The Cuban Revolution

The guerrilla campaign that overthrew Fulgencio Batista and brought Fidel Castro to power.

Background

Cuba had a relatively developed economy but sharp inequality and heavy American influence. Fulgencio Batista seized power in 1952 and cancelled elections, which pushed opponents toward armed resistance.

Course of events

Fidel Castro led an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada barracks in July 1953. After exile in Mexico, he returned with a small force on the yacht Granma in December 1956 and built a guerrilla base in the Sierra Maestra. Batista fled on 1 January 1959, and the rebels entered Havana.

Legacy

The new government carried out nationalisations and land reform and moved into the Soviet camp. Relations with the United States collapsed, with the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, an embargo and the missile crisis of 1962 following.