History of Cuba

The time pre-Colombian

When Christophe Colomb discovers the island, Cuba is already populated by 16.000 to 60.000 autochtones (Tired Put estimated them at 200.000). They belong to various tribes, but the Taïnos and the Karibs (Caribes) dominate of number. Oldest would have arrived towards III, the most recent, Tainos would have arrived about year 500.

Taïnos belong to a culture broader than that of the Arawak S whose populations extended as far as South America.

The Spanish colony

The island of Cuba east discovered by Christophe Colomb the October 28th 1492, at the time of its first voyage. By discovering Cuba, Colomb thinks of discovering the Japan. Christophe Colomb baptizes it Juana ( Jeanne ) in the honor of the girl of the catholic Kings. Its current name comes from Cubanascan, the name which the natives had given him. In 1508, Juan of Cosa will make the cartographic statements of the island, while Sebastián de Ocampo will be the first European to make of it the full rotation confirming that Cuba is well an island.

In 1511, begins the occupation from Cuba by the Spanish colonial Empire under the direction of the governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. Several cities are born of which Santiago of Cuba (1514) and Havana (1515).

Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar and its men launches out in the conquest and the plundering of the territory. They adapt the grounds, subject the Amerindians to slavery and monopolize the gold of the latter. The first Spanish localities, Tired Villas, are established close to the hearths of Indian populations and the gold mines. The gold reserves are however quickly exhausted, and the local government must find alternatives economic.

The plantations of Cane to sugar, Tobacco and Café then become the economic main activities of Cuba. The development of the culture of cane with sugar, very intensive, contributes to the development of the slavery of African origin, because the indigenous population was decimated in a few years by the massacres, the imported diseases of Europe - and hitherto unknown factors in Cuba, and the very hard work conditions imposed by the Spanish Conquistador. The first Esclave S African S arrive at Cuba in 1513. It will arrive from there roughly 760.000 between 1600 and 1880, date of the abolition of slavery in Cuba. They are mainly Yoruba S of the West of the Nigeria, (called Lucumí in Cuba, which wants to say “My friend” in yoruba, and also Nago or Anango ), Bantou S of the Kongo or bakongo of the Congo and Democratic republic of Congo, Arará, kwa group: Fon of Dahomey (current Benign) and Nigeria, Ewé or Eoué of the Ghana and the Togo, Abakuá (or abakwa, called in Cuba nañigos ): Carabalí of Calabar (Southern of Nigeria), Mandingues of the Ghana, Efik of Dahomey, Bríkamo, Ejagham, Ibibio, and others Ethnos group S of the Senegal, Angola, Liberia… the slaves will be converted with Christianity.

With the importation of the African black slaves, Cuba makes considerable great strides. In 1762, the Britanniques occupy Havana for nine months, open it with the international business, and import there nearly 10.000 slaves, then return Cuba to the Spaniards against Florida. The years which follow make it possible the island to develop. The population increases significantly, passing from 273.000 in 1791 to more than one million in 1840. In 1825, the island counts 46% of white, 18% the non-European free ones (Métis) and 36% slaves, whereas today it is populated of 51% of mongrel, 37% of white and 11% of blacks. Much mongrel results from " reports/ratios; extra-marital” between the white Masters and their black slaves.

Independence

See also: War the Ten Year old, War of cuban independence, War Spanish-American

October 10th 1868, Carlos Manuel of Cespedes (1819 - 1874), rich landowner, releases its slaves and founds an army, starting the Guerre the Ten Year old (1868 - 1878). In spite of the support of the the United States - several American boats unload in Cuba with weapons and volunteers, of which many veterans of the American Civil War - the Spaniards gain a bloody victory vis-a-vis the insurrectionists. However, it is all the same about a half-victory for the cuban people, because he obtains by the pact of Zanjón (February 10th 1878) a certain autonomy, the abolition of the Esclavage in 1880 - practical application only in 1886 - and the equal rights between the White and the Blacks, proclaimed in 1893. The pact has also political repercussions, since it generates the appearance of the first political parties.

The reforms installation following the Guerre the Ten Year old are not carried out, which causes a new rising of the people. Jose Martí, writer and patriot, founds the cuban revolutionary Party in 1891 with the future generals, Máximo Gómez and Antonio Maceo. The revolutionary war of independence becomes reality on January 29th 1895. Spain wants to put an end to this fight good once for all and decides to already on the spot send 280.000 soldiers in reinforcement to the 21.777. One then counts on the island a soldier for six inhabitants. Two years of war made 200.000 victims is 1/8 of the population.

