When researching such a controversial figure as Fidel Castro, one has to be very objective. The fact that he is loved and hated by so many and the massive amounts of propaganda associated with him makes it difficult to discover who the true man is. There is ample information concerning his life after the revolution, his relations with the United States, and his iron-fisted rule over Cuba. However, little focus is given to his life before the Cuban Revolution. It is the purpose of this essay to piece together the story of his youth and discover what may have influenced his rise to dictator when only in his thirties. Fidel Castro Ruz was born on August 13, 1926, to Angel Castro y Argiz and Lina Ruz Gonzáles. Born an illegitimate child, his father and mother married soon after his birth, and his parents baptized him in a Roman Catholic ceremony. 1 Little is written about his relationship with his family. Fidel kept his private affairs and feelings to himself. It is known that he did not have a good relationship with his father unlike the affectionate relationship he had with his mother. Although his parents saw little necessity in schooling, he demanded to be sent to school. He went to stay with his godparents in Santiago to attend a Jesuit school called the Colegio Dolores. However, his godparents treated him badly. Upon his graduation at age sixteen, he went to Colegio Belen, a prep school in Havana. In the fall of 1945, he entered the University of Havana. He began the study of law and became active in student affairs. This involvement in student politics helped lead him into Cuban politics. 2 Castro will discuss little about his university career. According to university reports, he seems to have done well in his stu... ... middle of paper ... ...ntion to bring about a social revolution on behalf of the people. By sifting through articles, speeches, and letters, scholars find that Fidel is years away from Communism or Marxism-Leninism while in Mexico. Until Castro decided to carry his revolution into the Communist camp around the mid-1960s, he remained indignant when Communist charges were leveled against him. 18 Astonishingly, Fidel Castro began his rule of Cuba at the age of thirty-three. However, by reviewing his experiences in revolutionary activities, it is easy to see how he accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. Although Castro has a very controversial image in the world, many authors relate the fact that he truly did have the best interest of Cuba at heart in all of his endeavors. How he chose to rule once he gained power may seem to many as though this was far from his mind.
"Fidel Castro(a)." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Student Resources in Context. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.
Everyone knows the name Fidel Castro, the revolutionary of Cuba. At the University of Havana in 1945 is where Fidel Castro began his long and treacherous journey as a radical nationalist. (Fidel: The Untold Story). He fought the infamous Flugencio Batista in the name of social justice until victory was won. He claimed to have fought for a democratic Cuba and a restoration of constitutional government and Cuban sovereignty, but he also stood for socialism and communist ideals. As Tim Padgett from Times Magazine on page 42 stated “Fidel imported old-world Marxism and its perverse notion that social justice is best delivered via the injustice of autocracy.” He supported everything the US and pro-democracy states despised and stood as a revolutionary
Castro implemented additional significant social-economical polices which further more increased his popularity with in the public order, such as attempts towards improving health care, medical facilities, and tourism, but mostly highlighting the importance of education by drastically transforming the Cuban educational system. Achieving an extraordinary change required Castro to start the “1961 literacy campaign” which called for raising the literacy rate percentage in the Cuban society, by allowing education and it’s equipment free of charge, building schools, increasing the amount of teachers per student, and making it available to all ages who desired to peruse education. These reforms where a major increase in Castro’s popularity. “The quality of life lies in knowledge”- Fidel Castro (The Right Priorities: Health, Education, and Literacy. PBS.o...
Fidel Castro was born on August 19, 1926, in Birán, Cuba. He spent most of his younger years on his father's farm with his brothers and sisters. Then, he attended Belen, a famous Jesuit boarding school, and excelled in sports, history, geography, and debate (Press 11-13). In 1945, Castro began law school at the University of Havana and became very involved in politics. Later, In July 1953, Castro led about 120 men in an attack on the Moncada army barracks in Santiago de Cuba. The assault failed and Batista’s troops succeeded. During the course of the battle, Castro was captured an...
Fidel Castro was born on August 13, 1926. He attended Catholic schools before graduating from the University of Havana with a degree in law.
Fidel Castro was born on August 13, 1926 in Buran, Cuba to the parent’s foreigners Angel, and Lina Castro Ruz. He is the son of a successful sugar cane planter. Fidel Castro was known for his athletic skill and for his smarts. He went to the school for and started studying under the law career at the University of Havana. In 1946, he had been in a few newspapers because of his speeches, and a year later Castro joined the socialist Party of the Cuban People.
