U.S. Imperialism in 20th Century Cuba was the primary cause of the Cuban revolution of 1959

U .S . IMPERIALISM IN 20TH CENTURY CUBA WAS THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION IN 1959

November 2006

The United States ‘ first attempt at imperial expansion can be traced back to 1898 . Feeling the effects of economic recession and depression up to 1897 , many felt the future security of the U .S . capitalist system rested heavily on expansion , not only on the North American continent but even into the Caribbean , Hawaii and Asia . Given the United States agenda to expand its territorial boundaries their involvement in Cuba beginning at the [banner_entry_middle]

Spanish-Cuban-American war , comes as no surprise . The implications of the United States ‘ involvement in Cuba , however , have been quite considerable . The argument that the U .S . imperialism was the primary cause of the Cuban Revolution of 1959 , therefore , bares some amount of weight . The United States ‘ presence in Cuba , the de facto power they wielded over that country ‘s economy and politics , was one of the major forces that drove the Cuban people to rebellion and fuelled the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro

Before any further discussions it must be pointed out that , long before the United States began its territorial , economic and political expansion outside its continental bs , the Cuban people were opposing colonialism in all its forms . While it would be useful to determine just how influential the U .S . was on Cuba ‘s political and economic landscape and to understand what historical events contributed to this state of affair , it must necessarily be understood that imperialism was nothing new to the Cuban society

Beginning in 1894 nationalist sentiments arose in Cuba not only among the elites and colonists , but even among the working class . All desired to see a liberated Cuba , free from the colonial control Spain had long wielded over the island . According to Spalding this struggle represented a class war as well as an anti-colonial and anti-imperialist one ‘ The struggle between the European colonial power and its colony was heated but up to 1898 seemed no where near resolution . Popular sentiments among the United States populace were that U .S . intervention in the struggle between Spain and Cuba was necessary . Simons argues that the United States ‘ perspective was that the Spanish presence in the Western hemisphere was an impediment to economic expansion of the US ‘ It is with this that the United States entered the struggle . The Cuban people of course may have assumed that U .S . intervention in the war had no strings . But the U .S government saw such intervention as a way of advancing its Manifest Destiny ‘ As Co highlights . the principle of Manifest Destiny and the pursuit of economic expansion made Cuba a target of opportunity ‘ Lazo believes that U .S . involvement in other nations affairs is inevitable because of the great power which it wields by virtue of its prestige , wealth , and strength . At the time of the Spanish-Cuban war , the U .S . was just rising to super-powerdom and thus successfully defending Cuba against its imperial… [banner_entry_footer]