The United States and the Caribbean

written by Delmer Tzib

design by Yasser Musa
CONTENTS

1. The USA in the Caribbean 1776 -1900

2. The Monroe Doctrine
3. Clayton-Bulwer Treaty 1850
4. The American Civil War
5. US banker to the Spanish Speaking Caribbean
6. Cuba The Rebellion against Spain 1868-78
7. The Cuban War Against Spain, 1895
8. The USA in the Caribbean 1900 -1939
9. The Panama Canal: The Scheme
10. The First World War: Dollar Diplomacy and the Corollary at Work
11. Central America
12. The Dominican Republic
13. The USA and Cuba 1902 -1985
14. The USA and the Caribbean since 1980s
 The USA in the Caribbean 1776-1900
-The British 13 colonies declared its independence in 1776.
-By 1783, the USA had defeated the British in their
war of independence.

-In the south of the USA European-Americans controlled the

enslaved population in tobacco and cotton plantations.
-In the north the European population concentrated on
trading, ship-building and manufacturing.

-The leading cause of USA’s fight for independence was that

decisions based on their trade were done in England. When
Americans got independence, they wanted to replace the
British as the dominant economic force in the Americas and
the Caribbean. Two areas of rivalry:

oBritish planters relied on cheap American estate supplies of

wood, tar, salt, fish and other necessities.
oThe other area of rivalry was the Spanish empire in Central
and South America

-When The French invaded Spain, the British insisted that

she had the right to stop and search American ships that
might be supplying goods to the Spanish or to their French
conqueror.
oThis led to a war between the USA and the British from
1812-14.
oThe USA stopped British ships from the Canadian or
Caribbean colonies from landing on American soil.
oPeace came in 1814 and the British allowed Americans to
send their goods to the Caribbean with the condition that
they pay extra duties of 10%. In 1830, the two countries
allowed each other’s ships to move freely.

-The Monroe Doctrine

oBoth England and America welcomed Latin American
revolts for independence because it freed the former
Spanish Colonies from Spanish trade policies; hence, the
former colonies would trade with the Americans and the
British.
oThis led to a fight for the trade in the Atlantic.
oIn 1823 the British asked the Americans to make a joint
statement against the Spanish warning that if they tried to
reconquer their former territories the British and Americans
would react.
oPresident Monroe went on to give a unilateral declaration in
congress in 1823.
oHis declaration became known as the Monroe Doctrine.
oIn it he declared: any European attempt to interfere
in any portions of this hemisphere would be seen as a
manifestation of an unfriendly disposition to the US

-Clayton-Bulwer Treaty 1850

oThe USA expanded throughout Mexico and Central
America.
oThe USA’s concern was how to move people and ships to
protect their new west coast.
- The only means of carrying goods by land was by horse or wagon from the west and south coast of the USA.
- The American Cornelius Vanderbilt was ferrying people across Nicaragua on connecting steam boats and railways.
- Americans planned to improve it through a canal along the San Juan River Valley.
-The British did not welcome the idea because it brought the Americans closer to the Caribbean; where they the British
saw themselves as the most important military and trading power.
oIn 1850 a treaty was signed between the USA and the British to end the rivalry in Central America. John Clayton
(American) and Henry Bulwer (British) agreed that a canal would not be used for military purposes and would be under
the joint control of the Americans and the British.
- No one would rule or attempt to rule Nicaragua, Costa Rica, or the Misquito Coast
-The British agreed to give up any claims in Central America.

-Cuba to annex or not?

oThe USA bought Florida from Spain in 1819 and political leaders talked about annexing the island so that it could
become an advance base for the mainland.
-The move was strongly supported by southern enslavers who were eager to add/annex another slave state to the USA to
balance the growing number of northern free states where enslavement was prohibited.
-Other Americans thought that Cuba was a natural place for a US naval base to protect a Central American canal if it were
built.
oIn 1854, the president offered the US ambassador in Spain to offer $130 million for Cuba.
-The Ambassador met with two other ambassadors and together they wrote that if Spain did not accept the offer, the USA
would invade.
-The news leaked out and Spain protested and the Northern states of the USA joined in protested.
-The president of the USA backed down.
The American Civil War:

Union and Confederate dead, Gettysburg Battlefield, Pa., July 1863. Photographed by Timothy H. O'Sullivan.

In 1808, the US government made the slave trade illegal. However, they refused to join British
naval action to prevent the slave trade to America. The Americans made the patrols difficult
by refusing to agree that ships carrying her flag be stopped and searched for enslaved cargo.
oThe slave trade continued because traders moved under the protection of the US flag.
oThe planters of the south were convinced that their way of life needed enslavement.
oPeople in the north thought differently; there was no shortage of European immigrants seeking work. In 1804 they
abolished slavery and tried to stop it being allowed in the new states created in the west; they pressured for emancipation.

- Northern industrialist believed emancipation brought economic benefits. Northern industrialist wanted high tariffs (import/
export tax) on manufactured foods to keep out foreign rivals to their products.

- In the 1850s, the USA kept customs duties low to encourage the import of manufactured goods. This helped enslavers
who wanted cheap plantation supplies. They were against higher duties in case Europeans replied with higher tariffs on
their exports of cotton and tobacco.

