Cuban Revolution | 3 Minute History

In 1952, former Cuban president Batista

led a military coup and seized power

when it became clear
he was not going to be re-elected.

He placed Cuba
under a repressive military dictatorship

and began to establish close relations
with the United States.

This allowed American companies

to buy up the majority
of Cuba's natural resources,

plus, under his rule,
the country became a haven

for organized crime syndicates,

all of which angered a young lawyer
named Fidel Castro.

Castro put together a group of 138 men,

and on July 26th, 1953,
attacked an isolated barrack in Moncada

in the hope of securing more weapons.

The attack was a disaster

and the rebels were fought back.

Most of those who were not killed
were captured,

including Fidel and his brother Raúl.

The public trial of the captured rebels
helped turn public opinion

Castro's favor when he argued
against the dictatorship

and said, "History will absolve me".

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison,

but Batista was under international
and domestic pressure

for reforms and released
the political process in just 2 years.

Fidel and Raul fled to Mexico to regroup
and make new plans for the revolution

They met with other Cuban exiles

and an Argentinian doctor
named Che Guevara,

who joined the '26th of July Movement'.

In the meantime a controversial election

and increasing unemployment in Cuba,

led to more and more anti-Batista riots,

although they weren't
necessarily socialist.

Batista responded by becoming
even more oppressive,

which led to even more people
calling for him to resign.

Back in Mexico,

the revolutionaries purchased
a small yacht named 'Granma'

and in November 1956,

82 men set sail for Cuba.

The Cuban government, however,
was aware

that the rebels were returning to Cuba

and attacked them.

Only a handful of them survived
to escape up into the mountains.

From their mountain base
they gathered new supporters

and launched guerrilla attacks
on military targets

Plus, foreign journalists
were allowed to visit

and along with their
pirate radio station,

this gave their struggle
international attention

and ultimately increased
their popularity.

Meanwhile, in the cities too,

new rebel groups were launching
attacks against Batista.

Angered and desperate, in 1958,

Batista sent a large army
into the mountains

to try and flush the rebels
out once and for all.

However, this was a disaster

and the hardened guerrilla fighters
were able to fight them back,

causing many in the Army
to switch sides.

The rebels then saw this
as the perfect opportunity

to launch a counterattack.

Che Guevara took control
of one arm of the rebel army

and headed to Santa Clara.

Cienfuegos took another
and marched into Yaguajay

and Castro followed
with the reinforcements.

As they passed
through towns and villages

they were largely welcomed,

demonstrating to the world
that Batista's regime

was on the brink of falling.

The international community
persuaded Batista to flee,

allowing the rebels to move
into Havana in January 1959,

relatively unopposed.

The revolutionaries took control of Cuba

and their leaders, Fidel, Raúl and Che,
consolidated their power

by wiping out all remnants
of Batista from the island,

and arrested and killed
many of those old supporters.

This, as well as a few other
repressive laws,

led to a large number
of people fleeing to the US.

On the other hand,
they nationalized the land

that was owned by US companies,

shut down the Mob's casinos

and set about reforming
and improving health facilities,

housing and schools.

These socialist policies
angered the Americans,

who decided to place
economic sanctions on them.

The US would also go on to aid
a group of Cuban exiles,

in an attempt
to oust Fidel Castro in 1962.

But, the infamous 'Bay of Pigs'
invasion was a disaster.

The aftermath
of the 'Bay of Pigs' invasion

Castro announced that Cuba
was a Socialist Republic

and rushed into seeking
an alliance with the Soviets.

and this friendship led to one
of the most infamous consequences

of the revolution:
'The Cuban Missile Crisis'.

The revolution spurred
on left-wing idealists in Latin America

whose actions indirectly

led to far-right reactionary dictatorships

countries like Argentina and Chile.