Carlos Prío Socarrás (1903-1977). President of Cuba, 1948-1952. Born in Bahía Honda on July 14, he became involved in politics at an early age, becoming active in the Directorio Estudiantil Universitario while studying law at the University of Havana in the 1930s. He was elected to the constitutional convention of 1939 and to the senate in 1940. …
This Day in Cuban History – July 14, 1903. Born Carlos Prío Socarrás Read More »
At dawn on July 13, 1895, at the plains of Peralejo, 10 miles from the historic city of Bayamo, General Antonio Maceo deployed his forces to do battle with Spain’s Captain General of Cuba, Arsenio Martínez Campos. The Captain General departed from the port of Manzanillo, and soon was joined by General Fidel Alonso de …
This Day in Cuban History – July 13, 1895. Peralejo: Maceo vs Martínez Campos Read More »
Juan Gualberto Gómez (1854-1933). Journalist and public figure. Born in Matanzas, July 12, he became, at an early age, active in the campaign for Cuban independence. He went to Paris and studied engineering, but, needing an income, became a journalist. He traveled as a teacher through the French West Indies and Mexico, returning to the editorial …
This Day in Cuban History – July 12, 8854. Juan Guilberto Gómez Read More »
Tomás Estrada Palma (1835-1908), the first president of an independent Cuba, 1902-1906. Born near Bayamo, July 9, he attended schools in Havana and the University of Seville, from where family matters forced his return before graduation. As soon as the Ten Years’ War broke out, he joined the rebels. In 1876 he was elected president of …
This Day in Cuban History – July 9, 1835. Born Tomás Estrada Palma Read More »
The Naval Battle of Santiago de Cuba. With the possibility of being captured in the harbor if Santiago fell to the U.S., the Captain General of Cuba, Ramon Blanco, ordered Admiral Cervera’s squadron to fight their way out. Blanco said: “If we should lose the squadron without fighting, the moral effect would be terrible both …
This Day in Cuban History – July 3, 1898. The Naval Battle of Santiago Read More »
After “Las Guásimas,” the American and Cuban forces advanced toward Santiago’s outer defenses and prepared for an attack. On July 1, American General William Shafter decided on a two-prong assault, directed at San Juan Hill and the village of El Caney, which was defended by 520 men under the command of Spanish General Joaquin Vara …
This Day in Cuban History – July 1, 1898. The Land Assault (El Caney y San Juan Hill). Read More »
Following Cuban confiscation of American petroleum refineries for refusing to process Soviet crude, the United Sates forbade all exports to Cuba with a temporary exception of certain foods and medicine on June 29, 1960. Restrictions on travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens and residents followed on January 16, 1961, and the abolition of the Cuban …
This Day in Cuban History – June 29, 1960 United States Trade Embargo Read More »
Platt Amendment Repeal. A United States-Cuba Treaty of May 22, 1934, signed on May 29, abrogated the Platt Amendment except that acts effected during the United States intervention remained valid and the United States retained its base at Guantánamo, with the annual rent increased from $2,000 to $4,085.
On March 13, 1957, in one of the boldest actions of the anti-Batista rebellion, a group of forty men stormed the presidential palace in the center of Havana and almost succeeded in killing Batista. A rapid flight to one of the upper floors of the palace and opportune reinforcements saved his life. The Student Revolutionary Directorate, …
Helms-Burton Act – U.S. legislation introduced in 1995 by U.S. Senator Jesse Helms and Representative Dan Burton to decrease Cuba’s access to world trade, greatly augmenting the restrictions imposed by the Cuban Democracy Act, approved by the House 294 votes to 130 and by the Senate, 74-22. Its March 12, 1996 signing by President Clinton, as …
This Day in Cuban History – March 12, 1996. Helms-Burton Act – U.S. Read More »