- Alarmed by the threats to their way of life, southern ‘slave’ states broke away from the USA and formed a separate
confederacy.
o President Abraham Lincoln declared that he would fight to keep all sates in the one union.
o The war started from 1851 to 1865 and during the fighting Lincoln declared emancipation in 1863.
The USA: Banker to the Spanish-speaking Caribbean

o For the 15 years after the war, most of this great boom took place within the USA itself. The fast grow-
ing population could make use of most of the new goods being produced.
o Businessmen, politicians and newspaper writers were generally opposed to US expansion into neigh-
boring countries
o By the 1880s, traders and manufacturers began to look for new markets and investment opportunities
abroad.
o The biggest pressure to expand came from industrialist and bankers. They made huge profits and
needed new place where they could invest their funds.
o After the war the Northern states experienced an industrial boom (for the first 15 years within the USA).
In the 1880s opinions shifted to expansionism (finding new markets and investment opportunities). US bankers
took over the economy of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and other Central American region their
wealth was made up 40% of overseas investment.
o The US experienced a new surge of imperialism from 1880 to 1900s. They saw imperialism as a threat
to US interests in the world because they wanted to establish overseas naval bases. The US supported imperi-
alism to protect economic interests.
o The change in US opinion (about expansionism) came at a time of European imperialism in Africa and
china between 1880 to 1900.
o US military and naval experts saw European imperialism as a threat to their interests. They believed
the US needed to become imperialistic to protect itself.
o Captain Alfred Mahan argued that the USA needed a chain of overseas bases, a strong naval and a
large force of marines who could be moved to deal with any threat that arose.
o In the 1890s, events in Cuba provided an opportunity for the USA to make another thrust at controlling
the island.
Cuba the rebellion against Spain 1868-78
o When the rest of Latin America was revolting Cuba and Puerto Rico remained loyal to Spain. Two reason:
-The European was outnumbered in each island.
- Spain turned a blind eye to the transatlantic trade in humans so that Spanish and US enslavers’ ships continued to
dodge the Royal Navy’s search vessels.
o For the next ½ century, the leading groups in Cuban society were planters, trades, and other businessmen who profited
from crops grown by the enslaved. Liberals who protested at the lack of democracy went in danger of their lives.
o This changed in the late 1860s as Spain ended its support for enslavement. The small planters on the east of the island
believed that they would do better with free enslaved labor. They also feared an end to Spain’s military rule and Spain’s
high taxes. They started a rebellion that led to a ten-year war.
o The war broke out in Oriente Province of Eastern Cuba (1868). The rebellion was led by Carlos Manuel de Cespedes.
He fought against Spanish arbitrariness, excessive taxation, corruption, Cuban exclusion form office and denial of
assembly.
o Cespedes freed all his slaves and formed an army to fight for all slaves to be freed. His revolt destroyed the Cuban
industries and Spain negotiated peace in 1876. The war started to create a sense of national Cuban identity.
o The revolt benefitted Americans because they paid for the recovery of the Sugar and tobacco industry.
o When the war ended slavery ended; coffee plantations were ruined without a chance of recovery; sugar and tobacco
revived but mainly benefitted Americans who had the cash to pay for recovery.
-The biggest parts of the crops went to the USA but only in uncured and unrefined forms because there were very high
tariffs on cured and refined tobacco and cotton.
-Most profits went to the owners and workers of the USA.
-1894, the USA also placed high tariffs on raw sugar.
o Jose Marti was expelled from Cuba
because he spoke for independence when The Cuban War Against
Spain controlled the island. He organized
the rebellion from New York and returned to
Cuba but was killed only a few weeks after
Spain, 1895
the rebellion began.
- Few Cubans valued Spanish rule
- Soldiers were no longer needed to stop
slave revolts
- 6% of Cuban products were traded with
Spain
- High Spanish taxes
- US businessmen argued that the US’ high
tariffs on Cuban products would be lowered
if the island wasn’t under Spanish control.
oIn response to the war the Spanish sent
General Valeriano “the Butcher” Weyler
to counter the revolution. He used harsh
methods and placed Cubans in concentra-
tion camps.

oThe US was alarmed because business-

men were upset because the war affected
the trade with Cuba and American investors
in Cuba called for USA’s aid to help the
rebel army. The American army and navy
wanted to control Cuba and the American
press exaggerated the tales of Spanish
brutality in Cuba.
oThe US REACTED: The US’s president
William Mckinley demanded that Spain stop
harsh treatment of Cubans. In response
Spain repatriated Valeriano Weyler but
conditions did not improve. In 1889 Mckin-
ley sent the USS Maine to protect American
lives from riots.

-In February 1889 the USS Maine exploded

in the Havana harbour killing 266 sailors.
There are three theories that explain the
explosion:

oMost historians believe it was accident: a

spark in the ship’s coal bunker
oAmericans planed the Spanish for attack-
ing the ship
oCuban patriots placed the bomb to bring
USA into the war
-The Maine Sinking leads the USA into War
with Spain
oAmericans demanded war with Spain but
politicians feared that it would be an excuse
for Cuban annexation to the US.
oHowever, the US was upset and passed
the Teller amendment stating that the USA
would not control Cuba permanently and
demanded Cuban independence. They
gave Spain three days to respond and
declared war on April 25th 1889.
oThe Americans were ready to fight not
only in Cuba but in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
oThe war started in the Philippines. Theodore Roosevelt put Captain George Dewey’s fleet on high alert in Hong Kong.
Dewey contacted Philippine rebels and destroyed Spanish forces in Manila.
oThe confrontation turned to the Caribbean when volunteer soldiers led by Theodore Roosevelt called the “Rough Riders”
gathered in Tampa to travel to Santiago, Cuba.
oThe rough riders fought their way to Santiago, they captured San Juan Hill to attack Santiago. In 1888 they conquered
the city and took Puerto Rico as well. Peace was signed on August 12th 1889.
oThe US delegates said that they would abide by the Teller Amendment but that their army would stay in Cuba until a
Civilian government was set up.
oAfter the war the USA pressured (paying 20 millions) Spain to give up Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The US
decided to annex the Philippines and were reluctant to give Cuba full independence.

-The US debate
o Now that it had colonies the US had to devise a colonial policy.
oExpansionists: persons who wanted the USA to acquire overseas colonies. They looked at new possessions as a chance
for missionaries, teachers, and charitable organizations to develop a better life and leaders in colonies. They also found it
safer to invest monies in factories, plantations and public works in territories controlled or monitored by the USA.
oIsolationist: persons who thought that the US should not interfere in other nation’s affairs. They believed that ruling
colonies conflicted with the spirit of their own political system that focused on “All men are created equal”. They were also
fearful of immigration.
oThe ideas of expansionism and isolationism came together in the way the government managed Cuba and Puerto Rico.
Neither was formed into a full colony, yet the US kept control of their affairs. The USA gained the greatest share of the
wealth created by the people in the islands without allowing migration to the USA.

