The Cuban Missile Crisis

Causes

1959- Fidel Castro led a revolution in Cuba
The US extracted all investments and businesses in Cuba
April 1961 – a group of Cuban exiles, backed by the CIA attempted to invade at the Bay of Pigs which was a failure. There was no official connection between the USA and the exiles but nonetheless, it was humiliating
The USA refused to buy Cuba's main export- sugar
Castro then declared his conversion to communism
14^th October 1962 – a U2 spy plane took photos of Cuba which showed that soviet intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) sites were being constructed. The missiles launched from these would be able to hit most US cities

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USA placed a naval blockade (quarantine) around Cuba to prevent the USSR from delivering any military materials by sea.
JFK televised address to the nation
The world waits as 18 soviet ships continue to sail towards Cuba – the world appears to be on the brink of nuclear war
24^th October – the ships turned around. JFK demanded the removal of all missiles in Cuba. Failure to do so would lead in a US invasion of Cuba
26^th October – Khrushchev sent a letter offering the removal of missiles if the blockade was removed
27^th October – Khrushchev sends the 2^nd letter. He would remove the missiles if the USA removed the missiles it had in turkey.
JFK agrees to terms of the 1^st letter and ignores the 2^nd letter. Khrushchev accepts the offer.
Privately, the USA agreed to remove missiles from turkey much later after the USSR removes the missiles from Cuba.

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The USA was considered to have won and JFK was seen as a hero
A period of detétente followed: A hotline was set up between Moscow and Washington, the partial test ban treaty, nuclear non- proliferation treaty
Khrushchev was sacked in 1964
After coming so close to a nuclear war, there was great relief among the people

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