1810 American settlers in East and West Florida declare independence and rebel against Spain for control of land.
April 28, 1823 With newly acquired land the United States has become to within 90 miles of Cuba. Secretary of State John Quincy Adam sends a letter to Minister to Spain Hugh Nelson speculating the likelihood of U.S. “annexation of Cuba” within half a century in spite of deterrents:
“But there are laws of political as well as of physical gravitation; and if an apple severed by the tempest from its native tree cannot choose but fall to the ground, Cuba, forcibly disjoined from its own unnatural connection with Spain, and incapable of self-support, can gravitate only towards the North American Union, which by the same law of nature cannot cast her off from its bosom.”
- Cubans’ dub Adam’s policy la fruta madura (ripe fruit); Washington is waiting until the fruit is ripe for the picking.
On this day 191 years ago John Quincy Adams expressed his prediction for the future of Cuban-American contact. The Cuban wars of independence were only 15 years away from his prediction when he estimated. These independence wars continue to influence Cuba’s cultural and political attitude toward Europe and the United States; This in part due to the externalities involved in the remodeling of social structure in the aftermath of the revolution. The intentions and motives of each faction: rebels, United States government, Spanish government, United States public, and the Cuban public, varied widely to an extend that caused even more concern in the future. Depending on the point of view of an outsider the situation in Cuba seemed to be a continuation of revolution...
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Cuba and the United States: A Chronological History. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
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Pérez, Louis A.. Cuba between empires, 1878-1902. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983 Print.
Pletcher, David M. The Diplomacy of Trade and Investment: American Economic Expansion
in the Hemisphere, 1865–1900 (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1998).
"Proposition del Capitan General Ramon Blanco Erenas." Proposicion del Capitan General Ramon Blanco Erenas. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Smith, Verity. Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature. Taylor & Francis, 1997.
"The Ten-Year War (1868-78)." History of Cuba. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Trask, David F.. The war with Spain in 1898. Collector's ed. Norwalk, CT: Easton Press,
2002. Print.
Americans living in West Florida between the Iberville and Perdido Rivers declared their independence, and President Madison ordered the Governor of New Orleans Territory to take control of the independent land. The Americans now had control over half the territory they wanted but this did not satisfy them, this only made them more eager to gain control of East Florida. Almost two years after this event peace concluded, but Spain still had possession of East Florida. This time Spain only had two solutions to avoid a shameful political break down over this region. One was to gain support of a European ally, and the second was to get some form of honor in this event by winning some of the United States best land else where in North America. The first plan fell through, Britain and other European nations refused to help Spain. They eventually fell to having discussions with the United States.
Teja, Jesus F. De La. A Revolution Remembered: The Memoirs and Selected Correspondence of Juan N. Seguin. Austin: State House Press, 1991.
In 1898, three big events got in the way of any peaceful resolution in Cuba. The New York Journal received a letter from the Spanish minister in Washington, Enrique Dupuy de Lo...
Díaz del Castillo, Bernal. "The True History of the Conquest of New Spain." In Sources of Making of the West, by Katarine J. Lualdi, 269-273. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009.
For four hundred years Spain ruled over an immense and profitable global empire that included islands in the Caribbean, Americas, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. After the Napoleonic Wars (1808-1815) many of Spain’s colonies followed the US’s lead, fighting and winning their independence. These revolts, coupled with other nations chipping away at Spain’s interests, dwindled Spain’s former Empire. By 1860, only Cuba and Puerto Rico were what remained of Spain’s former Empire. Following the lead of other former Spanish colonies, Cuban fighters started their campaign for independence, known as the Ten year war (1868-1878). This war developed into a Cuban insurgency which fought a guerilla war against the Spanish occupation.2
United States of America. U.S. Department of State. Office of the Historian. The Spanish-American War, 1898. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
The War of 1898 was a war between Spain and the United States of America. It is one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted wars in American history. There were many circumstances that led up to the battle between Spain and America. The three main causes of the War of 1898 were the worsening economy during this time, nationalism, and imperialism. The Spanish American war was brief and included few battles. In fact, there was never much doubt of its outcome, but the war had major historical significance.
The struggle of Cuba to gain its independence from Spain, which began in 1895, has captured the attention of many Americans. Spain’s brutal repressive measures to halt the rebellion were graphically portrayed for the U.S. public by American newspaper publishers, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer which caused to shape the national mood of agitation against Spain. Hearst and Pulitzer exaggerated the actual events in Cuba and how did Spanish brutally treated their prisoners by adding sensational words to catch the emotions of readers. However, publishing stories against the atrocities of Spain did not convince President Cleveland to support the intervention with Spain. When President McKinley held the office in 1897, he wanted to end the revolt peacefully, and he tried to avoid the involvement of America to the conflict between Cuba and Spain. McKinley sent Stewart Woodford to Spain to negotiate for peaceful Cuban autonomy and it all went smoothly and the independence of Cuba was supposed to be awarded after the negotiation. However, the peaceful settlement suddenly vanished after the incident of February 1898 when a private letter for a Cuban friend written by the Spanish minister Enrique Dupuy de Lome was stolen by a Cuban age...
