WEBVTT 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 In 1952, former Cuban president Batista 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 led a military coup and seized power 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 when it became clear he was not going to 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 be re-elected. He placed Cuba under a 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 repressive military dictatorship 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and began to establish close relations 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 with the United States. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 This allowed American 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 companies to buy up the majority of 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Cuba's natural resources, plus under his 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 rule, the country became a haven for 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 organized crime syndicates, all of which 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 angered a young lawyer named Fidel Castro. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Castro put together a group of 138 men 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and on July 26th, 1953, attacked an isolated 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Barracks in Moncada in the hope of 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 securing more weapons. The attack was a 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 disaster, and the rebels were fought back. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 securing more weapons. The attack was a 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 disaster, and the rebels were fought back. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Most of those who were not killed were 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 captured, including Fidel and his brother 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Raúl. The public trial of the captured 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Rebels helped turn public opinion and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Castro's favor when he argued against 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the dictatorship and said, "History will 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 absolve me". He was sentenced to 15 years 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in prison, but Batista was under 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 International and Domestic pressure for 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 reforms and released the political 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 prisoners in just two years. Fidel and Raúl 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 fled to Mexico to regroup and make new 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 plans for the revolution. They met with 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 other Cuban exiles and an Argentinian 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 doctor named Che Guevara, who joined the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 '26th of July Movement'.  In the meantime, a 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 controversial election and increasing 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 unemployment in Cuba, led to more and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 more anti-Batista riots, although they 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 weren't necessarily socialist. Batista 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 responded by becoming even more 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 oppressive, which led to even more people 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 calling for him to resign. Back in Mexico, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the revolutionaries purchased a small 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 yacht named 'Granma' and in November 1956, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 82 Men set sail for Cuba. The Cuban 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 government, however, was aware that the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 rebels were returning to Cuba and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 attacked them. Only a handful of them 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 survived to escape up into the mountains. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 From their Mountain Base they gathered 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 new supporters and launched guerrilla 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 attacks on Military targets. Plus, foreign 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 journalists were allowed to visit, and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 along with their Pirate Radio Station, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 this gave their struggle International 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 attention and ultimately increased their 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 popularity. Meanwhile, in the cities too, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 new rebel groups were launching attacks 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 against Batista. Angered and desperate, in 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 1958, Batista sent a large army into the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 mountains to try and flush the rebels 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 out once and for all. However, this was a 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 disaster and the hardened guerrilla 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 fighters were able to fight them back, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 causing many in the Army to switch sides. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 The rebels then saw this as the perfect 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 opportunity to launch a Counterattack. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Che Guevara took control of one arm of the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Rebel Army and headed to Santa Clara. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Cienfuegos took another and marched into 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Yaguajay and Castro followed with the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 reinforcements. As they passed through 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 towns and villages, they were largely 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 welcomed, demonstrating to the world that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Batista's regime was on the brink of 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 falling. The International Community 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 persuaded Batista to flee, allowing the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 rebels to move into Havana in January, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 1959, relatively unopposed. The 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 revolutionaries took control of Cuba and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 their leaders, Fidel, Raúl and Che, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 consolidated their power by wiping out 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 all remnants of Batista from the island, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and arrested and killed many of those 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 old supporters. This, as well as a few 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 other repressive laws, led to a large 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 number of people fleeing to the US. On 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the other hand, they nationalized the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 land that was owned by us companies, shut 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 down the Mob's casinos and set about 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 reforming and improving health 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 facilities, housing and schools. These 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 socialist policies angered the Americans, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 who decided to place economic sanctions 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 on them. The US would also go on to aid a 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 group of Cuban Exiles, in an attempt to 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 oust Fidel Castro in 1962. But the infamous 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 'Bay of Pigs' invasion was a disaster. In 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the aftermath of the 'Bay of Pigs' 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 invasion, Castro announced that Cuba was 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 a Socialist Republic and rushed into 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 seeking an alliance with the Soviets, and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 this friendship led to one of the most 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 infamous consequences of the revolution, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 'The Cuban Missile Crisis'. The revolution 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 spurred on left-wing idealists in Latin 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 America, whose actions indirectly led to 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 far-right reactionary dictatorships in 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 countries like Argentina and Chile.