Timeline of the Cuban Revolution
Encyclopedia
The Cuban Revolution was the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista’s
regime by the 26th of July Movement
and the establishment of a new Cuba
n government led by Fidel Castro
in 1959. It began with the assault on the Moncada Barracks
on July 26, 1953, and ended on February 1, 1959, when Batista was driven from the country and the cities Santa Clara
and Santiago de Cuba
were seized by rebels, led by Che Guevara
and Fidel Castro's surrogates Raúl Castro
and Huber Matos
, respectively.
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....
regime by the 26th of July Movement
26th of July Movement
The 26th of July Movement was the revolutionary organization planned and led by Fidel Castro that in 1959 overthrew the Fulgencio Batista government in Cuba...
and the establishment of a new Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n government led by Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
in 1959. It began with the assault on the Moncada Barracks
Moncada Barracks
The Moncada Barracks was a military barracks in Santiago de Cuba, named after General Guillermón Moncada, a hero of the War of Independence. On July 26, 1953, the barracks was the site of an armed attack by a small group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro. This armed attack is widely accepted...
on July 26, 1953, and ended on February 1, 1959, when Batista was driven from the country and the cities Santa Clara
Santa Clara, Cuba
Santa Clara is the capital city of the Cuban province of Villa Clara. It is located in the most central region of the province and almost in the most central region of the country.- History :Santa Clara was founded by 175 people on July 15th, 1689...
and Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
were seized by rebels, led by Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
and Fidel Castro's surrogates Raúl Castro
Raúl Castro
Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician and revolutionary who has been President of the Council of State of Cuba and the President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba since 2008; he previously exercised presidential powers in an acting capacity from 2006 to 2008...
and Huber Matos
Huber Matos
Huber Matos Benítez was a Cuban revolutionary who assisted Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and members of the 26th of July Movement in successfully overthrowing the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista as part of the Cuban Revolution....
, respectively.
1953
- 1953 July 26 Some 160 revolutionaries under the command of Fidel Castro launch an attack on the Moncada barracksMoncada BarracksThe Moncada Barracks was a military barracks in Santiago de Cuba, named after General Guillermón Moncada, a hero of the War of Independence. On July 26, 1953, the barracks was the site of an armed attack by a small group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro. This armed attack is widely accepted...
in Santiago de CubaSantiago de CubaSantiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
. - 1953 October 16 Fidel Castro makes "History Will Absolve MeHistory Will Absolve Me"History Will Absolve Me" is the concluding sentence and subsequent title of a four-hour speech made by Fidel Castro on 16 October 1953. Castro made the speech in his own defense in court against the charges brought against him after leading an attack on the Moncada Barracks...
" speech in his own defense against the charges brought on him after the attack on the Moncada Barracks.
1954
- 1954 September Che Guevara arrives in Mexico City.
- 1954 November Batista dissolves parliament and is elected constitutional president without opposition.
1955
- 1955 May Fidel and surviving members of his movement are released from prison under an amnesty from Batista.
- 1955 June Brothers FidelFidel CastroFidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
and Raúl CastroRaúl CastroRaúl Modesto Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician and revolutionary who has been President of the Council of State of Cuba and the President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba since 2008; he previously exercised presidential powers in an acting capacity from 2006 to 2008...
are introduced to Che Guevara in Mexico City.
1956
- 1956 November 25 Fidel Castro, with some 80 insurgents including Raúl Castro, Che Guevara and Camilo CienfuegosCamilo CienfuegosCamilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán was a Cuban revolutionary born in Lawton, Havana. Raised in an anarchist family that had left Spain before the Spanish Civil War, he became a key figure of the Cuban Revolution, along with Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Juan Almeida Bosque, and Raúl Castro.-Political...
set sail from Mexico for Cuba on the yacht GranmaGranma (yacht)Granma is the yacht that was used to transport 82 fighters of the Cuban Revolution from Mexico to Cuba in 1956 for the purpose of overthrowing the regime of Fulgencio Batista. The 60-foot diesel-powered cabin cruiser was built in 1943 and designed to accommodate 12 people...
. - 1956 December 2 Granma lands in Oriente Province.
1957
- 1957 January 17, Castro's guerrillas score their first success by sacking an army outpost on the south coast, and started gaining followers in both Cuba and abroad.
- 1957 March 13, University students mount an unsuccessful attack on the Presidential Palace in Havana.
- 1957 May 28, Castro's 26 July movement overwhelm an army post in El Uvero.
- 1957 July 30 Cuban revolutionary Frank PaísFrank PaísFrank País was a Cuban revolutionary who campaigned for the overthrow of General Fulgencio Batista's government in Cuba...
is killed in the streets of Santiago de CubaSantiago de CubaSantiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
by police while campaigning for the overthrow of Batista government.
1958
- 1958 February Raúl Castro opens a front in the Sierra de Cristal on Oriente's north coast.
- 1958 March 13 U.S. suspends shipments of arms to Batista's forces.
- 1958 March 17 Castro calls for a general revolt.
- 1958 April 9 A general strike, organized by the 26th of July movement, is partially observed.
- 1958 May Batista sends an army of 10,000 into the Sierra MaestraSierra MaestraSierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province from what is now Guantánamo Province to Niquero in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. Some view it as a series of connecting ranges , which joins with others extending to the west...
to destroy Castro's 300 armed guerrillas. By August, the rebels had defeated the army's advance and captured a huge amount of arms. - 1958 November 1 A Cuban aircraft en route from Miami to Havana is hijacked by militants but crashes. The hijackers were trying to land at Sierra Cristal in Eastern Cuba to deliver weapons to Raúl CastroRaúl CastroRaúl Modesto Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician and revolutionary who has been President of the Council of State of Cuba and the President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba since 2008; he previously exercised presidential powers in an acting capacity from 2006 to 2008...
's rebels. It is the first of what was to become many Cuba-U.S. hijackings - 1958 December Guevara directs a rebel attack on Santa ClaraSanta Clara, CubaSanta Clara is the capital city of the Cuban province of Villa Clara. It is located in the most central region of the province and almost in the most central region of the country.- History :Santa Clara was founded by 175 people on July 15th, 1689...
- 1958 December 28 Guevara's guerrilla troops seize Santa Clara.
- 1958 December 31 Camilo CienfuegosCamilo CienfuegosCamilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán was a Cuban revolutionary born in Lawton, Havana. Raised in an anarchist family that had left Spain before the Spanish Civil War, he became a key figure of the Cuban Revolution, along with Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Juan Almeida Bosque, and Raúl Castro.-Political...
leads revolutionary guerrillas to victory in Yaguajay.