-Cuba strengthens her position

oCuba was placed under US military governments.
oThey worked hard to give the Cubans what they thought of as the blessings of US civilization.
- Population census
- Built new schools, university, roads, railway, and docks
- New cattle and breeding stock were imported to replace herds slaughtered during the fighting.
- A health care program
- Liberation of the Spanish political prisoners
- The Cuban Patriot Army was disbanded and compensated
o Cubans Unhappy:
- They pointed out that railways and docks tended to aid US-owned sugar properties
- The construction gave work to US engineers and US equipment
- Educational books were translated from American texts
-Cubans complained of long US occupation
- Led by Tomas Estrada Palma called on Americans to honor the Teller Amendment.
o In 1902, the USA prepared to hand over the island to its own people. A constitution was drawn up for the new govern-
ment.

- Tomas Palma was elected Cuba’s first president.

- Americans included the Plat Amendment.
oThe Platt Amendments: Cuba may never into a treaty that would reduce its independence; Cuba shall not get any public
debt that it cant pay with revenues (they had to get US approval); THE US MAY EXERCISE THE RIGHT TO INTERVENE
TO PROTECT “LIFE, PROPERTY, AND LIBERTY; CUBA SHALL SELL OR LEASE LANDS for coaling or naval stations
(GUANTANAMO BAY).
- These limits obviously pleased American businessmen and their military leaders.
-Puerto Rico the pattern repeated
oThe policy of US control was used in Puerto Rico as well. After a short period of rule by a military governor, congress
passed the Foraker Act in 1900.
- Gave the island a civilian government and a law-making body of elected Puerto Ricans. But final power rested on the
Puerto Rican Senate (dominated by the USA)
-The senate was comprised by a US governor and 5 officials appointed by the US government.
- The Foraker Act also stated that Puerto Ricans were not US citizens and could not travel freely to the USA.
oAmericans became active in Puerto Rico, carrying out programs such as those in Cuba
The USA in the Caribbean 1900-1939
-Expansionist wanted to expand the influence into other part of America.

-Roosevelt’s Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

oTheodore Roosevelt was an outspoken expansionist.

oIn 1901, US president Mckinley was assassinated and Theodore took his place and was re-elected
for office in 1904-08

- He declared that the US would not allow any further interference for any reason in the Americas.
oCorollary: an addition or supplement to a document or point of view
- In a speech in congress, Roosevelt made it clear that his government would continue the policy of
the Monroe Doctrine and no allow European nations to attempt to bring about boundary changes in
the American continent.
- He said that if Latin Americans managed their affairs so badly that they gave European powers a
genuine reason to interfere. To avoid this difficulty future, the USA would have to ensure that her
neighbors behaved.
- He said at the UN that they (LA countries) need not fear intervention if they knew to act with
decency. But if they showed ‘brutal wrong-doing’ or weaknesses with results in a general loosening of
the ties of civilized society, they must expect intervention by a civilized nation and the USA would not
hesitate to get in.
- One main reason for the Corollary was to make it clear that work on a US-controlled Panama Canal
would go ahead.
The Panama Canal: The Scheme
o After the war with Spain, the USA needed speedy communication between their colonies and trading interests in the
Pacific and the Atlantic. The best way would be by a canal that linked the two Oceans.
oBritain agreed that this need to stand in the USA’s way, provided that the canal would be free and open to the vessels of
commerce and war of all nations.
oThe next step for the Americans was to select a route. They quickly saw the possibilities in a route across the Isthmus
of Panama. It was only 80 km and a French company, headed by Ferdinand de Lesseps, had already surveyed the route
and begun excavating.
oThe company was broke and its main shareholder, Philippe Buneauvarilla, was willing to sell the machinery for $40 mil-
lion. The US bought it.
oThe canal went through Panama (a Colombian province)
oAt first Colombians and Americans agreed on the canal: the US agreed to pay $10 million and an annual rent of
$250,000 for a 90-year lease on a 10km wide corridor.
- The Colombian senate rejected the agreement claiming that it threatened their rights over Panama.
- Colombians were insulted that the USA had paid the French Company $40 million for rusty machinery and had offered
them only $10 million for the right of way.
- They demanded $25 million plus $10 million worth of shares in the French company that was being sold to the USA.

-The Panama Canal Opens

oBuneau-Varilla feared that Roosevelt would break his agreement to buy the French Company if Colombia did not cooper-
ate.
- In 1903, he organized a few Panamanians to declare independence from Colombia. The disorders that followed gave
Roosevelt the chance to send a cruiser to ‘Keep order”
- The US cruiser served to stop Colombian forces from landing in Panama.
- Buneau-varilla then signed a treaty with John Hay: stating that Panama was an independent state and that the USA had
the right to build the canala and own a zone of land on each side.
- The zone was increased to 17km from the 10 offered to Colombia. Instead of 90 years, it was leased to the Americans
in perpetuity (forever). Inside this zone the treaty said that the USA could act as the sovereign of the territory and that the
new state of Panama had no rights there.
- The USA had the right to keep police and shipping officials in cities such as Panama and Colon.
- The USA agreed to pay an annual rent of €250,000 nine years after the treaty.
- In 1920 the canal opened.
The first world war: dollar diplomacy and the Corollary at work

