Transcript History of the Caribbean

HISTORY OF THE
CARIBBEAN
WEDNESDAY 13 APRIL 2011
PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
O Holy Spirit, soul of my soul
I adore you.
Enlighten, guide, strengthen and console me.
Tell me what I ought to do and command me to do
it.
I promise to submit to everything that you ask of me
and to accept all that you allow to happen to me.
Only show me what is your will.
EXAMINATIONS PRAYER TO ST.
JOSEPH OF CUPERTINO
O Great St. Joseph of Cupertino who while on earth did
obtain from God the grace to be asked at your examination
only the questions you knew, obtain for me a like favour in
the examinations for which I am now preparing.
In return I promise to make you known and cause you to
be invoked.
Through Christ our Lord.
St. Joseph of Cupertino, Pray for us.
Our Lady of Good Studies pray for me
Sacred Head of Jesus, Seat of divine wisdom, enlighten
me. Amen.
The Farmer's Problem (D4)
Farmer John had a problem. There were a group of brigands that
had taken all he had... except for three things: his prized wolf, his
goat, and a box of cabbages. They were coming after him, to get
the rest. These brigands did not like water, so John went to the
Blue River, a deep, fast river that no one could swim, and it had
no bridges. He always kept a boat there, because he liked to fish,
but it was small. So small, in fact, that he and only one of his
precious things could be in the boat at the same time.
It sounds simple, right? Ferry one item across at a time, and come
back for the others? Well, if John leaves the goat with the
cabbages alone on one side of the river the goat will eat the
cabbages. If he leaves the wolf and the goat on one side the wolf
will eat the goat. If john is there, only he can seperate the wolf
from the goat and the goat from the cabbage.
How can farmer John keep his possessions safe from the
brigands, without losing a single one?
solution
The Farmer's Problem (D4)
SOLUTION
There are two solutions:
Solution A:
1) John takes the goat to the other side, and leaves it there.
2) He then takes the wolf to the other side.
3) He brings the goat back.
4) He takes the cabbages across, leaving them with the
wolf.
5) John Comes back for the goat.
Solution B:
1) John takes the goat to the other side, and leaves it there.
2) He then takes the cabbages to the other side.
3) He brings the goat back.
4) He takes the wolf across, leaving it with the cabbages.
5) John comes back for the goat.
REVIEW QUESTION:
• If a revolution can be defined as “A forcible
overthrow of a government or social order for a
new system” ...
• Can the coming into power of the Castro
government in 1959 be considered a revolution?
• Support your answer.
ORGANISING YOUR ANSWER
• Thesis statement: yes it can be considered a revolution
because 1. The use of force 2, a new system came into
place. Economic policies and social policies. Socialism.
Change from US domination socialist state.
• How Castro came into power.
• Economics—policies and actions affecting the
economy—land, industry, farming, working conditions
• Social changes actions affecting education, health,
housing.
• Conclusion to show that Cuba was socialist state as a
result of Castro coming into power.
OBJECTIVES
• Describe the policies of the Castro revolution
• Assess the United States’ response to the Castro
revolution, 1959 to 1962
• Explain the impact on the Caribbean of the Castro
revolution between 1959 and 1985
PAIR-SHARE ACTIVITY
• You are the manager of a US owned sugar
plantation.
• Prepare a brief statement either agreeing with OR
condemning the nationalisation of all business firms
and large farms in Cuba.
• Give at least one reason for your point of view.
• Make a brief speech for the group (3 minutes).
THE US RESPONSE TO CUBA
1959 TO 1962
OUTLINE
• Political and economic
embargo
• Ideological warfare
• Military intervention
• International pressure
OUTLINE
• Political and economic
embargo
• Ideological warfare
• Military intervention
• International pressure
TRADE EMBARGO
• The United States organized a partial
embargo on trade with Cuba in late 1960
and expanded it to a full embargo in early
1962.
• The embargo made it illegal to import
goods from Cuba to the United States, or to
export to Cuba any products that were
manufactured or had parts that were
manufactured in the United States.
• The result was severe shortages of consumer
goods in Cuba within a few years.
EFFECTS OF TRADE EMBARGO
• Cuba lost US market for its goods
• Tourism
• Sugar, tobacco and other agricultural products
• She lost a source of many goods and capital (money to start
businesses)
• Equipment and machinery to run factories and agricultural enterprises
• Food and other consumer goods
Result: Shortages
Higher prices
Forced to seek other markets
Drove Cuba even more into economic ties with the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union). Russia was the main
republic.
• Cuba became more and more socialist as a result.
