Cuba Libre: A 500-Year Quest for Independence

Description

This timely book provides a balanced and deeply knowledgeable introduction to Cuba since Christopher Columbus's first arrival in 1492. With decades of experience studying and reporting on the island, Philip Brenner and Peter Eisner provide an incisive overview for all readers seeking to go beyond stereotypes in their exploration of Cuba's politics, economy, and culture. As Cuba and the United States open their doors to each other, Cuba Libre gives travelers, policy makers, businesspeople, students, and those with an interest in world affairs an opportunity to understand Cuba from a Cuban perspective; to appreciate how Cubans' quest for independence and sovereignty animates their spirit and shapes their worldview and even their identity. In a world ever more closely linked, Cuba Libre provides a compelling model for US citizens and policy makers to empathize with viewpoints far from their own experiences. Contents Preface Part I: 1492–1958 1: Columbus Arrives and Spain Colonizes Cuba, 1492–1550 2: Sugar and Slavery 3: Struggle for Independence, 1868–1898 4: Cuban Independence War and US Occupation 5: From Occupation to “Good Neighbor” 6: Playground of the Western World and the Rise of Batista, 1934–1958 7: The Revolutionary Struggle, 1953–1958 Part II: 1959–1989 8: The Quest for Sovereignty 9: Consolidating the Revolution 10: Consolidating the Revolution 11: Bay of Pigs/Playa Girón1 12: The Missile Crisis 13: Foreign Policy in the 1960s 14: Internal Adjustments and Advancing Equality, 1963–1975 15: Becoming a Third World Leader, 1970s 16: Mariel Exodus—A Warning Signal, 1980 17: Change and Rectification at Home and Abroad, 1980s Part III: 1990–2016 18: The “Special Period” in a Time of Peace, 1990–2000 19: The Cuban Diaspora and Racial Inequality 20: Helms-Burton, US-Cuban Relations, and Terrorism, 1995–1998 21: The Pope Goes to Cuba; Elián Goes to Miami, 1998–2000 22: The Search for a Viable Strategy, 2001–2006 23: The Transition from Fidel to Raúl Castro, 2006–2009 24: Securing Cuba’s Independence through Economic Change, 2010–2016 25: Securing Cuba’s Independence through Foreign Policy, 2010–2016 26: Change, Continuity, and the Future Appendix Bibliography Index