Paths of the Cuban Revolution

1868-1959

“Our Revolution, with its style, with its essential characteristics, has very deep roots in the history of our country. That is why we said, and that is why it is necessary for all revolutionaries to understand it clearly, that our Revolution is a Revolution, and that this Revolution began on October 10, 1868”- Fidel Castro

The triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 marked an important step in the struggles for national liberation across the third world, and left a deep impact in left formations in the global north. This course seeks to engage with the historical context and concrete conditions that led to the victory of the Cuban revolutionaries and their project of transformation. The course will look into the forms of organization developed over time as well their strategies and tactics. Key to understanding the lessons of this process are the often unheard experiences of Women, Afro-Cubans, Youth and Workers in the narrative of the revolution going back 100 years. 

Class 1: Origins: Revolution and Abolition

The impact of the Haitian Revolution, the slave economy in Cuba and abolitionism as the basis for independence.

Class 2: Neo-Colonialism under the US

US intervention in the struggle for independence and the Neo-colonial republic.

Class 3: From Moncada to the Sierra Maestra

The Generation of the Centennial and the Struggle against a Dictatorship.