Cuban Missile Crisis (WJEC Eduqas GCSE History): Revision Note

Summary

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest that the world ever came to nuclear war. Its origins lay in the bad relations between Cuba and the United States. This was due to decades of what many Cubans saw as US interference in their country. When a revolution overthrew the Cuban leader whom the US had put in power, America helped Cuban exiles to launch an invasion. The invasion, known as the Bay of Pigs, was a disastrous failure and damaged America’s reputation. It also pushed the new Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, closer to the USSR.

When an American spy plane spotted missile launch sites being constructed in Cuba, it triggered what became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. US spies discovered that nuclear missiles were at sea on their way to Cuba and, once installed, would mean that all US were in danger of nuclear destruction.

The US President, John F. Kennedy, responded by publicly announcing that the Soviet ships would be stopped from travelling to Cuba. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev stated that the ships would not turn back. For several days, it appeared as if a third world war fought with nuclear weapons was very likely. However, Khrushchev agreed to turn the ships around in exchange for America removing its missile bases in Türkiye. Nuclear war had been averted. 

Cuba was historically important to the USA both economically and politically. In 1898, the USA helped Cuba gain independence from Spain. Throughout the 20th century, American businesses invested heavily in Cuba’s raw materials, especially sugar. In 1925, Cuba produced five million tons of the world's 25 million tons of sugar. By the 1950s, the USA had a strong economic influence and believed this gave them the right to be involved in Cuban politics.

Geographically, it was important for the USA to maintain a good relationship with Cuba. Cuba is only 90 miles away from the USA. An enemy of the USA could ally with Cuba to use its proximity to attack or invade the USA. 

US involvement in Cuba in the early 20th Century

• The USA was heavily involved in Cuba's economy

  • US businesses controlled and profited from Cuba's sugar trade

  • US businesses also owned all of Cuba's oil refineries, railways and electricity

• The US also attempted to control the political identity of Cuba

  • From the 1900s to the 1930s, the US military had suppressed three attempted revolutions in Cuba 

• In 1933, the US government supported a military coup by Sergeant Fulgencio Batista

  • Batista became the president of Cuba, but was a corrupt leader

    • He stopped elections and refused to follow the Cuban Constitution

    • He allowed US businesses and rich Cubans to thrive while ignoring the struggles of the poor in society

  • American mobsters began illegal businesses in Cuba, which Batista allowed

    • This increased American tourism to Cuba

  • The USA ignored Batista's corruption

    • US businesses were profiting from his rule

  • As a result, the US government provided Batista with weapons to maintain control of Cuba

The Cuban Revolution

• In November 1956, revolutionary Fidel Castro began an uprising against Batista

  • He recruited Che Guevara to join his uprising

  • Castro began a guerrilla warfare campaign against the Cuban government

• In 1958, the international media supported the Cuban revolutionaries

  • At this stage, the US government stopped giving money and soldiers to Batista's government

• On 1st January 1959, Castro and Guevara's forces defeated Batista

  • The rebels reached Cuba's capital city, Havana

  • Batista fled from Cuba to the Dominican Republic

• Castro formed a new government in 1959

• By 1961, US-Cuban relations had broken down, and America had started a trade embargo with Cuba

  • The US government ended their diplomatic relationship with Cuba

• Cuba was pushed much closer to the Soviet Union

• They relied on the Soviet Union, rather than the USA, for protection and trade

The Bay of Pigs

• In January 1961, John F. Kennedy replaced Eisenhower as the President of the USA

  • Kennedy was an anti-communist

  • He did not want a communist state only 90 miles away from the coast of the USA

• When Kennedy assumed the presidency, the CIA created a plan to overthrow Castro

  • The CIA wanted to use Cuban exiles to invade Cuba

    • If Cuban exiles invaded Cuba, it would look like a counter-revolution rather than a US-backed invasion

