The Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis

Vocabulary flashcards covering the Cold War arms race, background of US-Cuban relations, the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, and the key developments of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

A Cold War doctrine arising from the arms race where both the USA and USSR possessed sufficient nuclear weaponry to destroy each other completely, prompting a strategic desire for a 'First Strike Capability.'

First Strike Capability

The capacity to launch a preemptive nuclear attack that completely destroys an opponent's nuclear arsenal before they can retaliate.

Fulgencio Batista

The US-supported dictator who seized power in Cuba in 1952 and fled the country on 01 January 1959, taking more than $40 million in government funds.

Sphere of Influence

A geographic area over which a superpower claims political and economic dominance; after World War II, the USA viewed Cuba (located 150 km south of the US) as falling within its regional sphere.

US Economic Interests in Cuba (1950s)

US financial holdings totaling approximately $1 billion by the late 1950s, comprising 90% of Cuban mines, 80% of public utilities, 50% of railways, 40% of sugar production, and 25% of bank deposits.

26 of July Movement

The revolutionary nationalist movement led by Fidel Castro from the mountains, named after the attack on the Santiago de Cuba army barracks on 26 July 1953.

Fidel Castro's Reforms

Socioeconomic policies introduced by Fidel Castro upon taking power in 1959, consisting of nationalisation of industries, redistribution of land, and collectivisation.

US Trade Embargo on Cuba

Economic penalties placed on Cuba by the USA following Castro's nationalisation policies, which broke diplomatic ties and prohibited the purchase of Cuban sugar, driving Cuba to trade sugar for Soviet fuel.

Domino Effect

The geopolitical concern held by the USA that allowing a Soviet-backed government to exist 150 km away in Cuba would cause neighboring Latin American countries to fall to communism.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

A 1961 failed military invasion of Cuba organized by the CIA and approximately 300,000-exile recruitment networks that was defeated by Castro's forces within 3 days, leading Castro to proclaim himself communist.

Medium Range Ballistic Missiles (MRBMs)

Soviet nuclear weapon systems secretly installed at field launch sites (such as San Cristobal No 1) in Cuba in 1962 following the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Jupiter Missiles in Turkey

Nuclear missiles installed in 1959 by the USA in NATO-member Turkey along the Soviet border, which the USSR viewed as a provocative threat to their security.

Che Guevara

A key leader of the Cuban Revolution who encouraged the USSR to base nuclear missiles in Cuba after the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion; he was assassinated in Bolivia in 1969.

U2 Spy Plane

An American reconnaissance aircraft that captured aerial photographic proof of Soviet MRBM launch sites under construction in Cuba on 14 October 1962.

Quarantine

A naval blockade implemented by President J.F. Kennedy to surround Cuba and prevent Soviet ships from delivering nuclear missiles.

Brinkmanship

The foreign policy strategy of escalating a confrontation to the extreme verge of active war before pulling back, as practiced by both the USA and the USSR in October 1962.

Thirteen Days (16–28 October 1962)

The period of acute nuclear confrontation during the Cuban Missile Crisis when Soviet ships approached the US quarantine line before being ordered by Moscow to turn back.

Cuban Missile Crisis Resolution

The settlement where Khrushchev dismantled Soviet missile sites in Cuba in return for a public US pledge not to invade Cuba and a secret US commitment to remove missiles from Turkey within six months.

Hotline

A direct telephone communications link created between the leadership of the USA and the USSR after the Cuban Missile Crisis to rapidly diffuse future conflicts.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

An agreement reached between the Cold War superpowers in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis to de-escalate tensions and restrict nuclear tests.

Nikita Khrushchev

The leader of the USSR who placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, resolved the crisis with Kennedy, and was later unseated as leader of the CPSU in 1964.

John F. Kennedy

The US President who oversaw the Bay of Pigs operation, enforced the Cuban naval quarantine, and negotiated the peaceful resolution of the missile crisis; he was assassinated on 22 November 1963.