Hello, I'm Mr. Marchant.

and thank you for joining me for today's history lesson.

I'll be guiding you through all of our resources today and my top priority is to make sure that by the end of our lesson, you're able to successfully meet our learning objective.

Welcome to today's lesson which is part of our unit on the Transformation of the Cold War where we've been asking ourselves was the world on the brink of nuclear war? By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain the consequences of the Cuban Revolution.

There are three key words which will help us navigate our way through today's lesson.

Those are sphere of influence, nationalised, and embargo.

A sphere of influence is a region of the world in which one state is dominant.

If something is nationalised, we're referring to a situation when the government takes control of a business or property and an embargo is an official ban on trade with another country.

Today's lesson will be split into three parts and we'll begin by thinking about Cuba and the USA.

Cuba was a key location of interest for US leaders during the 19th and 20th centuries.

In the 1950s, three key factors explain the high levels of interest American politicians took in Cuba.

Those were security, politics, and economics, so we'll think about each of these three factors in turn, starting with security.

Cuba is located very close to the USA.

You can see both of them on the map on the screen.

The location of the USA highlighted in orange and Cuba located in green.

Cuba is less than 150 kilometres from the USA.

This makes it an ideal base to invade or attack the USA.

The USA has therefore always been alert to ensure that its rivals could not gain control over the island.

So thinking about what we've heard so far, we have a statement on the screen that says Cuba was considered a potential security risk for the USA.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was true, but we need to be able to justify our response, so two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that its close proximity meant it could potentially be used as a base for attacks by the USA's rivals and the second says that Cuba's large size and population made us leaders worry that it would try to invade the USA.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct justification was A.

Cuba was seen as a security risk for the USA because its close proximity meant it could potentially be used as a base for attacks by the USA's rivals.

Because Cuba was relatively weak compared to the USA, American leaders weren't really worried about the island nation trying to attack the USA, but about strong rivals using the island as a place to attack the USA.

Another reason why the USA was so interested in Cuba was because of politics.

The USA regarded all of the Americas as part of its sphere of influence.

This meant that the Americas were sometimes referred to as Americas a backyard.

The USA expected countries in the region to follow its lead.

Following the lead of the USA would also mean not becoming too close to other rival powers from outside the Americas.

In Cuba, the country's leader, General Batista, was closely allied to the USA and so in the 1950s, Cuba was a secure part of the American sphere of influence.

So I wanna make sure we have a secure understanding of what we've just heard.

Study the illustration shown on the screen.

Based on that illustration, which inference is most valid? That the USA traded a lot with countries in the Americas, that the USA fought many wars against countries in the Americas, or that the USA considered the Americas part of its sphere of influence? Pause a video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the most valid inference was C.

From the illustration, we might infer that the USA considered the Americas part of its sphere of influence.

This is because we can see a personification of the USA, sometimes known as Uncle Sam, standing across North and South America.

This represents how the USA expected to dominate over the Americas.

We can also see this personification holding a bat, something that they could use to bat away, to exclude any of rival powers from the region, allowing the USA to continue to dominate it.

And finally, economic reasons were another factor that kept us interest in Cuba very high in the 1950s.

The USA and Cuba were important trade partners.

Sugar was the main product produced and exported from Cuba and the USA was the main buyer of this.

2/3 of all Cuban imports came from the USA and American businesses and investors also had direct control over many areas of the Cuban economy.

For example, Americans owned 90% of Cuban mines, 80% of its public utilities, 50% of Cuban's railways, and 40% of all Cuban sugar production by 1959.

In other words, Cuba was a place where Americans were able to make a lot of money.

So thinking about what we've just heard, what percentage of Cuban mines were owned by US businesses in 1959? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well then to everybody who said that the correct answer was 90%.

90% of all Cuban mines were owned by US businesses by 1959, showing how the islands economy was dominated by the USA.

So we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about Cuba and the USA into practise.

I want you to match each factor and our factors are security, politics, and economics, to the description which best demonstrates why it led to US interest in Cuba in the 1950s.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So I asked you to match each factor to the description which best demonstrates why it led to US interest in Cuba in the 1950s.

So you should have said for security, the description which best demonstrates why that had the US interested in Cuba was because Cuba is less than 150 kilometres away from the USA.

For politics, you should have match it to the description that says the US considered all countries in the Americas to be part of its sphere of influence and for economics, you should have matched it to the description that said the USA made large profits from owning many Cuban businesses including 90% of its minds.