o Herbert Taft (1908) Aimed to expand US presence in LA and Caribbean through economic power. The US sought to help
the economic development of poorer countries.
- The USA could gain influence and cut down the interference of European powers without using force in the way the
Roosevelt Corollary threatened.
o Two benefits for Americans:
- Countries within the sphere shall be removed from the jeopardy involved by heavy foreign debt and chaotic national
finances. It prevented European influence in the region.
- The Republics of Central America and the Caribbean need financial stability and regeneration to bring profit and
happiness for themselves and ourselves.
o Execution/implementation:
- Subsidies were given to shipping, public works, mining and construction companies that wished to invest in the
Caribbean or Latin America.
- The USA helped plantations by placing high customs duties on sugar, banana, coffee, and other crops that did not come
from areas where Americans had investments.
o In 1914, war broke out in Europe. The USA was concerned that European powers would seize positions in the Americas
as naval bases or for supplies of raw materials and food.
Dollar diplomacy in Haiti:
o Haiti took many loans from big countries
- Two especially significant loans were from French banks— one to pay back an indemnity France had demanded for loss
of land and slaves after the colony broke free, and a second loan to pay back the excessive commissions of the first.
o 1900 to 1915 US bankers took control of the National bank, railways, public utilities and custom houses. They
transferred $11 Million in gold to the National Bank of New York City.
o When WW1 broke out German interests had interests in Haiti: Germans were eager to establish a supply base in Haiti;
Germans had integrated into Haitian society: intermarriage; German threatened to take control of Haiti due to debts.
o US reasons for intervention:
- Economic interests: wanted Haiti’s natural resources
- US wanted to establish a base in Haiti’s northern port of Mole Saint-Nicholas
- Monroe Doctrine: against European interference in the new world
- Jim Crow ideology: Free Blacks could not govern themselves
o US intervention happened on July 28th 1915 in Port Au Prince led by Admiral Caperton who set up an office to manage
Haiti’s affairs
- Found a puppet president though whom he could rule
- Sudre Dartinguenave was elected and forced to sign a 10year occupation treaty.

US-Haiti treaty:
- Gave the US total power over Haiti’s financial System through the customs houses and state treasury
- Authorized the USA to create a new Haitian military
- Prohibited Haiti from selling or renting land to another foreign power
o Marine Control of Haiti
o Many pro-US presidents came after and Charlemagne Peralte posed a considerable threat to the US marines and was
assassinated in 1919
oResistance combined with a change of US ideology (respect the rights of others) to end occupation

The dollar diplomacy in the Dominican Republic

o Haiti had a weak economy: they received independence from Spain in 1821 and independence from Haiti in 1844.
o Ulises Heureaux was president from 1881-1899 and apart from having a brutal dictatorship he placed the country in
debt.
o A succession of coups, assassinations and revolution kept the DR poor and weak.
o The USA intervened in the DR due to Economic Reasons, Civil wars in Dominican Republic, Stop German intrusions in
the Dominican Republic.
o Woodrow Winston wanted 1. Grant the USA control of all aspects of the finances; 2. Dissolve the Dominican armed
forces and replace them with a constabulary commanded by a US appointed officer. However, President Juan Jimenez
rejected the demands.
o Marines entered: Juan Jimenez asked for assistance to fight rebels; the marines occupied DR for 8 years (1914)
o US placed their military government: controlling finances and establishing “la guardia”
o The occupation ended with the Hughes-Peynado accord, it stipulated:
- US commissioned five Dominican leaders to appoint a new president and Cabinet
- The provisional government moved to organize an election
- Peynado did not resist US control of customs but objected to military occupation
- Hughes retreated the army to only bases to train the Police and army
Central America
o Whenever elections or labor unrest threatened US financial or strategic interests, troops were landed.
o Extra troops sent to Panama
o In 1919, troops were landed in Honduras to protect US property and interests during the elections.

US Good Neighbor Policy after 1918

o After WW1, there was no risk of European power sending forces to the continent.
o France and Britain owed the USA and did not want to displease the USA.
o Germany was ruined and could not establish a navy.
o US politicians were also aware that their activities had made them unpopular with the people in many states, especially
where US marines or officials were obviously in control.
o In 1922 Warren Hardin, took office and, announced that he USA had a deep interest in the prosperity, the independence
and the unimpaired sovereignty of the countries of Latin America.
- Americans recognized the rights of Latin American states to independence and non-interference was taken a step further
under the next president, Calvin Coolidge.
- Herbert Hoover, first spoke the words of the good neighbor.
- The phrase good neighbor is more connected to Franklin D. Roosevelt. He stated “I would dedicate this nation to the
policy of the good neighbor- the neighbor who resolutely respects himself, and because he does so, respects the rights of
others.
- The good neighbor policy strengthened US economic interests.

Panama: the police withdraw

o In 1936, Roosevelt’s government said that it no longer claimed the right to interfere in Panama’s affairs or to keep police
in Panama City and Colon. It insisted that the USA should be allowed to undertake joint action with Panama if another
nation threatened the Canal.

Marines go home:
oThe USA dominated Cuba, Puerto Rico, Panama, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.
o Strategic military bases had been established in Panama, Cuba and Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

- Ensured that no European powers entered the Western Hemisphere.

- Troops protected US investors by keeping stable governments
- Troop presence was unsuccessful.
- In several countries, the police forces, which had been trained and armed by the Americans, became backers of
dictatorships.
The Dominican Republic
o In 1922, President Harding sent government official Sumner Welles to the DR to arrange for US forces to with-
draw when a civilian president had been freely elected.
o In 1924, Horatio Vasquez was elected and the US marines returned home, leaving a financial adviser behind to
administer the country’s customs service.
o They trained a well-armed police force.
o In 1930, Vasque tried to maintain power by force. He was driven out by Rafael Trujillo who used the police to build
up his own personal dictatorship, which lasted until 1961.
- Haiti
o In 1930, the US officials there began preparations for a presidential election.
o At the same time, they began to train a police force, the Garde d’Haiti. The US marines went home in 1934, this
stayed until 1941.
o In 1946 the US trained police overthrew the government and in 1957 Francois Duvalier created his personal dicta-
torship.
Gunboat Diplomacy
o Dollar diplomacy also entailed guaranteeing loans to foreign countries
o The pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of naval power – implying or constitut-
ing a direct threat of warfare, should terms not be agreeable to the superior force.
o Dollar Diplomacy: We invest in your country + Grant you loans AND Gunboat Policy: We Invade you if you cannot
pay my business or myself
The USA and Cuba 1902-1985
-The Platt Amendment gave US presidents the authority of intervening in Cuban affairs whenever US interests were
threatened; Americans felt safe to invest.
-In the early 1920s US increased investment in sugar and left Cuba leaving a pro-American president (Tomas Estrada
Palma).
-They invested in sugar, banks, tourism, hotels, nightclubs, and casinos was helped by the fact that alcohol could not be
sold in the years of prohibition (prohibited the sale of alcohol in the USA) from 1919 to 1933.
-Sugar Boom: Cuba became a one-crop economy dependent on the USA in 1919 to 1920s sugar prices were up and US
investors flooded Cuba.