The end of the war of independence vis-a-vis the Spain seems imminent at the beginning of the year 1898.

The US president of the time, William McKinley (1897 - 1901), then decides to send to Havana a warship, Maine, in order to protect the interests there from Washington. In the night of February 15th 1898, Maine explodes in the port of Havana, and 250 sailors die on the blow. Although the true cause is always unknown, the US government takes pretext of the incident and shows Spain to have torpedoed it. It is the beginning of the war with Spain. A military intervention in favor of the insurrectionists, is launched on April 11th 1898 by the president William McKinley, against the Spanish government. The rendering of the Spanish army is fast. The Treated of Paris (1898) of December 10th, puts an end to the conflict, and marks the end of the Spanish occupation. A military government of occupation is then set up by the the United States until in 1902.

The Republic of Cuba under the constitution of 1901

May 20th 1902, the armed forces of the the United States evacuate the cuban territory essentially and the Republic of Cuba is officially created. For the first time of their history, the independence of the Cubans is recognized formally, but under Amendement Platt, of the American senator Hitchcock Platt, the United States preserves naval bases - Guantánamo and Bahía Honda - and is guaranteeing constitution, with the right to intervene in the businesses of the country in the event of constitutional collapse.

Officially, the Americans withdraw island, but their investments are considerable there, and the trade of Cuba is largely turned towards the United States with exports of cane with sugar and imports industrial. The Amendement Platt supplements this device until 1933. The states-unienne influence will remain strong until in 1959.

The cuban democracy is still stammering. At the request of the cuban leaders, four American military interventions will take place in 1906, 1909, 1917 and 1919. These interventions answer real cuban constitutional crises. In 1906, the first president de Cuba Tomás Estrada Palma wished to represent himself although the constitution did not envisage this case explicitly. A sharp dispute of the opposition followed. In 1917, the United States restored in its functions the president lately elected, with the catches with a rising of the partisans of the outgoing president.

The monoculture of sugar, being given preferential rates on behalf of the United States, generates a fast prosperity but also a dependence growing with regard to its customer. Haitian immigration develops, encouraged by avid contractors of labor even less expensive. The First World War makes unusable a big part of the fields of sugar beet European and causes a blaze of the courses of sugar. It is the “dance of the million”: immense fortunes are created and of many contractors are involved in debt and launch out in considerable investments.

With the end of the First World War, the European sugar production begins again, generating a slump in prices of sugar. The bankruptcies are numerous in Cuba. The United States is tried by a return to a protectionist policy. The situation still worsens with the crisis of 1929. A mass unemployment makes its appearance. During one decade, Cuba knows an explosive social situation, a problematic economic situation, a dangerous political situation. The banditism is spread in the campaigns. The strikes multiply, the social demonstrations turn to the riot and are often repressed in blood. During this period, the trade-union organizations gain a considerable influence. As from 1933, social protections will be multiplied, with for result the social democratic constitution and nationalist of 1940.

During his presidency, the general Gerardo Machado, elected president (1925 - 1929), represses the riots hard. For several of them, with many corpses strew the ground. In front of the situation which threatens the stability of the cuban republic, he asks and obtains Parliament an exceptional prolongation without election (1929 - 1933 of his presidential mandate. Opponents, in particular within the social movements, speak about dictatorship. Clandestine movements are created and launch out in the armed struggle with in particular the assassination of close relations of Gerardo Machado. The leaders anarchist-trade unionists who dominate the cuban landscape of the social movements and launch out in the armed struggle or the recurring riots are decimated. The anarchist-trade unionists lose little by little their influence for the benefit of their keen adversaries the Communists who post respectful provisions of the constitution. The escalation of violence, on bottom of social crisis and economic completes to make crumble the mode. Following several general strikes, some of them repressed in blood with hundreds of deaths, Gerardo Machado is constrained with the escape on August 12th, 1933, leaving a vertiginous political vacuum.

The embassy states-unienne, in accordance with the cuban constitution and its Amendment Platt, names a president and chooses Carlos Miguel de Cespedes, wire of the “father of the cuban fatherland”. in spite of its historical legitimacy, this one does not have political base necessary in particular within the movements of opposition which developed vis-a-vis Gerardo Machado, and in addition cuban nationalism and the anti-Americanism were exacerbated during the social crisis, discrediting the initiative states-unienne which rests on the Amendement Platt which is odious for them.