The CIA’s plans for the invasion of Cuba

The events of the Bay of Pigs

• On 17th April 1961, the US government began their invasion of Cuba

  • The US government sent 1,400 Cuban exiles to Cuba

  • The invasion force landed in the Bay of Pigs on the southern coast of Cuba

• In less than 24 hours, the invasion force surrendered to Castro's government

• The CIA had given the Cuban exiles limited military training

  • They were unlikely to win against Castro's army due to their battle experience

• Castro knew about the invasion before it began

  • Castro assembled an army of 20,000 soldiers to attack the Cuban exiles when they landed on the island

The impact of the Bay of Pigs

• The Bay of Pigs incident heightened Cold War tensions between the USA and the Soviet Union

• The event was damaging to the USA's reputation

  • The USA had accused the Soviet Union of forcing people to live under its political influence in Eastern Europe

  • Attempting an armed uprising against the independent government in Cuba made the USA look as controlling as the Soviet Union

  • Cuba no longer wanted a diplomatic relationship with the USA

  • Castro did not trust the US government, further impacting the relationship between the two countries

• The Bay of Pigs incident had benefits for the Soviet Union

  • Khrushchev claimed the failure of the invasion was a success for communism

    • The Cuban people were happy living under a communist government. It showed the world the benefits of communism

  • Cuba became closer to the Soviet Union

    • Castro publicly announced that he was a communist. He requested help from the Soviet Union to defend Cuba from the USA

    • In September 1961, Khrushchev declared that the Soviet Union would give weapons to Cuba

• The aftermath of the Bay of Pigs incident drew the USA and the Soviet Union closer to nuclear war

  • Kennedy worried about Cuba gaining access to Soviet military training and more modern weaponry

  • Kennedy warned Khrushchev not to place nuclear weapons in Cuba. Khrushchev assured Kennedy that the Soviet Union would not do this. Kennedy did not believe Khrushchev

    • Distrust between the USA and the Soviet Union increased

U2 Spy Plane

• On 14th October 1962, a U-2 spy plane took photographs of missile launch pads in Cuba

  • Intelligence informed Kennedy that approaching Soviet ships could be carrying ballistic missiles to Cuba

    • If the missiles were installed, it would mean that almost every US city would be in range and under threat of nuclear destruction

  • Kennedy had to decide how to respond

  • He wanted to stop the missiles being installed

  • However, confronting the USSR could trigger a nuclear war

The Cuban Missile Crisis 

• The period between 16th October to 28th October 1962 became known as he 'Thirteen Days' 

  • Between these 13 days, the world became the closest it had ever been to nuclear war

• The Soviet ships' reluctance to break the naval blockade of Cuba was a key moment in the Cuban Missile Crisis

  • Kennedy had prepared the US military to sink the Soviet ships

    • This would have triggered a war between the USA and the Soviet Union

  • The actions of the Soviet ships proved that the Soviet Union was unwilling to cause direct armed conflict with the USA

How Significant was the Cuban Missile Crisis?

• The events of the Thirteen Days shocked the world

  • Kennedy's announcement had warned the US public about the possibility of nuclear warfare if the Soviet ships ignored the blockade

  • Internationally, people became even more afraid of the threat of nuclear warfare

• While both countries continued to threaten war, the Cuban Missile Crisis made the world safer

  • Khrushchev and Kennedy faced pressure from their government and the public to start a full-scale war with each other. They did not do this

  • The USA and the Soviet Union had more motivation to avoid a situation like the Cuban Missile Crisis from occurring again

Impact on Kennedy and Khrushchev

• Kennedy's popularity increased

  • The US public believed that Kennedy had dealt with the Cuban Missile Crisis effectively

    • Kennedy looked stronger as the removal of US missiles in Türkiye was unknown to the public

  • Kennedy had stood up against the Hawks in his government

    • The Cuban Missile Crisis had proved that he was a strong leader

  • Kennedy gained more confidence in dealing with the Soviet Union

• Khrushchev's popularity decreased

  • While Khrushchev interpreted the Cuban Missile Crisis as a success for the Soviet Union, his military did not

    • His government believed that Khrushchev had humiliated the country by withdrawing their missiles from Cuba

  • Leonid Brezhnev ousted Khrushchev from power in 1964