-Tourism in Cuba: 1919 to 1930s the gambling business flourished there was a rise in hotels, nightclubs, and casinos.
-US intervention: In 1905 Estrada Palma tried to prolong his term and liberals revolted forcing US intervention. Marines
ensured that US supported candidates won elections from 1906 to 1921.
oWhen necessary, they provided the Cuban president with an US military advisorlike General Crowder. General Crowder
ran Cuba between 1923 and 1925 on behalf of the officially elected Cuban president, Alfredo Zayas.
-The Rise of Gerardo Machado: the US retreated in the 1920s. After their retreat Geraldo Machado established a dictator-
ship: he terrorized his own people.
o During this period FD Roosevelt cancelled the Platt Amendment so that the US government had no position in Cuban
politics. Officially, all the Americans had left was the naval base at Guantanamo.
- Eventually, Fulgencio Batista defeated him in 1933 to 1934.
oSergeant Fulgencio Batista quietly took power through the military. With the army firmly under his control, Batista was
willing to rule Cuba behind the scenes. He chose not to risk facing election himself but he and his loyal henchmen fixed
the election of seven Cuban presidents in 7 years.
 Batista imposed presidents supported by the USA and even retired in 1944 when a communist group controlled Cuba.
However, in 1952 he won the election with US and Cuban military support.

-A survey in 1956 showed:

oAmericans owned 90% of telephone and electricity; 50% of public transport and railways; 40% of raw sugar production;
US banks held a quarter of Cuban deposits; only in sugar ownership were the US falling.
oThe contrast between the free-spending Americans and the grinding poverty of most Cubans led to open anti-US feeling,
riots, and opposition to the US-backed Cuban government.
-The sharp fall of sugar prices led to a fall of average incomes between 1952 and 1953.
oWorkers began to support leftist unions
oIn 1957, a general strike paralyzed cities all over the
island.
oBatista’s regime became gangster-like
Military and police rounded up any possible opponents.
Court martials and pre-drawn firing squads became
common.
The brutality and wholesale corruption lost Batista
support

The rise of Castro

oIn 1956, Batista’s opponents found a new leader Fidel
Castro:
He was an educated lawyer
From a wealthy family in Santiago
He travelled to South America
He believed that the poor could be helped only by giv-
ing them back the wealth they earned for landlords and
industrialist.
Dictators could only be dethroned through rebellion.
oIn 1953, Fidel, his brother Raul and 165 young followers
issued the 26th July Manifesto
This condemned Batista
Condemned the colonial mentality of wealthy Cubans
Condemned the foreign economic control
oThey launched an attack on the Mancado barracks in
Santiago
it failed
the two brothers were sentenced to 15 years in jail
Batista pardoned them.
Fidel Castro immediately fled to Mexico to gather new
recruits to return
oOn December 2nd 1956, Castro landed on the south-
east coast of Cuba with a band of 82 men
They were met by Batista’s troops armed with the latest
automatic weapons.
Only Fidel, Raul and ten others escaped to the moun-
tains of the Sierra Maestra, west of Santiago.
When news of their survival reached the outside world.
Supporters sent (smuggled) supplies from Mexico, Vene-
zuela, and the USA.
New Cuban recruits went to the Sierra to join Castro
Batista closed the University of Havana and many stu-
dents went to join Castro.
oIn 1958 there was big support for Castro accepting his
political ideas. He declared:
He would replace dictatorships with elected govern-
ments
End US domination of economic affairs
Rid the worst features of the tourist industry, which had
allowed reckless spending by Americans on gambling,
prostitution, and other activities.
oIn March 1958, pressure from Cuban business men and
landowners persuaded the US government to hasten
the end of the dictatorship by stopping the sale of arms
to Batista. But the British continued the sale of arms
throughout the summer and into the autumn.
oOn January 1st 1959, Batista and his family were driven
to the airport and left the island.
Castro transforms Cuba
oFidel was premier.
oRaul was chief of armed forces
oErnesto el Che Guevara was an economic adviser
oThey placed on trial top-ranking Batista aides who did not flee. 483 were executed after being found guilty of serious
crimes against Cubans.
oIn June 1959, they enacted the AGRARIAN REFORM LAW set up the (the National Institute of Agrarian Reform).
Its first task was the expropriation (taking away by law) of land from the owners of the Cattle, sugar and tabacco estates.
Owners were allowed to keep only a small percentage of the land. The rest was to be taken from them and divided
among landless families in lots of 27 hectares per family.
The owners got a small income from the expropriated but nothing was given for cattle or machinery.
By the end of 1960, most of the land that belonged to US firms was in Cuban hands.
oThe revolutionaries started to bring major industrial and commercial enterprises into government hands.
oIn 1959, interveners, were made overseers of US-owned companies. The interveners ordered them to improve their
services and cut their charges.
oCastro worked towards government-managed industry. He believed that the island could pay for social reforms, new
housing, and road works only if the government owned mines, metal works, engineering factories and supplies of fuel and
building materials.

