The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
Background:
In 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew the government and established communist rule in Cuba
US President Kennedy viewed the Cuban government as a threat because Cuba was located close to the US.
Kennedy supported the Cuban exiles to overthrow the Castro government but they failed.
The US attempts to drew Cuba closer to the USSR.
Developments:
In 1962, the US discovered the building of a Soviet nuclear missile base in Cuba.
Developments:
In 1962, the US discovered the building of a Soviet nuclear missile base in Cuba.
Kennedy responded with national mobilization and a naval blockade of Cuba.
The risk of potential nuclear was finally removed, as Khrushchev, the new Soviet leader, agreed to moved the missiles from Cuba if Kennedy promised not to invade Cuba and to remove the US missiles from Turkey, which shared a border with the USSR.
The risk of potential nuclear was finally removed, as Khrushchev, the new Soviet leader, agreed to moved the missiles from Cuba if Kennedy promised not to invade Cuba and to remove the US missiles from Turkey, which shared a border with the USSR.
The significance:
The danger of nuclear war brought the US and the USSR closer, e.g., setting up of a hotline telephone link connecting Moscow and Washington and the signing of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
The peaceful settlement of the crisis paved the way for Detente in the 1970s.