History and Politics of Cuba

Like most of the Caribbean region, the recorded history of Cuba’s did not start until Christopher Columbus first spotted the island and claimed it for the Spanish. The Spanish then killed off a majority of the native population and turned the island into a hub of sugar production and slave labor. Besides a short transfer of power by the invading British, for 388 years Cuba was ruled by the Spanish government, which would appoint a Governor to look over the island and enforce laws. This was partially thanks to the population either being too afraid to fight and was ok with the European power. As mentioned by The New World Encyclopedia, “This was partly because the prosperity of the Cuban settlers depended on their export trade to Europe, partly through fears of a slave rebellion (as had happened in Haiti) if the Spanish withdrew and partly because the Cubans feared the rising power of The United States” (New World Encyclopedia). The arrangement was not perfect as many groups of people were mistreated by the Spanish government, especially the Indigenous and slave population, but it was alright for Cubans to not fight for, and finally gain independence until May 20, 1902.

Once the newly independent government was established, Cuba was met with the rampant corruption of its political leaders and the inability of the new government to effectively help the Cuban people. Mixed with the fact that marginalized groups were still being mistreated, the Cuban people grew unrestful and advocated for change. This pattern would go on for decades until July 26, 1953, when Fidel Castro and Mario Chanes de Armas led a planned attack against the Moncada Barracks, the government's largest garrison outside Santiago de Cuba at the time. For the next 5 years, Fidel and his communist supporters waged attacks against the Cuban, resulting in the communist takeover of the government. Since then, Cuba has been under control by the Communist Party of Cuba, which enacted the Socialist Constitution of 1976 and defined Cuba as a socialist state. While the newest government has shown more stability compared to others in the past, it has definitely had its fair share of criticism from other countries and international groups about their continued mistreatment of their citizens. It has been so bad, the Virtual Caribbean Library mentions how “hundreds of thousands of Cubans fled to the United States and Spain”(Virtual Caribbean Library). Even with all that, this government will still be standing for the apparent future.

Sources:

“Cuba.” Cuba - New World Encyclopedia, www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Cuba#Government_and_politics.

“Home.” The Virtual Caribbean Library, ggccaribbean.wpengine.com/.