So we're now ready to move on to the second part of our lesson for today where we are going to think about the Cuban Revolution.

In 1959, the leader of Cuba, Fulgencio Batista, was overthrown in a revolution.

In Batista's place, a new leader, Fidel Castro, took power.

The revolution in Cuba and the new government of Castro quickly began to increase American concerns about the island.

Fulgencio Batista was a dictator who gained power in Cuba in 1952.

Batista was supported by the USA primarily because he was pro-American and anti-communist.

However there were many serious problems with how Batista governed Cuba.

For one, Batista's security forces responded to opposition violently, hoping to frighten the population out of challenging the government.

Corruption was also widespread.

Batista was able to earn millions by accepting bribes and many other Cuban officials also made personal fortunes by abusing their power.

Meanwhile over 1/3 of Cubans lived in poverty with many living in slum housing, so there was a big contrast between the majority of the population on the island and the way in which its leaders lived.

Subsequently support for rebel forces led by Fidel Castro increasingly grew.

At the very start of 1959, Batista and his leading ministers fled from Cuba, leaving Castro to take power on the island.

So let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we've just heard.

Which two reasons best explain why the USA supported Fulgencio Batista's government? Was it because Batista had similar ideas about democratic government, because Batista was an anti-communist, because Batista's social policies meant he was popular with Cubans, or because Batista was willing to back American interests? Remember there are two correct answers to this question.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answers were B and D.

The USA supported Fulgencio Batista's government because Batista was an anti-communist and he was willing to back American interests.

This backing was provided despite the fact there were also many problems with the way Batista ran Cuba.

Castro was a nationalist.

He hoped not only to improve the lives of the Cuban people, but also to reduce foreign power over the island.

In order to achieve these objectives which included large scale education and healthcare programmes, Castro nationalised all foreign-owned land in Cuba in May 1959.

Nationalisation mainly came at the expense of American businesses and investors and was opposed by the US government.

Nevertheless Castro went ahead with his plans anyway.

To many in the American government, Castro's behaviour suggested that he might be sympathetic to communist ideas and therefore also to the Soviet Union.

This suspicion was only deepened by the fact that Castro appointed a number of communists to leading positions in his government.

So let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we've just heard.

I want you to write the missing keyword from the following sentence.

In May 1959, Cuba, blank, all foreign-owned land on the island.

So what's the missing word? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was nationalised.

In May 1959, Cuba nationalised all foreign-owned land on the island.

And let's try another question.

This time I want you to identify one reason why the USA suspected Castro might be a communist.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done if you provided any of the following reasons.

That Castro appointed communists to leading government positions and Castro nationalised land in Cuba which sounded a bit like a communist idea to many American leaders.

So we're now ready to put all of our knowledge about the Cuban Revolution into practise.

I want you to explain two reasons why the USA was concerned by the Cuban Revolution.

You may consider how the revolution related to American security and their political and economic interest in the island.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all of your effort on that task.

So I asked you to explain two reasons why the USA was concerned by the Cuban Revolution and your answer may have included one reason why the USA was concerned by the Cuban revolution was that the USA was opposed to the new economic policies introduced in Cuba after its revolution.

For example, in May 1959, Fidel Castro nationalised all foreign-owned land in Cuba.

This was concerning for the USA as most foreign owners of Cuban land were US businesses and investors and so the new law mainly came at the expense of American economic interests.

So well done if one of your paragraphs looks something like that model there.

Your answer may also have included another reason why the USA was concerned by the Cuban Revolution was because the USA feared that it challenged its control over the Americas which it had considered to be part of its sphere of influence.

The overthrow of the pro-American Batista government threatened American political interests.

Subsequently Castro's new government proved willing to ignore the USA like when it nationalised all foreign-owned land in Cuba despite US government opposition.

So again, well done if one of your reasons looks something like that model there.

Alternatively you may have written another reason why the USA was concerned by the Cuban Revolution was because of Cuba's close location to the USA.

There were widespread suspicions amongst Americans that Castro might be a communist due to his nationalisation policies and the people that he appointed to his government.

As a result, they feared that Castro might cooperate with the USSR and Cuba could turn into a base from which the Soviet Union could threaten American security.

So really well done for all of your effort on that task, especially if the reasons that you explained look something like those models which we've just seen.

And now we're ready to move on to the third and final part of our lesson for today where we are going to focus on the consequences of the Cuban Revolution.

The Cuban Revolution had a significant impact on Cuba's relationship with both the USA and USSR.

The island became increasingly important as part of the Cold War rivalry between the superpowers.