After his graduation in 1950, Castro continued to practice politics and study law. He decided to become a member of the reformist Cuban People’s Party, called Ortodoxos. The Ortodoxos called for economic independence from the United States, political liberty, social justice, and an end to government corruption. Throughout these years, Castro stayed true to his interests, and political capabilities, and became a candidate for a seat in Cuba’s House of Representatives during the election of June 1952. However, right before the election was held, Fulgencio Batista disbanded the previous government and cancelled the election. This incident is what really pushed Castro into fighting this corrupted government and restoring justice to Cuba. Th...
Cuba has come an exceptional way economically, politically, and culturally since its discovery in 4200 BC. According to a recent MDG Report Card by the Overseas Development Institute, Cuba is among the top twenty performing countries in the world. As a former colony of Spain, Cuba was under their domination for 388 years before gaining independence. One cannot predict the future of the country, but by looking at the history of Cuba from its pre-colonial era to the present, it is clear that it will be written by charismatic Cuban leaders.
Fidel was acclaimed to be intellectually gifted by his teachers, but was a trouble maker. Despite his mischievous conduct, he was a self-disciplined student and had a great deal of Spanish pride which he learned from his teachers as well as his priest (Source F). During Castro’s schooling he did not focus solely on his academics,but he focused primarily in athletics such as baseball, in which he earned a award in 1945 as the country’s best secondary school athlete((Source F).Castro was also
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, better known as Fidel Castro, was born on August 13, 1926 in Biran, Cuba. He attended Roman Catholic boarding schools in Santiago de Cuba and then moved on to Belen High School in Havana, Cuba. In 1945, he attended the University of Havana where he entered the School of Law with a primary focus in politics. During his years in law, Castro became very active in politics, including participating in the attempt to overthrow the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic in 1947. He narrowly escaped capture and returned to Havana to complete his degree in 1950.
Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is a revolutionary leader who fought for the independence, excellence of his people. Castro type of leadership fits with the family of power oriented, and he much cares for the poor people. He fought against the commercial and political dominance of USA in Cuba. He inspired his followers, encouraged and showed them great courage in the very worst situations of Cuba. Castro was quite well wishing to the people of
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on August 13, 1926 in Biran, Cuba. He was born into a higher middle-class family. His father was a sugarcane farmer and came directly from Spain. His mother was a house servant that his father had an affair with. Castro always had a somewhat strained relationship with his family and was sent off to boarding school at a young age. Hating the family he was sent off to, young Castro started acting up in the neighborhood. Although extremely clever and knowledgeable, Castro was always more interested in frivolities and games rather than schoolwork. By the time he was accepted into the School of Law of the University of Havana, Castro became heavily involved in the politics in Cuba and other Hispanic countries. Surrounded by peer pressure and negative influences, he took part again and again in attempts to overtake/oust Hispanic movements he didn’t agree with. As his childhood ended and he ascended into the adult world, the smart little troublemaker would soon become a strong political figure to be reckoned with.
Cuba's political history carries a pattern: when the masses are disillusioned by the current ruler, they turn to a young, strong-willed leader-of-the-people as their new ruler, only to become disillusioned to that ruler when he becomes too oppressive. It has seemed a never- ending cycle. Batista and Castro were both well-regarded leaders initially who appealed strongly to the masses and common citizen. Later, both established dictatorships and lost the support of many of those that they governed. Castro and Batista are each guilt of repression and corruption within their governments. For example, at some point under each regime, the constitution was either suspended or not followed at all. Castro did, though, make one very important contribution to Cuba's political system: Socialism. For the first time, Castro and Che Guevara a socialist plan called the New Man theory which called for developing an ideology amongst citizens that would call for working not for personal enrichment, but for social betterment.
4. Fidel Castro put into place a series of agrarian and urban reform laws in the spring of 1959, at the beginning of Castro’s rule. The First Urban Reform Law states that there would be a 50% cut in rent, which was good for the peasants, but bad for the landowners (such as United States companies). The Agrarian Reform Law took land from people who had more than 1000 acres of land, and gave it to the poor. It was bad for landowners, especially foreign ones, because they lost land. In addition to that, the prices were controlled. The United States began to worry about these laws because they seemed communist in nature, and began placing economic sanctions on Cuba, pushing Cuba closer to the Soviet Union.
This historical investigation aims to address the question: How significant was Fidel Castro’s role in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962?