As Ernest Hemingway significantly expresses his affection for baseball in the book Old Man and the Sea, Cuban-culture similarly displays the strong feelings towards the sport as well. Baseball first played an important role in the late nineteenth century and continues to show the same impact today. It created a substantial amount of influence on the culture and also played an important role in the political view-point. In order for one to completely acknowledge the impact baseball had on the twentieth century, they must first assess the history of Cuban baseball. Next, one must learn how baseball played an acknowledgeable role in the political system. Lastly, they must interpret how significantly the sport changed the culture of Cuba.
Baseball was first introduced to Cuba in the 1860s by a few American sailors who were stationed in Cuba (Schur). During the beginning of the baseball age, Cuban citizens quickly accepted the game unto their culture and it became their most favored sport (McInnes). Prior to the acceptance of baseball, the Spanish had established bullfighting to be the leading sport of Cuba. During this time, Cuba was part of the Spanish colony which created conflicts between the natural-born Cubans and the Spanish authorities. Spain insisted on leaving the sport Bullfighting as the colonial sport because of their power over the island. Therefore, the Cuban people began to seek out baseball to initiate their process of gaining Independence from the Spanish. Baseball had been used as a significant source of revenue for the Cubans to afford to repel their relations with Spain (Wysocki). Eventually in the 1870s, they established an official baseball league in which they could formally compete (McInnes). There had only bee...
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...cted Cuba’s culture, along with politics, they will be able to have a further understanding to how the sport influenced many incredible changes in the world.
Works Cited
Hemingway, Hilary. Hemingway in Cuba. New York City: Rugged Land, LLC, 2003. Print.
McInnes, Kelly. "Political and Economic Effects on Baseball in Cuba." McInnes. Anderson University, 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Nash, Gary and Julie Jeffrey. "Foreign Policy in a Global Age." The American People Volume Two: Since 1865. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2011. 743-744. Print.
Schur, Ryan M. "The Effect of Major League Baseball on United States-Cuba Relations."." 2012. Ryan Schur Law. Web. 29 April 2014.
Solomon, Daniel F. Breaking Up with Cuba. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2011. Print.
Wysocki, David. Fidel Castro's Game: Baseball and Cuban Nationalism. Chico: The Chico Historian, 2009. Web.
African, French, Portuguese, Haitian, Jamaican and Chinese immigrants helped to shape a musical and culinary heritage that 's distinctly Cuban. Cuban music exhibits an insistent beat, complexity and intensity that make it immediately recognizable around the world. The ingredients in Cuban cuisine may lack drama, but ultimately, they work together in perfectly spiced dishes that bring out new flavor notes in common ingredients" (HowStuffWorks). In Cuba, the most popular cooking style is called criollo in which the main ingredients are chicken, beef, pork, eggs, beans, rice and vegetables. Cubans use many common spices in their dishes. Some other Cuban dishes are empanadas, pan con bistec, arroz con pollo, and moros y cristianos. In Cuba western clothing has been worn for many years, but casual clothing is popular also. Latin styles of clothing like bright colored shirts and blouses and ruffled skirts have been in Cuban fashion as well as Afro-Cuban styles. Some popular Cuban holidays and celebrations are Liberation Day, International Women 's Day, Labor Day, and Christmas. There are a couple of popular sports in Cuba like boxing and football, but baseball is the most popular. Baseball is considered the national sport of Cuba. "The national baseball team of Cuba is easily the best in Latin America and often dominates regional competitions in this sport. The
United States of America. Library of Congress. Chronology of Cuba in the Spanish-American War. N.p., 22 June 2011. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
The U.S.’s relationship with Cuba has been arduous and stained with mutual suspicion and obstinateness, and the repeated U.S. interventions. The Platt agreement and Castro’s rise to power, served to introduce the years of difficulty to come, while, the embargo the U.S. placed on Cuba, enforced the harsh feelings. The two major events that caused the most problems were the Bays of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis.
Baseball was first brought over to the Dominican Republic in the 1870's, when thousands of Cubans came fleeing to the island nation in refuge from the Ten Years' War. Along with baseball, Cubans also brought with sugar producing expertise that had made them the largest sugar producer in the Caribbean. Sugar immediately became the Dominican Republic's key money-making export, but baseball took a little longer to come around. At the turn of the century, many British of African descent came to the Dominican Republic from St. Martin, Nevis, Tortola and other islands whose sugar industry was collapsing as the Dominican cane fields were expanding. These Cocolos brought with them cricket and more organizational social discipline, which were inhereted from their British backgrounds. Cricket was an extremely popular sport in the Republic until baseball came to be the sport of choice in the late 1930s.
