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Jeremy Vogel Honors Spanish III Mrs. Palios
Cuba
Throughout history, Cuba has faced many different hardships and dramatic changes. The country has many unique things about it. Also, the story of the Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez, a boy who was taken to America then back to Cuba in the early 2000’s starts in Cuba.
Cuba is a very diverse place. It is an Archipelago in the Caribbean Sea, made up of mainly flat plains, with a small mountain range, the Sierra Maestra, The climate is mainly tropical, and it is in the middle of many hurricane paths. Cuba’s history is very eventful. Starting in 1492, when Columbus discovered it. Cuba was owned by Spain from 1511-1898(nearly 400 years). During so, its economy was primarily farming and mining, and export of sugar, tobacco, and coffee to Europe. On May 20, 1902, the Cuban people gained independence from Spain, with Tomas Estrada Palma becoming the first president. In 1906, there was a revolt, and America intervened, placing Charles Edward Magoon in charge of Cuba for 3 years, until Jose Miguel Gomez was put in presidency. 6 years later, in 1912, there was a small revolt of African Americans who set buildings on fire. This group was suppressed with heavy bloodshed, this event is now known as the “Race War of 1912”. Cuba played a part in World War I, helping the French Air Force, or the “Lafayette Escadrille”. Also, it smuggled sugar to Britain. Very soon after the U.S. declared war on Germany, Cuba did as well, causing Mexico to abandon relations with it. During World War II, it declared war on Japan, Germany, and Italy soon after America did, and supplied the Allied countries with large amounts of sugar and Manganese metal. By this time, there was a dictator in place; Fulgencio Batista. One of the most important parts of Cuban history is the Cuban revolution, led by Fidel Castro. Castro started the revolution with an attack on Moncada, which was a miserable failure. He was exiled to Mexico, where he built an army and trained the men for a Guerilla war against Batista. Castro and his men boarded the Granma and sailed back to Cuba, where they took shelter in the Sierra Maestra Mountains, depending on the supporting peasants to survive. Batista attacked villages that supported Castro, which only made the people dislike him more. On May 24, 1958, Batista launched Operación Verano, which was a major attack on the Sierra Maestra Mountains, to defeat Castro and his rebels. The attack was a failure, for Castro’s severely smaller army held off Batista’s troops, and inflicted a many losses. The victory in the mountains was thanks to Castro’s planning, and the training for Guerilla warfare, which Batista’s troops were not prepared for. Soon enough, Batista say that fighting Castro was a lost cause, and he fled to Spain. Santa Clara was taken by Guevara's army, who then turned towards Havana. Santiago was surrendered without a fight. The forts in Havana also surrendered, and Castro's forces occupied the city, bringing their military victory to a close. America grew hostile towards Cuba, causing it to adopt more Marxist ideals, and created an Alliance with the USSR. Because of its Alliance, the USSR decided to put long range missiles in Cuba, to match the US’s missiles in Turkey, near Russia. This lead to the Cuban missile Crisis under President Kennedy. An agreement was soon made to withdraw all missiles from Cuba and Turkey.
One of the most tragic stories of Cuba is that of Elian Gonzalez. Elian was a boy who was born in Cuba. In 1999, he, his mother, and twelve others departed for America on a dinghy, and his mother, along with ten others, died in the crossing. He was rescued by two fishermen, and given to the Coast Guard, who took them to his Uncle and his daughter, Lázaro, and Marisleysis Gonzalez. Elian’s father, whom he and his mother left without notice, wanted him back, and battled for custody along with the Cuban government. The relatives that were keeping him told him bad things about his father, and told him to say that he wanted to stay in the United States, even though Elian wanted to return to Cuba, and eventually was taken by force on June 28, 2000.
In conclusion, Cuba is a colorful, diverse place with an exciting history. In addition, it gave the world the exciting story of Elian Gonzalez, the boy who was taken to America and back to Cuba due to custody battles by his father and family in America all in less than a year. Cuba truly is a remarkable place.