IB History Topic Consolidation and Maintenance: Castro's Foreign Policy Revision Notes (SL/HL)

IB History Topic Consolidation and Maintenance: Castro's Foreign Policy Revision Notes (SL/HL) | RevisionDojo

Foreign policy

Goal: Castro aimed for economic independence from the U.S. after 1959.
Agrarian Reform Law (May 1959): Limited land ownership; seized large estates, including U.S.-owned sugar plantations.
Expropriation: By 1960, ~40% of farmland taken; U.S. assets nationalized, including Texaco, Shell, Esso, United Fruit, Cuban Electric Co., and all U.S. banks.
Justification: Castro framed it as sovereignty and economic justice; offered bonds as compensation tied to U.S. sugar imports (rejected by U.S.).
U.S. response:
1. October 1960: Partial embargo (cut sugar imports, stopped exports).
2. January 1961: Diplomatic ties severed.
3. 1962: Kennedy imposed full embargo, which largely remains in place.
Cuba turned to the USSR in 1960, gaining trade, loans, military aid, and a defense guarantee against U.S. intervention.

Note

Embargo: government order restricting or banning trade with a country
Purpose: apply economic pressure for political disputes, security, or human rights issues
Scope: broad ban on goods, services, and financial transactions
Difference from sanctions: sanctions are targeted, embargoes are wide-ranging

Note

Castro’s revolution began as nationalist, not communist.
U.S. hostility and Cold War pressures pushed him toward the USSR.
In 1961, he formally declared the revolution socialist.
On December 2, 1961, in a televised speech, he stated: “I am a Marxist–Leninist and shall be one until the end of my life.”
Before 1961, he denied being a communist, stressing nationalist and anti-imperialist goals.

Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) - a point of no return for Cuba’s foreign policy

Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 1961): Failed U.S.-backed attempt to overthrow Castro.

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Foreign policy

Goal: Castro aimed for economic independence from the U.S. after 1959.
Agrarian Reform Law (May 1959): Limited land ownership; seized large estates, including U.S.-owned sugar plantations.
Expropriation: By 1960, ~40% of farmland taken; U.S. assets nationalized, including Texaco, Shell, Esso, United Fruit, Cuban Electric Co., and all U.S. banks.
Justification: Castro framed it as sovereignty and economic justice; offered bonds as compensation tied to U.S. sugar imports (rejected by U.S.).
U.S. response:
1. October 1960: Partial embargo (cut sugar imports, stopped exports).
2. January 1961: Diplomatic ties severed.
3. 1962: Kennedy imposed full embargo, which largely remains in place.
Cuba turned to the USSR in 1960, gaining trade, loans, military aid, and a defense guarantee against U.S. intervention.

Note

Embargo: government order restricting or banning trade with a country
Purpose: apply economic pressure for political disputes, security, or human rights issues
Scope: broad ban on goods, services, and financial transactions
Difference from sanctions: sanctions are targeted, embargoes are wide-ranging

Note

Castro’s revolution began as nationalist, not communist.
U.S. hostility and Cold War pressures pushed him toward the USSR.
In 1961, he formally declared the revolution socialist.
On December 2, 1961, in a televised speech, he stated: “I am a Marxist–Leninist and shall be one until the end of my life.”
Before 1961, he denied being a communist, stressing nationalist and anti-imperialist goals.

Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) - a point of no return for Cuba’s foreign policy

Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 1961): Failed U.S.-backed attempt to overthrow Castro.

Definition

Paywall

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anim nostrud sit dolore minim proident quis fugiat velit et eiusmod nulla quis nulla mollit dolor sunt culpa aliqua

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit

Note

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam quis nostrud exercitation.

Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident

Tip

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum.

Paper 1 - The Move to Global War6 subtopics

Paper 1 - Rights and Protest6 subtopics

Paper 1 - Conflict and Intervention6 subtopics

Paper 2 - Independence Movements5 subtopics

Paper 2 - Emergence and Development of Democratic States5 subtopics

Paper 2 - Authoritarian States7 subtopics

Paper 2 - Causes and Effects of 20th Century Wars4 subtopics

Paper 2 - The Cold War: Superpower Tensions and Rivalries4 subtopics

Paper 3 - History of Europe18 subtopics

Paper 3 - History of the Americas18 subtopics

Paper 3 - History of Asia and Oceania18 subtopics

IB History Consolidation and Maintenance: Castro's Foreign Policy Notes

Paper 1 - The Move to Global War6 subtopics

Paper 1 - Rights and Protest6 subtopics

Paper 1 - Conflict and Intervention6 subtopics

Paper 2 - Independence Movements5 subtopics

Paper 2 - Emergence and Development of Democratic States5 subtopics

Paper 2 - Authoritarian States7 subtopics

Paper 2 - Causes and Effects of 20th Century Wars4 subtopics

Paper 2 - The Cold War: Superpower Tensions and Rivalries4 subtopics

Paper 3 - History of Europe18 subtopics

Paper 3 - History of the Americas18 subtopics

Paper 3 - History of Asia and Oceania18 subtopics

Foreign policy

Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) - a point of no return for Cuba’s foreign policy

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Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit

Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident

Unlock the rest of this chapter with a free account

Foreign policy

Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) - a point of no return for Cuba’s foreign policy

anim nostrud sit dolore minim proident quis fugiat velit et eiusmod nulla quis nulla mollit dolor sunt culpa aliqua

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit

Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident

Unlock the rest of this chapter with a free account