Fidel Castro

1926 Born in Finca Las Manacas in Holguín Province
1947 As a young law-student he becomes member of the Partido Ortodoxo, who's aim it is to fight corruption.
1948 Gets married in Banes (Holguín Province)
1952 Would have been elected into the House of Representatives, had Batista not seized the power by armed forces.
1953

Forms a revolutionary circle around him, and on July 26 he leads his 119 rebels in an unsuccessful attack on the army barracks in Santiago de Cuba. Fidel is able to flee, but gets captured a week later. Like other big figures in history, only luck keeps him from getting executed. July 26 is the Cuban national-day. (Interesting that Fidel chose a day where everything went wrong)

1955 To win popular support, and getting elected rightfully, President Batista frees all political prisoners, including Fidel.
Builds the underground resistance M-26-7 (standing for Movement 26th of July)
1956 Trains the revolutionary-force in Mexico, and returns with this group to Cuba. In the Sierra Maestra, near Santiago, Fidel establishes his guerillia-base.
1957-1959 Beginning with small ambushes and ending in a civil-war, Fidel and Che lead the rebels to victory, forcing Batista to flee the country.
1959 Probably Castros biggest mistake:
In his enthusiasm of winning the civil-war, Castro nationalizes all large estates, affecting the holdings of large US companies. This is the beginning of the hate-relationship between Castro and the US.
1960 The US, who are convinced, that Castro is a communist, put sanctions and embargos on Cuba. In return, Fidel nationalizes more US-firms within Cuba. This game goes on and on, until both the US-embargo and the Cuban-natinalization of US-firms are completed.
With a budget of US$13 Million, the US try to assassinate Fidel, with fantastic schemes, such as an exploding cigar or powder planted in his shoes.
1961 Isolated in the Carrebean, Cuba desperately needs allies. Castro (although probably not a Communist-Idealist) therefore declares the Socialist-Nature of the Cuban revolution, ensuring Cuba the economic aid of the Soviet-Union.
1400 CIA-trained Cuban émigrés set sail towards Cuba and land in the Bay of Pigs. Their supply-ships and air-support, flown from Nicaragua are shot down by the Cuban Air-Force. Fidel Castro takes personal charge of the forces moving against the invadors. After 72 hours the émigrés surrender and are ransomed by the US for US$53 Million.
1962 The Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world closer to a nuclear war than it has ever been.
1989 The collapse of Eastern Europe dries up Cuba's trade (and credits) with the Soviet-Union.
1991 Marxism-Leninism references are removed from the constitution.
1993 Castro amends the constitution to allow Cubans to hold foreign currency.
2002 Despite the strong efforts of the US to end Fidel's reign, he still leads the country, however at the cost of the people being poor.

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