• Dependence on the USA dependence on the USSR esp. Russia
•
•
•
•
POLITICAL EMBARGO
• The US broke off all diplomatic relations with Cuba
• No embassies
• USA discouraged other countries from having a
relationship with Cuba
•  The OAS broke off relations with Cuba as a result
• Other Caribbean countries as well
• The USA welcomed Cubans who did not accept
the changes in Cuba to enter as political refugees.
WHAT ACCOUNTED FOR THE US’
NEGATIVE REACTION TO CHANGES IN
CUBA AFTER 1959?
• Policies that affected US investments and
businesses, which the US did not like
• Americans lost money.
• The USA did not like the ideology of
socialism/communism
• They did not like that Cuba was becoming a
socialist state, and what this meant.
• This was the era (time in history) of the Cold War.
CAPITALISM VS. SOCIALISM
(IDEOLOGY)
Capitalism says...
• Property should be
owned by individuals
(private property)
including businesses
• Democracy is the best
way to run a country.
People are free to
choose their leaders
through
• free elections
• Freely organised political
parties.
• Religious and other
freedoms
Socialism says...
• The state (govt) should
own (all) property not
individuals
• The state and the ruling
party can decide
everything for the
people.
• No need for other political
parties
• No need for elections or
• We tell you who to vote for.
• The Churches and other
groups must be subject to
or controlled by the state.
• “The United States government responded to its
worries about Cuba’s new
• government in several ways. Many U.S. officials felt
that Castro’s regime needed to be
• overthrown, and several different plans were
formulated. Many of these were on a covert level
and the general public was not aware of them at
the time. ”
em·bar·go/em.bärgō/
Verb: Impose an official ban on (trade or a
country or commodity).
Noun: An official ban on trade or other
commercial activity or diplomatic relations
with a particular country.
Wikipedia.org
POLITICAL EMBARGO
WHY DID THE USA RESPOND
NEGATIVELY TO THE CASTRO
REVOLUTION?
WHAT WERE SOME OF THE WAYS
IN WHICH THE US REACTED TO
CASTRO’S REVOLUTION
ROLE OF IDEOLOGY
•
•
•
•
Capitalism vs. communism
Rejection of socialism
Reaction to spread of socialism
How socialism affected investments
ROLE OF POLITICS AND DEFENCE
ISSUES: THE COLD WAR
THE COLD WAR MADE SIMPLE
• WWII a “hot war” direct fighting between USA, Russia,
Britain, France on one side against Germany and Japan
on the other.
• At the end of the War, Europe was divided between
• Areas occupied (liberated from Germany) by Britain and US
which set up capitalist and democratic governments (Western
Europe)
• Areas occupied by Russia, which set up socialist governments
(like her own)
• The USA was unhappy about the setting up of socialist
states in Eastern Europe.
• Russia was willing to help any nation that wanted to
become a socialist state, including Western Europe.
THE COLD WAR (CONTINUED)
• The Cold War between the USA and Soviet Russia is called
“cold” because the USA and Soviet Russia never directly
fought each other.
• But there was conflict.
• How it was “fought”
• Russia supported socialist groups who were fighting for power e.g.
Mozambique, Angola.
• Russia supported governments that chose socialism, e.g. Cuba (and
Grenada in 1979)
• USA used military intervention, covert activities (spying and agents) to
prevent socialist takeover or overthrow socialist governments.
• Both sides spent money, provided arms, and waged wars of
propaganda against each other and against their opposing
ideologies.
• “Proxy wars” e.g. Korean War, struggles in Mozambique and Angola
where USA and Russia backed different sides.
THE BAY OF PIGS INVASION
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/35_k
ennedy/filmmore/ra_cuban.html
A group of Cuban counterrevolutionaries, members of Assault
Brigade 2506, after their capture in
the Bay of Pigs. 1,000 people were
imprisoned by Castro's forces during
the US supported invasion
Kennedy was very concerned
about getting rid of the Cuban
issue. He knew that as long as
Castro remained in Havana, as
long as a communist regime was
allowed to flower, he would have a
very bad domestic political
problem. In 1961 the CIA came to
him and said that Eisenhower had
ordered them to plan for an
invasion of Cuba. In retrospect the
plans for the invasion look a little
bit silly… more. See also
THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
The closest the world has come to
nuclear war was the Cuban Missile Crisis
of October 1962. The Soviets had
installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, just
90 miles off the coast of the United
States. U.S. armed forces were at their
highest state of readiness. Soviet field
commanders in Cuba were authorized to
use tactical nuclear weapons if invaded
by the U.S. The fate of millions literally
hinged upon the ability of two men,
President John F. Kennedy and Premier
Nikita Khrushchev, to reach a
compromise…. more