The Cold War comes to Cuba, 1960

oIn the early years, Cuba could not manage without foreign loans and technical assistance but the revolutionaries would
not take them from the USA.
Castro turned to the communist states of the world: the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (was the communist state
that existed from 1922-1991) and her allies.
•In all of these countries the governments owned industries.
o1960 a Soviet ambassador was assigned to Cuba and Castro had signed a trade agreement with the USSR.
The USSR agreed to buy 5 million tons of sugar over 5 years and lend money to Cuba to pay for goods and equipment,
made in the Soviet Union.
There would also be Soviet technicians to set up the new machinery and train Cubans to use it.
Cuba made similar deals with China and Poland.
oThe Cubans were in complete disagreement with the USA:
In 1960 Cubans cancelled leases held by US companies to min iron ore, sulphur, cobalt, and nickel
Three US oil refineries in Cuba refused to refine petroleum which was imported from the USSR. In reply, Cuba expropri-
ated the companies.
All US-owned sugar mills were expropriated.
The US complained and wanted compensation BUT Castro refused to pay.
The US cancelled the purchase of Cuban sugar at preferential rates for 1960 and 1961.
In 1960, Cuba made an agreement with the USSR came to her aid and agreed to buy nearly all the Cuban sugar crop.
From then on the US and Cuba entered an economic war.
The US government warned its citizen not to visit Cuba and thus stopped the island’s income from tourism. It also
placed an embargo on all trade with Cuba, except for food and drugs.
Castro did not give in to the economic pressures: he pressed with expropriations but now without any suggestions of
compensation. By 1960, over 1 billion worth of US-owned enterprises had been seized.
The Bay of Pigs and the Missile crisis
oThe US wanted to destroy Castro’s regime: Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy would not agree to an outright military
invasion but they encouraged others to do so.
oThe CIA recruited, armed and trained Cubans who had fled from Castro’s regime at secret camps in Florida and Guate-
mala. Over 2,000 men were armed and equipped to land at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba on 17th April 1961.
o Within 72 hours, 1,179 survivors of the invading force were rounded up and hustled off to Cuban prisons
They remained there until July 1975
The US paid 53 million worth on drugs and food for their release
-Missile Crisis: On August 29th 1962 US spy-planes flew over Cuba they identified that Surface-to-air nuclear missiles
were being installed in western Cuba by Soviet technicians. USSR Premier Khrushchev denied that he was setting up nu-
clear weapons. On October 14th photographs were delivered to Kennedy showing: launching pads and missiles in Cuba.
Kennedy reacted by submitting the issue to the Organization of American States.
oKennedy enacted a blockade to Cuba: The OAS supported USA’s blockade to Cuba and all soviet ships heading to Cuba
were to be stopped and searched.
oKennedy demanded for Khrushchev to remove the missiles and sent soldiers to Florida and Nicaragua to stand by.
oFaced with outright war, Krushschev backed down.

Cuba, Communism and the Cold war

oThe COLD WAR: The western powers grouped in organizations such as North Atlantic Treaty Organisations and South
East Asia Treaty Organization. They competed against the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. CAPITALISM versus Com-
munism.
oCastro decided that Cuba should become a communist state
oA single party for all supporters was created: the party of the Social Revolution. In October 1965, this was recognized as
the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC)
The party began with a select membership of only 55,000.
Those who could not give full time support were recruited into mass political organizations.
The ruling organization of the PCC was the 100member committee, elected by members of the party’s local branches.
Most decisions were taken by two smaller groups, the party’s secretariat and its leading policy-making body.
The first secretary was Fidel Castro, controlled the secretariat and appointed party officials throughout the island. He
was also commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
oCastro brought the Cold war into the Caribbean: in the 1960s and 70s the USA and USSR competed to win over support
in the Caribbean.
The USSR funneled support and economic aid to the Caribbean and Latin America through Cuba.
Through the next quarter of a century, Cuba was harmed and aided by the cold war. The USA kept a strict embargo on
trade with Cuba and used diplomatic and financial pressure to encourage western allies to follow suit.
The war forced Cuba to rely for vital imports on the USSR or countries in Eastern Europe.
The island’s sugar was given guaranteed markets in the Soviet bloc.
The cold war also gave Cuba an influence in the world greater than its size.
Some 50,000 military and economic advisors were active in a dozen or more countries, while equal numbers of soldiers
were involved in wars against South Africa’s control of Angola and some right wing dictatorship in Latin America.

After the Cold war

oIn the 1990s, the Cold war ended with the break-up of the old Soviet Union and its bloc in Eastern Europe.
oThe US blockade and the US prohibitions of travel at first severely affected the Cuban economy and standard of living.

Into the 21st century

oIn 2007 Castro gave the operations of the day-to-day administration of Cuba to his brother.
oThe US and Cuba showed signs of improving their relations.
US military Intervention in the Caribbean, 1940-1985
-The 2 World War began in September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland and Britain and France declared war in
Germany.
oThe USA was concerned about the defense of the Western Hemisphere.
oThis was particularly important because Holland and France, who both ruled colonies in the Caribbean, were overrun by
Germany in 1940.
oThe Americans stated that any German attempts at taking any French and Dutch colonies would be opposed.
oThey also prepared to deal with threats from German submarines to shipping in the Caribbean and the western Atlantic.

The Second World War: US Security concerns in the Caribbean

oThe USA’s first concern was freedom of movement for their navy and air force. This meant opening new naval bases.
oIn September 1940, President Roosevelt came to a land lease agreement with the British government. Britain was des-
perately short of warships to track down German submarines, so Roosevelt gave Britain 50 destroyers, which were out of
date but could still strengthen Britain’s Navy.
oIn return the British agreed that the British agreed that the USA could lease land and set up naval bases in Trinidad,
British Guianas, St. Lucia, Antigua, Jamaica and Bermuda.
oThe position of these bases helped to protect the sea routes to the French and Dutch colonies and to the USA.
oThe most valuable result of the bases was the employment they afforded to the English speaking Caribbean. The first to
benefit were the people of the territories where bases or new airstrips were built.
oThere were criticisms:
In Chagueramas Trinidadians complained about why the bases should take large and the best beaches of Port of Spain.
US law and currency was used at bases.
Racial tensions followed from the behavior of some white US troops towards Trinidadians and people in other territories
where bases were built.
Trinidad’s sugar industry suffered labor shortages.
oThe air bases eventually turned over to the Caribbean territories and became some of the first international airports in
the region.