Rumors run making state of a coup d'etat in preparation by the officers of the cuban army. In the middle of this very confused situation, on September 3rd, 1933 the warrant officers seize the power with a coup d'etat launched for reasons supporters of corporatism (balance, advance, relations with the officers), with at their head two men, Pablo Rodriguez and Fulgencio Batista, sergeant autoproclamé colonel. This one is contacted by the opponents with Gerardo Machado, in particular the trade-union organizations or coeds and negotiates with them an agreement. He becomes the strong man of the country, appointed chief of the armies and he gives the political power to five civilians, of which Grau San Martín, while carrying out of time other purgings within the army thus strengthening its capacity.

The general Gerardo Machado was despotic, pro-American, and honest. The young generation of the opponents will be democratic, anti-American, and without particular passion for honesty; these will come to the capacity in the years 1940.

From 1933 to 1940, Fulgencio Batista made and demolishes a half-dozen of Cuban presidents. Vis-a-vis insurrections scattered, with riots social, with violence in campaigns, with economic difficulties, Fulgencio Batista uses armed force to restore order, sometimes hard, negotiates with Communists disciplined that it promotes against the anarchist-trade unionists whom it considers too often launched in erratic violence, and uses his influence in favor of the multiplication of social protections and nationalists with an aim of restoring social peace and the cuban national solidarity, going until exerting pressures against the political officials who would like to be opposed to this industrial relations policy and nationalist. This policy found its dedication with the social democratic constitution and nationalist of 1940, and the democratic election of Fulgencio Batista with the presidency.

Grau San Martín, unknown of the general public before the events of September 1933, will be president of September 1933 in January 1934. Grau San Martín lance with its right-hand man Antonio Guiteras of important reforms: right to vote of the women, university autonomy, limitation of weekly work at 48 hours, beginning of land reform, creation of a Ministry of Labor, nationalization of electricity, and nationalism according to the slogan “Cuba with the Cubans”. A quota of employment was reserved to the Cubans. Many in particular Spanish or Haitian immigrants thus suddenly lost their employment, some of them after several decades of presence in Cuba. It suspended the payment of the debt of the country. It abrogea unilaterally the Amendment Platt on September 10th, 1933. Its government was not recognized by Washington. Its relations with Fulgencio Batista were degraded in particular at the conclusion of certain insurrections that Fulgencio Batista repressed. This one made pressure and Grau San Martín resigned, without major political reaction of the country. Its government had lasted only four months. It remains in policy and founds the Authentic Party.

The colonel Carlos Mendieta succeeds to him. He negotiates with the the United States their agreement for the revocation of the Amendement Platt promulgated unilaterally by the government Grau San Martín. The United States preserves however their naval base of Guantánamo.

The elections of 1936 carry to the presidency Miguel Mariano Gómez (1936). This one seeks to restore the civil capacity vis-a-vis Fulgencio Batista. It puts its veto at a reform project social of this one. A few months later, the congress estimates that he was opposed to the free operation of the legislative power and vote his dismissal. Miguel Mariano Gómez protests and stresses that this decision amounts abdicating vis-a-vis the influence of the military capacity.

The vice-president Laredo Brú (1936 - 1940) succeeds to him. He will not be opposed to the aimings a Fulgencio Batista which continues its social aimings.

In 1938, the PSP, cuban Communist party, officially posting a renunciation of totalitarianism, revolutionary violence and any infeodation in the USSR, is legalized. The Communist leaders had already taken a dominant influence within the social welfare, in particular with the assistance of Fulgencio Batista whose PSP will rent very officially qualities until the takeover of Fidel Castro at the last days of 1959, whereas communist networks related to the KGB, whose some leaders of the PSP sorted on the shutter, will support and structure in parallel the guerilla of this one.

The Republic of Cuba under the constitution of 1940

In 1940, the policy of Fulgencio Batista finds its dedication with a new constitution protecting public freedoms, envisaging constitutional guarantees as well as the possibilities of suspending them in the event of threat on the safety of the state, equipped with many social protections of which minimum wage, duration of the work, paid vacations, regulation of the dismissal, health insurances and unemployment, financing of the retirements.

In 1940, Fulgencio Batista is democratically elected president of the Republic of Cuba.

The elections of 1944 will see the return of Grau San Martín (1944 - 1948) with its Authentic Party.

In 1948, Prío Socarras (1948 - 1952) is elected.

These presidencies will be placed under the sign of an economy flourishing, accusations of corruption, development of rival bands of armed students related to the two Authentique parties and Orthodoxe, benefitting from the statute of autonomy of the University and apparent indulgence from the political power.

At that time, Cuba became a relatively rich country, with the GDP per capita comparable with that of Spain and Italy. The west of Cuba, and particularly the agglomeration of Havana have a standard of living which points out that of the United States of America. Is of Cuba is poorer with people of often illiterate poor peasants, of which many Haitian immigrants.