All groups noted above didn’t have a place in this era of baseball; they were on the other side of the race barrier. With the growing of the sport arose a lack of a cheap talent pool. Segregation hindered the ability to introduce cheap talent from other races. The management of teams was looking for a solution in order to widen the talent pool for their respective leagues. People began to notice talent in the “American colonies” like Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the Philippines; it seemed as if everywhere there was an American presence there were talented ball players. Even before America was involved in these nations, America had begun to envision the game as intercultural exchange that would build relations. The decision to include Latinos into the leagues allowed an expansion of the talent pool while still barring African Americans from participating in organized baseball. A racial structure established during Jim Crow upholds the notion of a color line as an exclusionary measure to prevent the influence of blacks into the game that represents American
Most consider the sport of baseball to be America’s pastime. While many in the United States spend countless hours following or playing the sport, it is more than a diversion in the Dominican Republic; it can be the key to overcoming impoverishment. For most citizens of the island, poverty is the only known way of life. In 2015, 32.4% or 3.4 million lived at or below the national poverty line. The per capita income for the country in 2016 was $6,909.13, which is $45,285.76 less than that of the United States. In order to achieve their goal of creating a better life for themselves and their family, baseball provides Dominicans an opportunity for upward mobility. It is common for children in the Dominican Republic to grow up playing baseball, the country’s beloved sport, hoping to make their hobby a full-time job.
The United States embargo of Cuba has its roots planted in 1960, 53 years ago, when “the United States Congress authorized President Eisenhower to cut off the yearly quota of sugar to be imported from Cuba under the Sugar act of 1948… by 95 percent” (Hass 1998, 37). This was done in response to a growing number of anti-American developments during the height of the cold war, including the “expropriation of United States-owned properties on the island… [and] the Soviet Union [agreeing] to purchase sugar from Cuba and to supply Cuba with crude oil” (Hass 1998, 37). Bad sentiments continued to pile up as Cuba imposed restrictions on the United States Embassy and especially when, after the United States “officially broke off diplomatic ties with Cuba, and travel by United States citizens to Cuba was forbidden ... Castro openly proclaimed his revolution to be ‘socialist’” (Hass 1998, 38). The day after this, the Bay of Pigs invasion occurred, but it failed in its job to topple Castro (Hass 1998, 38). Left with no diplomatic options and a failed military attempt, the United States decided that the only way to end Castro’s socialist regime was to sever all ties, and from 1961 to 1996, a series of acts were passed prohibiting the majority of trade and interaction with Cuba. (Hass 1998, 38).
A key and enduring topic of debate regarding Cuba’s global role in Cold War international politics centers on Cuba’s relationship with the Soviet Union: to what extent were Cuban actions independently determined, and to what extent were they dictated by her Soviet patrons? Simply posed, was Cuba little more than a satellite mercenary of the Soviet Union, or was Cuba an independent actor pursuing autonomous foreign policy goals in the Cold War world?
Since the sport first emerged, baseball and America have shared the same values, responded to the same events, and struggled with the same social and economic issues. To learn of the ideals concerning the sport of baseball in America, is to know the heart and mind of America. Baseball developed before the Civil War but did not achieve professional status until the 1870s (The Baseball Glove, 2004). In 1871, the National Association of Professional Baseball Players was formed. Unfortunately, the organization ran into financial hardships and was abandoned in 1875.
The Cuban revolution was one that transformed Cuba into an independent socialist society. This revolution sent a message around the globe. The message: “ Socialism can be achieved and capitalism, with its culture stripping mechanism’s can be supplemented”. However, the revolution did leave its mark on Cuba. This can be seen in the events that took place during the early stages of the revolution. The effects of the revolution were positive for certain sections of the population and negative for others.
“Jackie Robinson and the Intergration of Major League Baseball.” History Today. N.p.,n.d. Web 24 Mar. 2014
With about 83 players currently to in the MLB, 682 players since 1950, and so far 2 players in the Hall of Fame with much more to get inducted, it’s clear that the Dominican Republic dominates the game of baseball. In the Dominican Republic, baseball is the country’s pastime and official sport. Baseball doesn’t discriminate, regardless of gender, race, and economic status. In my personal view, baseball runs in the blood and embedded in the genetic coding of Dominicans. As a person whose mother and father are Dominican and born and raised in Miami, there seems to be little to nothing that connects me to their culture.
Baseball was first introduced into the American culture, by English immigrants in the early 18th century, and its popularity slow grew. It wasn’t until the Civil War the popularity of the game spread, and both Union and Confederate soldiers played baseball during lulls in the fighting. After Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, soldiers from both the Army of Northern Virginia (Confederate) and the Army of the Potomac (Union) played baseball. (Schackelford Jul 4, 2009) This was the beginning of the American people love of Baseball began. It was also the first mention of baseball being the national game. During the bloodiest war in our countries history Baseball was there to help the two sides heal. It was another fourteen years till 1879 when Football would be invented.
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....
Tygiel, Jules. 2001; 2000. Past time: Baseball as history. Oxford England; New York: Oxford University Press.