The shape of modern day Cuban society is undoubtedly and irreversibly built on the goal of withstanding imperialistic advances from the United States. Since the end of the 19th century, the United States has attempted to shape Cuba into an expendable asset that helps drive the economical wagon of the most powerful nation on earth. In this paper I will discuss the imperialistic endeavours America subjected Cuba to prior to the Cuban Revolution, how biased and misinformed reporting on Cuba has helped shape a negative image of Cuba and discuss Cuba’s involvement in ending a war between South Africa and Angola as well as Namibia gaining its long fought for independence. Since the Cuban Revolution, public perception of Cuba has been one of a country
…show more content…
In 1903 the United States government gained permission to have extensive involvement in Cuban international and domestic affairs through the Platt Amendment. This document legitimized American imperialistic gains in Cuba by among other things prohibiting Cuba from entering any treaty that “will impair or tend to impair the independence of Cuba” and that the United States has “the right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty”. The Platt Amendment severely limited Cuba’s ability to make political changes and gave the United States the right to interfere with Cuba based on ambiguous clauses that would be difficult to argue against. These political maneuvers weren’t the only way that the United States showed its imperial dominance over Cuba. A number of large American companies were heavily involved in Cuba over the first half of the 20th century including the infamous United Fruit Company. Many of the attitudes …show more content…
Stories of torture and murder including the collusion with the military in the 1928 massacre of striking workers in Santa Maria, Columbia have shaped the modern day image of the United Fruit Company. That said, much like soldiers fighting for the Nazi’s in World War 2, the cause of these human rights abuses weren’t necessarily because the white people working for the company were bad people, but because the system they worked under enforced a sense of racial and cultural superiority that rubbed off on them. Most of these men were normal, not especially racist people but when they began working on the United Fruit Companies’ plantations and were put in charge of groups of people based on ethnic privilege with long leashes and the ability to do almost entirely as they pleased resulted in the construction of heavy white masculinity. In James W. Martin’s piece Becoming Banana Cowboys he examined this white masculinity and wrote about one man’s formation of this as an example, Everett Brown worked as a surveyor for railroads and plantations. This work was rugged and hard on both
In 1903 the United States government gained permission to have extensive involvement in Cuban international and domestic affairs through the Platt Amendment. This document legitimized American imperialistic gains in Cuba by among other things prohibiting Cuba from entering any treaty that “will impair or tend to impair the independence of Cuba” and that the United States has “the right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty”. The Platt Amendment severely limited Cuba’s ability to make political changes and gave the United States the right to interfere with Cuba based on ambiguous clauses that would be difficult to argue against. These political maneuvers weren’t the only way that the United States showed its imperial dominance over Cuba. A number of large American companies were heavily involved in Cuba over the first half of the 20th century including the infamous United Fruit Company. Many of the attitudes …show more content…
Stories of torture and murder including the collusion with the military in the 1928 massacre of striking workers in Santa Maria, Columbia have shaped the modern day image of the United Fruit Company. That said, much like soldiers fighting for the Nazi’s in World War 2, the cause of these human rights abuses weren’t necessarily because the white people working for the company were bad people, but because the system they worked under enforced a sense of racial and cultural superiority that rubbed off on them. Most of these men were normal, not especially racist people but when they began working on the United Fruit Companies’ plantations and were put in charge of groups of people based on ethnic privilege with long leashes and the ability to do almost entirely as they pleased resulted in the construction of heavy white masculinity. In James W. Martin’s piece Becoming Banana Cowboys he examined this white masculinity and wrote about one man’s formation of this as an example, Everett Brown worked as a surveyor for railroads and plantations. This work was rugged and hard on both