The mode of Batista

March 10th 1952, the former president Fulgencio Batista seizes once again the capacity with the support of the army. Its coup d'etat puts an end to the constitution, the political parties are proscribed, corruption is carried to its degree more raised, repression and plundering reaches a paroxysm. The population suffers, in particular the blacks and the inhabitants of the countryside. There are two hundred and thousand families of peasants who do not have a centimetre of ground where to sow something to nourish their underfed children whereas more half of the best productive grounds are with the hands from abroad. The country counts, in addition, 500.000 peasants, overexploited four months per annum and unemployed the remainder of the year. Moreover, 85% of the small cuban farmers pay a rent and live under the constant threat to be seen expelling their pieces and 45% of the population are illiterate. The schools and the hospitals are often absent from campaigns.

The American companies dominate all the spectrum of the economic activity in the island, making of Cuba an appendix of the United States. They control 90% of the industry of sugar, 80% of the public services, 50% of the railroads and the totality of the oil resources. Nearly 44% of the grounds belong to Americans. Cuba is then true a Banana republic, influenced by the foreign interests and commercial several large companies of which the United Fruit Company.

With Havana, the industry of the defect develops; houses of lotteries and prostitution, night clubs and casinos abound. The city becomes the Latin-American capital of the prostitution and the American tourists flow there, from where its nickname of “brothel of America”.

The revolution castrist

The socialist era

In reaction to the American refusal to refine Soviet oil in the refineries located in the island, Cuba exproprie the American companies, in particular of the International Telephone and Telegraph Company and of the United Fruit Company, the relations between the United States and Cuba worsen then quickly. The May 17th 1959, a land reform redistributes the grounds with the cuban poor peasants. In compensation, the cuban government offers to compensate the landowners but actually, little or none of these compensations are paid. In October 1959, Castro makes stop Huberto Matos, ordering air force, because this last critic the increasing influence of the Communists in Cuba. During the autumn 1960, Castro creates Defense committees of Revolution (C.D.R.) which allow him to frame and to supervise the population. Authoritative measures were quickly taken: censure press, setting with the step of justice and trade unions, etc

In answer to the seizure of the American companies, increasing repression of the government castrist with respect to the population and the bringing together with the USSR, the United States breaks the diplomatic relations on January 3rd, 1961 and imposes an embargo against Cuba on February 3rd, 1962. The embargo is always places from there in 2007, although the imports with humane goal of food and drugs, as well as material of telecommunications, from now on are authorized. At the beginning, the embargo did not extend to other countries and thus made it possible the island to trade with Europe, Asia and the Latin America and particularly Canada. But the United States thereafter made pressure on the other countries to restrict the trade towards Cuba using subsidies. The law Helms-Burton of 1996 interdict to the American companies trade and financial affairs with Cuba. It also prohibits the access to the United States at the foreign companies or the people who trade with Cuba.

Economic reasons or policies push several hundreds of thousands of Cubans to emigrate towards the United States and other countries. An exception to the embargo was made by the installation on November 6th, 1965 of an airlift between the two countries allowing the Cubans who wished it to leave the country. In 1971, completion date of the airlift, these “ Freedom flights ” transported 250.000 Cubans. Nowadays, a lottery with immigration is organized allowing 20.000 Cubans requiring the political asylum to settle in the United States each year.

The unloading of bay of the Pigs

The crisis of the missiles

The tensions between the two countries reach their paroxysm at the time of the crisis of the missiles of October 1962. Cuba accepts secretly that Soviet installs ballistic missiles with average related to its territory. As soon as the United States discovers what is woven, they set up a naval blockade around the island by preventing the Soviet ships physically from bringing new missiles. At the last time, Moscow decides to point out the ships and to remove the missiles which were already in place, in exchange of the promise which the United States does not invade Cuba. The negotiations last several days during which a nuclear war seems imminent. After the fall of the Soviet Union, one discovers that another part of the agreement envisaged the dismantling of the American missiles installed in Turkey. The files also reveal that certain submarines blocked by the American ships were equipped with nuclear missiles which could be launched by the only decision of their captains. The United States honoured this agreement by not attacking Cuba more directly, but the CIA continued to support anti-castristes groups and several assassinations during the years 1960.