Castro had hoped that he could work with the USA to redevelop Cuba, but in reality he encountered growing opposition from the US government.

President Eisenhower and his officials hoped they might steer Castro in the right direction by increasing pressure on his government.

After September 1959, the USA, which had been the main source of Cuban imports and the main buyer of Cuban exports, began increasing restrictions on American trade with the island.

However rather than reverse measures such as previous nationalisations, Castro turned instead to a new buyer, the Soviet Union.

In February 1960, Cuba and the USSR signed an agreement which saw Cuba sell sugar to the Soviets in return for economic aid including products such as oil and secretly weapons from the USSR.

US President Eisenhower responded to this agreement by increasing trade restrictions and in October 1960, began a complete trade embargo against Cuba.

However this only encouraged greater cooperation between Castro and the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev.

Khrushchev promised to provide Cuba with more weapons in case the US attempted to attack the island and overthrow Castro.

In January 1961, Eisenhower broke off US diplomatic relations with Cuba.

So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

What was the initial aim of US trade restrictions on Cuba? Was it to encourage Castro to change some of his policies, to ensure that Castro was overthrown from power, or was it to prevent Cuban companies taking business away from American companies in the US market? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was A.

Initially US trade restrictions introduced in late 1959 were aimed at encouraging Castro to change some of his policies.

Eisenhower and his government hoped that they could steer the Cuban leader in the right direction.

And let's try another question.

This time we have a statement which says the USA's trade restrictions pressured Castro into adopting policies more acceptable to the US government.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false but we need to be able to justify our response, so two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that Cuba launched an attack on the USA in order to overcome the new trade restrictions and the second says that Cuba made new agreements with the Soviet Union in order to overcome the new trade restrictions.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct justification was B.

Cuba made new agreements with the Soviet Union in order to overcome the new trade restrictions introduced by the USA.

So in other words, the USA's attempt to steer Castro in the right direction failed and actually pushed him closer to the Soviet Union.

Why was cooperation between Cuba and the USSR in 1960 so alarming for the US government? Was it because it increased Soviet power in the USA's sphere of influence, because it meant that US businesses could no longer trade in Cuba, or because it involved attacks on the USA launched from Cuba? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was A.

Cooperation between Cuba and the USSR was particularly alarming to the US government because it increased Soviet power in the USA's sphere of influence so it was seen as a major political challenge.

And finally, let's answer this question.

Which statement is most accurate? Cuba launched a trade embargo against the USSR in 1960.

the USA launched a trade embargo against Cuba in 1960, or the USSR launched a trade embargo against the USA in 1960? So which one of those is most accurate? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was B.

In 1960, the USA launched a trade embargo against Cuba.

So we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about the consequences of the Cuban Revolution into practise.

We have a view from Alex who says that, "American attitudes towards Castro's government in Cuba benefited Nikita Khrushchev and the USSR." Is Alex's view correct? I want you to write one paragraph to explain your answer.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So I asked you if Alex's view was correct and for you to write one paragraph to explain your answer.

Your answer may have included the USA was suspicious of Fidel Castro, especially after Castro nationalised foreign-owned land in Cuba and he appointed communists to leading positions in the government.

The USA introduced a trade embargo to try and discourage Castro from this type of behaviour.

However these restrictions benefited the USSR as Castro looked for an alternative trade partner to secure the goods Cuban needed.

In fact, over the course of 1960, Nikita Khrushchev not only made trade deals with Cuba, but also made a secret deal to arm it with Soviet weapons.

Therefore Alex's view is correct as American opposition to Castro allowed the Soviet Union to gain the support of a country located within the American sphere of influence.

So really well done if your own response looks something like that model we just seen.

And now we've reached the end of today's lesson which puts us in a good position to summarise our learning about the Cuban Revolution and its consequences.

We've seen that the USA was closely interested in Cuba for security, political and economic reasons in the mid 20th century.

The USA supported the Batista government in Cuba despite its widespread unpopularity by the late 1950s.

The Cuban Revolution saw the overthrow of the Batista government and Fidel Castro became the country's new leader.

The USA opposed Castro because of his nationalisation policies and the appointment of communists within its government.

A US trade embargo and a breaking off of diplomatic relations with Cuba encouraged Castro to work more closely with the USSR.

So really well done for all of your work throughout today's lesson.

It's been a pleasure to help guide you through our resources today and I look forward to seeing you again in future as we think further about the transformation of the Cold War and continue to ask ourselves was the world on the brink of nuclear war?.