The Comparison of Haiti and Cuba throughout 1940-1960 - Assignment Example

HAITI Figure Graham Bartman,“Haiti” As specified in the 1987 Constitution of Haiti, the national flag, as an emblem of the Haitian Nation, shown in Figure 1, may be described as containing the following : two equal sized horizontal bands: a blue on top and red at the bottom; the coat of arms of the Republic placed at the center on a white square; with the coat of arms of the Republic being a Palm tree surmounted by the liberty cap and under the palms a trophy with the legend: “In Union there is Strength”. ("Discover History") Figure 2. CIA, “The World Fact Book: Haiti” Figure 2 shows the political map of Haiti, being located in the Caribbean, consisting of the western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, situated between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic Present Day Fact List (“Haiti”) Official Name – Republic of Haiti Land Area – 27,750 sq km Capital – Port-au-Prince Type of Government – Republic Population – 8,706,497 (2007) Currency – Gourde (HTG) Languages – French and Creole Ethnicity – black (95%), mulatto and white (5%) Religion – Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (note: roughly half of the population practices voodoo) Climate – tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds Introduction At the turn of the 20th century, the United States’ interest in Haiti grew as the prospect of war in Europe loomed. The British, French and Germans also claimed interest in this country. Using the Monroe Doctrine, a policy opposing European intervention in the Western Hemisphere, and the Roosevelt Corollary, which applies direct intervention to check the influence of European powers in Latin America, the United States invaded Haiti in 1915. The occupation lasted a total of 19 years (1915 to 1934). The Haitian Constitution was reformulated and the Army of Haiti was organized. In 1934, after a formal ceremony, authority was transferred to the Garde Nationale and the last contingent of U.S. marines left Haiti. Haiti : Timeline 1940-1960 The year 1940 marked the penultimate year of Stenio Vincent’s twelve-year reign, as president (Tata). Vincent was succeeded by Elie Lescot in 1941, the year Haiti declared war against the Axis Powers following the formal entry of the US to World War II. In 1942, Haiti entered into agreements with the US aimed at reinforcing the military, naval and economic position of the island. By of 1943, political tension escalated with student riots, prompting the resignation of the entire cabinet on January 10, 1946 characterized by days of riot, looting and bloodshed. Col. Frank Lavaud established a military junta on January 12th after Lescot went on a self exile to Canada. National elections were held on May 12th with the moderate Democrats landing majority of seats in Congress. Defeat of the leftists led to new turmoil, precipitating the declaration of Martial Law on May 28 (“Haiti Archives”) . The military junta handed over the presidency to a civilian, Dumarsais Estime, a black Haitian and anti-mulatto, who initially showed genuine concern for the welfare of the Haitians ("Synopsis"). The year 1946 also saw a number of towns in Haiti hit by earthquakes in the Carribean area (“Haiti Archives”). In 1948, Haiti outlawed the Communist Party in the most notable historical event of the year, overshadowing the 75 percent increase in the country’s minimum wage. By 1949, political situations in Haiti turned volatile in February as opposition groups brought on a state of siege. As 1949 came to a close, Estime freed all political prisoners and conditions somehow improved. (“Haiti Archives”). Estime attempted to secure passage of Haiti’s first social security legislation but failed. He expanded the school system, established rural cooperatives, raised the salaries of civil servants, and increased middle and lower class blacks to the public sector. However, Estime eventually fell victim to elite grievances and personal ambition. After attempting to manipulate the constitution to extend his term, the army forced Estime to resign on May 10, 1950. followed by his exile to Jamaica. Paul Eugene Magloire emerged as the new president during the following elections (US Library of Congress). In 1951, Haiti was among the first countries to comply with a UN decreed arms embargo against Communist China. The following year, the Congress amended its Civil Code to allow foreign companies to sue Haitian firms without prior authorization of the President. In April, 1953, Haiti became the first country in Latin America to offer security to American