Emergence of Communist Cuba Historiography

Historian view on weakness of political system

Robert Quirk – Batista’s corruption and repression delegitimised the political system.

positive: peasant support for castro

Historians on guerrilla war

Antoni Kapcia – “Urban networks mattered as much as mountain guerrillas.”

Richard Gott – The guerrilla war became a myth-making narrative, not the sole cause.

Historian on Castro’s early ideology

Samuel Farber – “Early Castroism was nationalist-reformist, not Marxist.”

Historian on the effect of the Cold War on the revolution

Piero Gleijeses – US hostility in the Cold War radicalised the revolution.

Historian view of Castro as second war of independence

Louis A. Pérez Jr. – The 1959 revolution was “1898’s unfinished business.”

Historian view on Castro as an organised movement

Julia E. Sweig – The 26th of July Movement was a broad coalition, not just guerrillas.