The Cold war and the Caribbean

oThe Soviet Union had been a wartime ally of the USA and Britain. Almost as soon as Hitler was defeated, the USA and
the USSR became hostile to each other. The USA and her allies grouped to form the North Atlantic Trade Agreement
(NATO). The USSR formed the Warsaw Pact.
Each believed that the other would try to undermine their control of the states that lay closest to them.
They entered propaganda wars where each tried to influence non-aligned (not supporting either side) states and pro-
mote their different capitalistic and socialist systems.
On a much more dangerous level, they entered into a nuclear arms race and built up missile defense systems capable
of destroying the whole world.
The USA kept a watchful eye and suspicious eye on all her American neighbors for signs of unrest that could lead to a
growth of communist influence.

British Guiana
oIn 1953, Dr. Chedhi Jagan and the PP came to power in elections in British Guiana. The new government intended to
take over all foreign businesses to one of the steps toward independence.
oThe USA feared the Guyanese socialist ideas would spread to other countries.
oThe US Put pressure on the British to suspend the constitution and remove Jagan. The British sent warships and troops
after Jagan was in power for only 133 days.
oAfter the socialist decline, the US funds were used to influence trade unions, to back the opposition United Force Party
and to change opinion through the Christian Anti-Communist crusade and the Moral rearmament

The Dominican Republic and the Johnson Doctrine

oIn 1961, Rafael Trujillo, who had originally taken control of the Dominican Republic in 1930 was overthrown and mur-
dered.
oAfter a series of coups the Dominican revolutionary party, led by Juan Bosch, formed an elected government. Boch want-
ed to implement socialist agendas like Jagan.
oA faction in the Dominican army that had ties with the US eventually overthrew the Bosch government and suspended
the constitution. For the next three years, the Bosch supporters (constitutionalists) clashed with Pro-US loyalists.
oUS president Lyndon Johnson, send 20,000 troops in 1965 fearing communist influence.
oThe president announced that the “American nations cannot must not and will not permit the establishment of another
communist government in the western hemisphere. This became known as the Johnson Doctrine.
oEventually Johnson’s staff pulled together an OAS inter-American Peace Force with troops and support from Brazil, Hon-
duras, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Costa rica and El Salvador.
oThe peace force stayed until 1966 when Joaquin Balaguer, who was supported by the USA won the election. He stayed
in leading positions for the next 20 years.

Multilateralism
oIn the 1960s and 1970s, the Caribbean countries became independent.
oThe military and economic conditions had changed
oThe USA began to make greater use of the international bodies such as the UN, the OAS, and, later, CARICOM (formed
in 1972 for English speaking Caribbean countries to work together in education, trade, banking, transport etc) to gain
support for its policies
oThe new US multilateral approach (connected with many sides of partners) often meant the independent Caribbean stats
were drawn into international meetings. For the first time, they were expected to put forward their foreign policies.

The USA and Grenada

oRonald Reagan’s administration was noted for its free-market approach to Caribbean affairs.
oIn 1983, the Reagan government turned to military action in the Caribbean when 6000 US troops landed in Granada
oThe background to the invasion:
The new JEWEL (Joint Endeavour for Wefare Education and Liberation) movement led by Maurice Bishop seized power
while the very unpopular prime minister was not in the country.
New Jewel was welcomed by many when it attacked what they said were the corrupt practices of Eric Gairy, whose po-
sition had been damaged by the allegation that he had taken bribes and kickbacks to win support from businessmen and
newspaper owners.
The USA was alarmed at this spread of Cuban influence.
The alarm deepened when Cuban engineers arrived to help build an international airport.
Politicians in the Eastern Caribbean feared that their votes would turn communist. The fears turned closer to panic in
1983. A rival group of the New JEWEL turned on Maurice Bishop, chased him and his supporters into an old fort, killed
man and shot Bishop.
•They set up a revolutionary council: the murder of Bishop meant that they had little support from Grenadians.
oThe Reagan government claimed that its citizens’ lives were in danger, especially American students at the University of
St. Georges.
Representatives of the Eastern Caribbean asked the US to intervene.
In 1983 President Reagan sent 6000 troops. They encountered about 1500 Grenadian troops and 700 Cuban workers.
The fighting cost the lives of 63 of these Grenadians and Cubans and at least 24 civilians killed by US bombs.
The UN solidly condemned the invasion. With a vote of 189 to 9 its general assembly passed a resolution, saying it
deeply deplored the armed intervention in Grenada, considering it constituting a flagrant violation of international law, and
the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state.
Since 1985: the USA and Panama
oUntil 1999, the Canal Zone on both sides was control by US marines.
oIn 1988, the USA accused president General Manuel Noriega of corruption and making Panama a centre for narcotic
drugs on their way to the USA. Noreiga refused to cooperate and was accused of ignoring the rule of law in Panama. In De-
cember 1989, US president Bush sent 27000 troops to Panama, who seized Noriega and took him to Miami to be charged.
oThe OAS condemned the invasion but did nothing to stop US invasion.
oA new treaty was negotiated in 1978 between panama’s president General Omar Torrijos and US president Carter. The US
agreed to leave its military bases in the zone in 1999 and turn the operation of the Canal over to Panama.

