why did Castro come to power? (p. 147)

1. Why did many Cubans resent America?

a. They believed there was too much American influence in the country that dated back to the Spanish-American War.

b. American troops were needed to maintain stability, and American financial aid and investment was behind the Cuban economy.

c. The USA controlled the Cuban economy in many ways, and the Americans held controlling interests in all Cuban industries such as sugar, textiles, iron, tobacco, cooper, rum, etc. All of this would not have resulted in resentment if it led to a successful Cuba, but it did not for the Cubans.

2. Economic problems

a. The economy was too dependent on the export of sugar, and the wealth was only concentrated in the hands of a few.

b. Unemployment was a serious problem, and at some parts of the year was as much as 30%.

c. There was no unemployment benefit and trade unions did nothing to help. Social tensions were high due to the dramatic difference in wealth from rich to poor.

3. Why was there no effective political system?

Fulgencio Batista seized power in a military coup and he introduced no reforms, and focused too much on foreign affairs and not enough on what was going on inside Cuba itself. His regime was also brutal and corrupt.

4. How did Castro rise to prominence?

In 1953 he was thrown in jail due to an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Batista but after the two years of jail time, he began a campaign of guerrilla warfare and sabotage in the cities, and the rebels eventually controlled the east and the north of the country. His land reform policy also won support in the mountainous areas.

5. How did the revolution eventually play out?

a. Bastista's actions - He took savage reprisals against the guerrillas and tortured and murdered suspects. The middle class saw him as a brutal dictator and supported Castro in hopes that Batista would be overthrown. The Cuban army crumbled in 1958 after a poor attempt to defeat Castro's forces.

b. USA's role - The USA was embarrassed by Batista's actions and cut off arms and supplies, which was a blow to Batista's prestige. Batista fled from Cuba after a small rebel force under Che Guevara drove him out by moving in on Santa Clara, and a liberal government was set up with Castro as its head.

B. What was the revolution's effect on Cuba's foreign relations?

1. with the USA - Most Americans saw Castro as a social democrat so they were prepared to give him a chance, and at first there were no issues. However he nationalized American-owned estates and factories, enraging the US. When President Eisenhower threatened to stop importing Cuban sugar, Castro signed a trade agreement with Russia.

2. with the USSR - The USSR promised to buy Cuban sugar and signed a trade agreement with Cuba. The Russians supplied economic aid as well.

3. with other Latin American countries - They expelled Cuba from the Organization of American States (OAS), which made Cuba more dependent on the USSR.

C. Castro's domestic problems

1. economic issues

a. The economy relied too heavily on the sugar industry and was at the mercy of the fluctuations in world sugar prices.

b. There was serious unemployment and poverty.

c. The whole government and administration was riddled with corruption.

2. attempted solutions

a. Social reforms, such as to improve education, housing, health, medical facilities and communications began.

b. Agricultural land was taken by the government and collective farms were introduced.

c. Factories and businesses were nationalized.

3. successes

a. There were equalities for black people and more rights for women.

b. All children were now recei9ving some education.

c. Sanitation, hygiene, and healthcare were improved, with unemployment and corruption reduced. There were also touring cinemas, theatres, concerts, and art exhibitions.

D. Reasons for detente (p.162)

1. issues for the USSR

a. The USSR was finding the expense of keeping up with the Americans to be crippling.

b. There was unrest in Poland in the early 1970s which threatened to destabilize the Communist bloc.

c. The Russians were on bad terms with China, and did not want to be left out when relations between China and the US began to improve.

2. issues for the US

Americans realized that there must have been a better way of containing Communism than the way that was failing in Vietnam.

3. issues for China

The Chinese were anxious about their isolation and not happy about their worsening relations with the USSR.

4. issues for Western Europe

Western Europeans were worried because they would be in the front line if nuclear war broke out. Willi Brandt, chancellor of West Germany since 1969, worked for better relations with Eastern Europe, a policy known as Ostopolitik.

e. What was the nature of detente between the US and the USSR?

1. arms limitations - The US and USSR signed, in 1967, an agreement to ban the use of nuclear weapons in outer space. Also they signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty which decided how many weapons each side would have, and although this did not reduce the number of armaments, it slowed the arms race down.

2. Helsinki Agreement - The USA, Canada, the USSR and most European states signed it and accepted the European frontiers which had been drawn up after World War II, recognizing the division of Germany. The communists agreed to allow people their 'human rights' including freedom of speech and freedom to leave the country.

3. what setbacks prevented further cooperation?

a. In 1979 NATO became nervous at the deployment of 150 new Russian SS-20 missiles, so they decided to deploy over 500 Pershing and Cruise missiles in Europe in 1983 as a deterrent to a possible Russian attack on western Europe.

b. The US Senate decided not to accept a SALT 2 treaty which would limit the number of MIRVs.

c. The Russians invaded Afghanistan on Christmas of 1979 and replaced the president with one more favorable to them.

4. summarize the arms race during the 1980s:

Both sides spent the early 1980s building up their nuclear arsenals, and President Reagan initiated the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) known as the 'Star Wars'. This was meant to destroy ballistic missiles in flight from space.

f. What was the nature of detente between the US and China?

1. how did each side reach out to the other?

China invited an American table tennis team to visit China in 1971, and following that, the USA responded by calling off their veto of Chinese entry into the United Nations.

2. what was the primary reason for the lack of full cooperation?

There was still the problem of Taiwan that soured the relationship; the US had at one point supported the Nationalists and they still lived on the island.

3. what was the climax of detente?

President Carter in 1979 gave formal recognition of the People's Republic of China, and ambassadors were exchanged. Good relations were maintained through the 1980s.

4. what issues arose and created more tension?

In 1989 the Chinese government used troops to disperse a student demonstration in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. At least a thousand students were killed and/or executed and this brought worldwide condemnation.

g. Sino-Soviet relations

1. why did relations between the Soviets and Chinese deteriorate?

a. The Chinese did not approve of Krushchev's policies, particularly his belief of 'peaceful co-existence', and his claim that it was possible to achieve communism without violent revolution.

b. The Chinese believed these new ideas and policies went against those of Lenin, and the Chinese accused the Russians of 'revisionism'. The Russians also reduced their economic aid to China and Krushchev was accused of being 'soft' to the USA.

2. what were Chinese grievances towards the USSR in 1984?

a. The presence of Russian troops in Afghanistan

b. Soviet backing of the Vietnamese troops in Kampuchea

c. The Soviet troop build-up along the Chinese frontiers of Mongolia and Manchuria

3. how did tensions ease after 1984?
Mikhail Gorbachev was determined to begin a new era in Sino-Russian relations and so five-year agreements on trade and economic cooperation were signed in 1985 and regular contact took place between their governments. In 1989 Vietnam removed their troops from Kampuchea so the relationship with China improved.