For 113 days during the summer of 1898, the United States was at war with Spain. Neither the president of the United States, nor his cabinet, nor the the queen of Spain, nor her ministers wanted the war wanted the war. It happened eventhough they made their best efforts to prevent it. It happened because of ambition, miscalculation, and stupidity; and it happened because of kindness, wit, and resourcefulness. It also happened because some were indifferent to the suffering of the world’s wretched and others were not (O’Toole 17). By winning the war the United States proved the the rest of the world and to itself that it could and would fight against foreign nations. For many years, world power had been concentrated in the countries in Europe. Nations such as Great Britain, France, Germany, and Spain had the most influence in global affairs. But a shift in power was gradually taking place as the United States matured. The young nation gained wealth and strength. Its population grew immensely, and many people believed it would become a major world power (Bachrach, 11) Spain was one of the many European countries that had territory in the United States. Spain controlled mostly some islands off the coast of Central America. The most important of these were Cuba and Puerto Rico. The United States was led to believe that the Spanish mosgoverned and abused the people of these islands. In fact, Spain did overtax and mistreat the Cubans, who rebelled in 1868 and again in 1895. Thus, the American people felt sympathetic toward the Cuban independence movement. In addition, Spain had frequently interfered with trade between its colonies and the United States. Even though the United States had been a trading partner with Cuba since the seventeenth century, Spain sometimes tried to completely stop their trade with Cuba. In Spain doing so, this sometimes caused damage to U.S. commercial interests. The United States highly disagreed with Spain’s right to interfere with this trade relationship. (Bachrach, 12) The United States was also concerned that other trading and commercial interests were threatened by the number of ships and soldiers Spain kept in the area. If the United States had to fight a war with Canada or Mexico, these Spanish forces could quickly mobilize against the United States.
In 1895, American citizens took notice of a Cuban revolt against their corrupt Spanish oppressor. The Cuban insurgents reasoned that if they did enough damage, the US might move in and help the Cubans win their independence. Not only did Americans sympathize with the Cubans upon seeing tragic reports in the newspaper, but they also empathized that the US once fought for their own independence from Britain. If France didn’t intervene, the Americans probably would not have won their freedom. As if this did not rally enough hate for the Spanish among the American Public, fuel was added to the flame by the Spanish General (“Butcher”)
Loss, Jacqueline, and González José Manuel Prieto. "Introduction: Pg. 1-5." Caviar with Rum: Cuba-USSR and the Post-Soviet Experience. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. N. pag. Print.
The tropical island of Cuba had been an object of empire for the United States. Before the Missile Crisis, the relationship between Castro and the US were strained by the Bay of Pigs occurrence in 1961. This was where counterrevolutionary Cubans were American funded and tried to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro. However, the counterrevolutionaries failed. Castro then found an alliance with the Soviet Union and an increase of distrust that Castro had on the US. On January 18, 1962, the United States’ Operation Mongoose was learned. The objective would be “to help the Cubans overthrow the Communist regime” so that the US could live in peace. Consequently, Castro informed the Soviet Union that they were worried about a direct invasion on Cuba, thus longed for protection against th...
Many people think of and remember Cuba as an island filled with picturesque tourist beaches, Che Guevara memorabilia, and quaint fifties cars; but it is much more than that. Ask any one of the countries that engage in foreign relations with Cuba and one would hear positive remarks regarding the systems of Cuban Medical Diplomacy, Yo Si Puedo literacy training, and other aspects of what Joseph Nye calls ‘Soft Power’ (Dominguez 2008). Nye defines ‘Soft Power’ as the promotion of the attractive qualities of a country; their way of life, their social supports and cultural institutions, his definition uses the example of the United States however one could argue that Cuba is perhaps one of the best examples of successful ‘soft power’ (Dominguez 2008). The Cuban brand of ‘Soft Power’ is built off of a rejection of hegemonic processes of neo-colonialism, and operates under the cover of cooperation and prides itself on its unwillingness to interfere in the inner workings of another sovereign nation (Huish and Blue 2013). At its roots Cuban Foreign policy seeks to earn international influence through productive engagement rather than a show of military force. Even President Obama has acknowledged the success of Cuba’s effective employment of ‘Soft Power’ and suggested that the United States learn from their example at the 2009 Summit of the Americas held in Trinidad:
However, the US played a much larger role in Cuba’s past and present than the building of casinos and the introduction of the first taints of corruption. In the past, even before Batista, Americans were resented by Cubans because the Americans made a lot of Cuba’s decisions. Under Batista, 80% of Cuban imports came from the US, and the US controlled at least 50% of sugar, utilities, phones and railroads. If Cuba was a business in the stock markets, then the US would have been close to owning 50% of its shares. When combined with a long history of US-backed leaders, and US involvement, it is understandable that Cubans begrudged the Americans....
While the address itself is an event, Obama discusses many conflicts that have been going on for decades, such as the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba. He mentions, “Fifty years of isolating Cuba has failed to promote democracy … That’s why we restored diplomatic relations, opened the door to travel and commerce, positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the Cuban people” (Obama). Not only does he mention history with the failure of cutting off ties with Cuba, but Obama also references to his trip to Cuba that he made in March 2016, two months after this speech was given. This event contributes to the overall sequence of the relationship between America and Cuba because while the two countries may have resolved their tensions, certain issues, such as trade and tourism, will continue to be discussed in the future. By evaluating Obama’s speech as a process, the audience can analyze how his plans and goals relating to Cuba contribute to the sequence of developments between these two countries throughout