The open intervention in Haiti

oAfter the Duvalier dictatorship ended in 1971. Haiti quickly sipped back into a military dictatorship led by general Prosper
Avril. In 1989, the OAS threatened to support economic sanctions (stopping or limiting trade) against the already pitifully
poor Haiti.
oIn elections that followed Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president in 1990. While Aristide was visiting the UN, the
military took control of the presidency again.
oWith UN backing, the US and the UN military forces, including 300 CARICOM, troops, invaded Haiti in 1994 and restored
Aristide to the presidency.
oAristide won the election in 2000, but the US and some of their supporters were beginning to question the agreements
made by Aristide for Cuba to send 800 medical workers and for the socialist president of Venezuela to supply cheaper oil to
Haiti.
oUS and UN funded support began to be withdrawn and rebel groups began to emerge to challenge Aristide’s leadership.
oOn March 2004, US president George W Bush, announced that the USA would be sending troops to restore order. The UN
stabilization force effectively took control over the country in August 2004.

The US forces in the Caribbean after the Cold war

oAs early as 1963, the US government set up US Southern Command to enter into cooperative agreements with the new
nation-states that were coming into being. It would share information, equipment, and training and be involved in search,
rescue, and disaster relief.
oMost of the newly independent countries and their military established joint trainings with the Southern command.
oTaking part in the Southern Command resulted in further weakening the old colonial ties with the European powers. It
also provided the Caribbean nations with another coordinating body that required governments to work together on
international and defense issues.
The USA in the Caribbean: economics, politics, and Culture

-US economic interests in the English-Speaking territories 1914-1940

oThere were two reasons for the decline in US-Caribbean trade:
The US tariffs on imports made the price of Caribbean goods very high in the USA, while Britain and Canada began to
give preferential customs treatment to West Indian sugar and food products.
Mixed politics and economics, as the spread of US businesses in the Caribbean was considered by some local leaders
discourage local industries rather than stimulate them.
The US invested in British colonies; however, these were competing with the huge US-financed centrals and their sugar,
fruit, coffee plantations in Cuba, Central America and Brazil. Their prices in the USA undercut those from the English
speaking territories.
Another aspect of the negative effect of US police came when they closed the door to immigration from the Caribbean.
That cut off the movement of several thousand workers from the English-speaking Caribbean who had entered the USA
each year in search of work.

US investment after 1945

oAs Americans joined the armed forces, she needed men to replace them on the farms and in the factories. More than
100,000 British West Indians went to work in the USA during the war years. The war gave a new importance to the natural
resources of the Caribbean.
oAfter 1945, the growth of US influence in the English-Speaking Caribbean matched the decline in the power and wealth
of Britain.
oJamaican bauxite was heavily dominated by US or Canadian companies from the start. The same was true of the
bauxite industry in Guyana. In Trinidad, US companies gradually bought up the smaller local oil companies and became a
major player in exploiting Trinidad’s oil reserves.
oUS companies took advantage of the eagerness of governments in the 1950s and early 1960s to bring foreign capital to
launch industries that would create work for people and help to break away from dependence on exporting foodstuff.
oA serious problem was that the new US investment often led to a flow of money out of the country.

The Caribbean Basin Initiative

oDuring the presidency of Ronald Reagan, his administration launched the Caribbean Basin Initiative in 1983. This gave
the US government the power to offer aid and reduced tax and customs levels on goods that entered the USA from the
Caribbean or Central America.
oThe political aims of CBI: encourage free enterprise development funded by private US investors who would take
advantage of the lower wage levels in the Caribbean. Unfriendly governments did not benefit from the money.
oOnly 10% of Caribbean exports were eligible to receive CBI benefits so that goods that threatened US businesses and
jobs were excluded.
oOne long term benefit was that some US credit –card and airline companies used the CBI to set up bases where skilled
Jamaican workers could input data into their computer systems.
oCBI was expanded in October 2000 through the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act; it increased trade with the US.

Hearts and minds in wartime: the Caribbean Commission

oIn 1942, the USA joined with Britain to set up the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission. Its headquarters were
opened in 1944 in Trinidad, where it had a chance to monitor attitudes among the islanders. It made arrangements for the
movement of workers to the naval bases or to jobs in the USA and developed few welfare projects. But its chief purpose
was to increase sympathy for the USA and to prevent any outbreaks of sympathy for Germany.
oThe Commission beamed its own programme, the West Indian Radio Newspaper. In 1946, the Commission became the
Caribbean commission and was joined by the governments of France and Holland.
-Hearts and minds post war: International Communications Agency
oMuch of the US support of the Caribbean Commission was eventually transferred into the United States Information
Agency. After 1978, it was replaced by the United States International Communication Agency.
oThe task of these organizations was to increase understanding of US policies and US understanding of foreign attitudes
towards them.
oOnce the cold war ended the US judged that there was less need for this type of service and the program was
suspended in 1999.

Aid and the independent governments: the Peace Corps and USAID
o The USA had failed to stop Fidel Castro taking Cuba into the communist bloc and this led their governments to
consider ways of strengthening her position in the English-speaking Caribbean.
o As well as trade and investment by US companies, the 1960s saw a series of US aid schemes that aimed to
ensure that the new Caribbean states were not tempted to follow the Cuban Communist path to economic and political
development.
o The Corps is made up of volunteers while the USA government provides funds for their living expenses and for
development projects.
o The first country to receive the corps aid was St. Lucia in 1980.
o The USA hoped that direct action by the Peace Corps aid programmes would create greater social and political
stability while highlighting US ideals of democracy and regional cooperation.
o The corps initially focused on improving education and ensuring that basic health services.
- USAID, the United States Agency for International Development
o Supported and promoted US influence throughout the Caribbean region during the last years of the 20th century
and the first years of the 21st years.
o The Caribbean program was divided into three main areas: good governance, health and education, and small
business creation.
o In 2005, USAID invested 61 million dollars into diverse Caribbean programs aimed at making small loans
available to private entrepreneurs, streamlining government bureaucracy, launching anti-corruption campaigns and
promoting public awareness os such social issues as HIV and narcotic drug abuse.