Turner Fenton Secondary School – IA Essay
The Rise of Fidel Castro
DP History HL – CPW 4U8-A
Examine the conditions in Cuba and how they facilitated Fidel Castro’s rise to power in 1959.
A. Plan of Investigation
The Batista regime smothered the development of Cuba financially and socially, leaving the country oppressed and in poverty. Corruption ran high in Cuban government, with government officials making lucrative deals with American corporations with the sole purpose of self gain, leaving little for the average Cuban populace. Following the dethronement of this dictatorship, Cubans were looking for a leader and a saviour that would represent their needs and wants, and a leader whom they could trust. This investigation will attempt …show more content…
The purpose of this book was to provide a detailed outline of the history of Cuba since the arrival of Fidel Castro in Cuban politics. This source proves valuable as it provides abundant relevant statistics of Cuba from 1957-2000 and both primary and secondary source quotes relating to the events in Cuba under the rule of Fidel Castro. This is extremely valuable for the use of historiography in this investigation. For example, it provides Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs’ Special Assistant Hill’s original, unfiltered perspective of Castro’s rise to power, which was that “the impact that real honesty, especially at the working level…[has] awakened [the Cubans] enthusiastically to the need for social and economic reform..[however], we must insure that a successor government comports itself in our [US] interests”. However, this source also provides a Cuban perspective, which was that “[A domestic reform] is the indispensable prerequisite in every underdeveloped country for its industrial, political, social, and cultural progress” . This book considers the Cuban situation from several perspectives (i.e. American, Cuban – rich and poor, also Soviet), thereby providing more depth to the information …show more content…
The book’s purpose was to provide a revisionist perspective to the research performed for this investigation. This book provides value as it is written in a basic, laymen prose, and is easily understandable to a secondary school student. As simple as the writing style is, this book provides a very comprehensive revisionist outlook to the events of the Cuban Revolution and their influence on Cuban domestic and foreign affairs. Because it is a secondary revisionist source, it provides a more balanced perspective to the research done (as it counteracts other sources that were written during the Cuban Revolution, which may have been subject to the political or ideological influences during that time), and thus provides a greater understanding of the bias present within the sources used and a more thorough academic evaluation of historical significance. Additionally, this source was a recipient of the prestigious Choice Outstanding Academic Title of 2006, further verifying the reliability of information provided. Despite the apparent value it possesses, this book is limited in regard to the content on Fidel Castro’s rise to power it provides. Though critically analysed, the content of Castro’s rise to power is restricted to a mere chapter of the book, thereby
The Rise of Fidel Castro
DP History HL – CPW 4U8-A
Examine the conditions in Cuba and how they facilitated Fidel Castro’s rise to power in 1959.
A. Plan of Investigation
The Batista regime smothered the development of Cuba financially and socially, leaving the country oppressed and in poverty. Corruption ran high in Cuban government, with government officials making lucrative deals with American corporations with the sole purpose of self gain, leaving little for the average Cuban populace. Following the dethronement of this dictatorship, Cubans were looking for a leader and a saviour that would represent their needs and wants, and a leader whom they could trust. This investigation will attempt …show more content…
The purpose of this book was to provide a detailed outline of the history of Cuba since the arrival of Fidel Castro in Cuban politics. This source proves valuable as it provides abundant relevant statistics of Cuba from 1957-2000 and both primary and secondary source quotes relating to the events in Cuba under the rule of Fidel Castro. This is extremely valuable for the use of historiography in this investigation. For example, it provides Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs’ Special Assistant Hill’s original, unfiltered perspective of Castro’s rise to power, which was that “the impact that real honesty, especially at the working level…[has] awakened [the Cubans] enthusiastically to the need for social and economic reform..[however], we must insure that a successor government comports itself in our [US] interests”. However, this source also provides a Cuban perspective, which was that “[A domestic reform] is the indispensable prerequisite in every underdeveloped country for its industrial, political, social, and cultural progress” . This book considers the Cuban situation from several perspectives (i.e. American, Cuban – rich and poor, also Soviet), thereby providing more depth to the information …show more content…
The book’s purpose was to provide a revisionist perspective to the research performed for this investigation. This book provides value as it is written in a basic, laymen prose, and is easily understandable to a secondary school student. As simple as the writing style is, this book provides a very comprehensive revisionist outlook to the events of the Cuban Revolution and their influence on Cuban domestic and foreign affairs. Because it is a secondary revisionist source, it provides a more balanced perspective to the research done (as it counteracts other sources that were written during the Cuban Revolution, which may have been subject to the political or ideological influences during that time), and thus provides a greater understanding of the bias present within the sources used and a more thorough academic evaluation of historical significance. Additionally, this source was a recipient of the prestigious Choice Outstanding Academic Title of 2006, further verifying the reliability of information provided. Despite the apparent value it possesses, this book is limited in regard to the content on Fidel Castro’s rise to power it provides. Though critically analysed, the content of Castro’s rise to power is restricted to a mere chapter of the book, thereby