Export of the revolution

As of the years 1960, Cuba supports in a more or less discrete way of the communist movements of guerillas in Latin America (Venezuela, Guatemala, Bolivia) and in Africa such as for example, the sending of a battalion of twenty-two tank T-55 and several hundreds of soldiers in Algérie in 1963 within the framework of a frontier conflict with the Morocco. As from 1975, the Cubaine army intervenes in a direct and massive way in conflicts on this last continent. Cuba sends in summer 1975 of the military advisers to the MPLA (Popular liberation movement of Angola) which seized the power in Angola following independence. In November, that will be regular units. There is to 50.000 men permanently, and 300.000 cuban soldiers will have been present in thirteen years. The cuban army has its own staff and constitutes in fact the military main force of the MPLA with regiments of artillery and engaged armoured tanks, while the forces of the MPLA constitute the infantry in charge of rakings, etc the USSR takes care of the airlift, and also provides Mig-21 planes with pilots to the cuban army. Cuba pretexts that Angola is threatened by the South Africa. But Cuba also sends troops in Ethiopia in 1977, as from the moment when the military junta which seized the power decided to put itself under the cut of the USSR. During one of these campaigns, Ernesto Che Guevara is made prisoner in Bolivia in 1967 and is carried out without lawsuit.

Cuba after the fall of the Soviet Union

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the country knows a low register Economic crisis because of strong concentration of the cuban production centered on some products and some purchasers, whose USSR represents the principal business partner. 80% of the trade are lost what involves a degradation of the living conditions. A “special period” is installation which results in a rationing of transport, electricity and Nourriture. The United States reinforces the embargo thinking of accelerating the fall of the mode castrist.

Castro opens the country with the Tourisme by allowing Joint venture S with alien companies in the fields of the Hôtellerie, the Agriculture and the Industrie. The dollar is even legalized in 1994 with special stores accepting only this currency. Consequently, two economies coexist, the economy in dollar and the economy in peso, creating a social rupture enters, the rich person or the people being likely to work in tourism who have dollars and the remainder of the population. In October 2004, the cuban government announces the end of this policy. The dollar does not have any more course as of November 2004, and are exchanged against convertible pesos with a commission of 10%.

The shortages of foods and the cuts of electricity lead to demonstrations and an increase in the crimes. In answer, the government forms hundreds of brigades of fast action.

In 1997, a group carried out by Vladimiro Roca, veteran of the War of Angola, decorated to this occasion and wire with the founder of the cuban Communist party, sends a petition, entitled Patria be of Todos to the cuban general meeting claiming of the democratic reforms and the respect of the human rights. Roca and three of its associates, called “group of the four”, are put in prison.

In 2001, a group supported by the Catholic church collects thousands of signatures for the project Varela. The petition claims the organization of a referendum on a change of the political system of the island. This action is openly supported by the former president of the United States Jimmy Carter during her visit in the island in 2002. The petition presented to the National Assembly obtains only hardly eleven thousand signatures whereas in parallel more than eight million people sign a document proposing to qualify d'" irrévocable" socialist character of the revolution. The petition is thus rejected by the National Assembly.

In 2003,75 anti-castriste activists are stopped, summarily judged and condemned to heavy custodial sentences. The official Cubans declare that it is an answer to the American provocations which are shown to have organized meetings and press conferences with the dissidents. Repression is very criticized by the organizations of human rights and even by certain American defenders of the cuban mode.

Five of Miami

Many attacks were made against Cuba, among which hotels were victims of bomb attacks and a cuban airliner exploded in full flight on October 6th, 1976. Its 73 passengers died. Behind these attacks two terrorists trained by the CIA are: Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles. Cuba sent five Cubans to infiltrate the extreme cuban line in Miami.

One of those, Fernando González, had the role of supervising Orlando Bosch. Their mission was to join together information on future terrorist attacks. June 16th, 1998, the cuban government gave to a delegation of the FBI which had moved in Havana of the precise information, with films, recordings and even of the material proofs, samples of explosives about the activities of 40 terrorists notorious cubano-American, present in territory North-American and implied in criminal plans directed against the island.

On July 12th and 13rd 1998, the daily newspaper The NewYork Times published an interview of Shine Posada Carriles, interview in which this one recognizes being the author of the attacks of Havana and that the cubano-American national Foundation (FNCA) of Miami had decided and financed the operation. September 12th, 1998, the chief of the FBI of Miami, Hector Pesquera, makes stop and lock up the five Cubans. They spent 17 months in insulation in special cells and they were condemned in December 2001 by a court of going Miami to sorrows 15 years of prison at twice the life imprisonment. They were moved in 5 different prisons.

The lawsuit was cancelled by the Court of Appeal of Atlanta, but the five are always in prison because the prosecutor with asked for the same court a revision of its judgment. Venezuela and Cuba required each one the extradition of Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles. The USA refuse to extradite them.

References

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