What this lesson teaches
I can judge how the Cold War played out in Korea and Cuba, as the superpowers competed and looked for allies.
Syllabus 8838, Theme I, Learning Outcomes. evaluate the manifestation of the Cold War conflict across different contexts over time
Make a guess
In 1960 Castro nationalised American-owned businesses in Cuba. How do you think the USA responded?
- It ignored the move, since Cuba was too small to matter.
- It cut sugar purchases, imposed an embargo and broke off relations.
- It accepted the change and offered Castro new aid.
Show the answer
It cut sugar purchases, imposed an embargo and broke off relations.
American hostility pushed Cuba towards the USSR, which bought its sugar and supplied oil.
Castro's revolution, his seizure of US property and American hostility pushed Cuba into the Soviet camp by 1961.
In January 1959, Fidel Castro's rebels overthrew the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. Cuba had been closely tied to the USA. American companies owned much of its sugar, land and utilities, and the island lay only 90 miles from Florida.
Castro began land reform and, in 1960, nationalised American-owned businesses. The USA cut its purchases of Cuban sugar, the island's main export, and began a trade embargo in October 1960. It broke off diplomatic relations in January 1961.
The USSR stepped in. A 1960 trade deal exchanged Soviet oil and loans for Cuban sugar. When US-owned refineries refused to process Soviet oil, Castro seized them too. Each American measure pushed Cuba closer to Moscow.
In April 1961 Castro declared the revolution socialist, and in December 1961 he called himself a Marxist-Leninist. For Khrushchev, Cuba was the first communist ally in the Western Hemisphere, a prize for Soviet prestige in the developing world.
- Revolution
- January 1959: Castro overthrows Batista.
- Embargo
- US trade embargo from October 1960.
- Socialist
- Castro declared the revolution socialist in April 1961.
Real examples to use
Castro enters Havana, 8 January 1959
Batista had fled on 1 January. The revolution began as nationalist, not openly communist.
Mikoyan in Havana, February 1960
The Soviet deputy premier agreed to buy Cuban sugar and offered 100 million dollars of credit, the first step in the Soviet link.
Refineries seized, June 1960
US-owned refineries refused to process Soviet crude oil, so Castro nationalised them. Washington cut the sugar quota in July.
Worked example: Cause and effect in Cuban-American relations
Explain how relations broke down between 1959 and 1961.
- Revolution: Castro overthrew a US-backed ruler and challenged American economic dominance.
- Action and reaction: nationalisation led to the sugar cut and embargo; these led to closer ties with the USSR.
- Ideology: Castro's declaration of socialism confirmed US fears.
- Result: by 1961 Cuba was a Soviet ally the USA saw as a threat in its own sphere.
Watch out for this
Castro was a communist from the start and planned to join the Soviet bloc.
Castro's early aims were nationalist and reforming. His alignment with Moscow developed through 1960-61, in a cycle of action and reaction with the USA.
Check your understanding
Why did the USSR become important to Cuba in 1960?
- It bought Cuban sugar and supplied oil after the USA cut purchases.
- It owned most of Cuba's sugar plantations and mills after 1959.
- It had helped Castro's guerrillas win power in 1959.
Show the answer
It bought Cuban sugar and supplied oil after the USA cut purchases.
Right. Soviet trade replaced the lost American market.