investors against future currency inconvertibility or expropriation Haiti also became the 55th member of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. In 1954, Magloire lead a mission which visited Latin American countries to denounce Communism (“Haiti Archives”). Hurricane Hazel devastated the island in the same year ("Synopsis"). Woman suffrage became the biggest historical event of 1955. On December 12, 1956, General Magloire "resigned" from power and left for a forced exile in Jamaica. Joseph Nemours Pierre-Louis became provisional president until elections were held. Pierre-Louis was unable to stay longat the helm of the government as Franck Sylvain replaced him on February 7, 1957. Sylvain, like Pierre Louis did not last long. Duvalier won the 1957 elections. Duvalier’s election, however, did not change the political scenario. In July, 1959, a failed coup attempt was used as an excuse to bestow Duvalier with unlimited powers to rule by decree. Duvalier used this unlimited powers to oust six senators for openly criticizing him. US senator Jean David, regarded this action as a proof that “Duvalier is a dictator”. In 1960, Duvalier denied recogntion of the pope-appointed Haitian apostolic administrator in place of the expelled Archbishop François Poirier, whom the former suspected of supporting communists. Works Cited Bartram, Graham. "Haiti." 2007. The Flags Institute website. 6 April 2008 . "Discover History". "The Haitian Flag." not dated. 6 April 2008 . “Haiti Archives”. Encarta. CD-ROM. Redmond, Washington, 2006. "Synopsis of Haitian History" .not dated. Discover History. 6 April 2008 . Tata, R. "Haiti." Microsoft Encarta . Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2006. US Library of Congress. "The History of Haiti." not dated. Traveling Haiti website. 6 April 2008 . CUBA Figure 3. Graham Bartram, “Cuba”. The Cuban flag shown in Figure 1 is composed of five equal horizontal bands of blue (top, center and bottom), alternating with white bands; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bearing and white 5-pointed star in the center. Figure 4. CIA, “The World Fact Book: Cuba” It may be gleaned from Figure 4 that Cuba is located in the Caribbean, an island situated between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida (Central Intelligence Agency) Present Day Fact List (Central Intelligence Agency) Official Name – Republic of Cuba Land Area – 110,860 sq km Capital – Havana Type of Government – Communist state Population – 11,394,043 (July 2007 estimate.) Currency – Cuban peso (CUP) and Convertible peso (CUC) Languages – Spanish Ethnicity – mulatto (51%), white (37%), black (11%), Chinese (1%) Religion – nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to Castro assuming power; Protestants, Jehovahs Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented Climate – tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) Introduction The 1930s was marked by increased student demonstrations and popular unrest caused by the oppressive regime of General Gerardo Machado. Many Cubans consider him as the first full fledged dictator of Cuba. Machado’s government has sown violence and unrest, up to the point that it has twisted its own constitution and laws for its own benefit. Attempts to crush the opposition has succeeded at some point but the rumblings of a new revolution was never silenced. Cuba : Timeline 1940 - 1960 The Cuban Constitution was framed by a national assembly in 1940, the same year that Fulgencio Batista was elected Cuba’s fourteenth president. World War II broke out during Batista’s term and Cuba fought alongside the Allies. Cuba also and established diplomatic relations with the then USSR (Sierra). Currency shortage was Cuba’s historical event in 1942 (“Cuba Archives”) In 1943, Cuba’s Communist Party was legalized by President Batista. Ramon Grau San Martin was elected as the fifteenth president of the country in 1944 and was acclaimed as the first Cuban president to openly defy America. dominance. San Martin also supported the cause of the lower class. On October 10, 1945, Cuba became a member of the United Nations (Sierra). American Secretary of State James F. Byrnes announced US plans to turn over their bases to the Cuban government, frustrating the Communist’s Party’s make political capital out of the air bases early in 1946. The planned transfer was effected in the same year. The Cuban People’s Party was formed in May 15, 1947 (Wilkinson). The 1948 elections saw Carlos Prio Socarras elected as the sixteenth president of Cuba, while former president Fulgencio Batista was elected to the Cuban Senate. Future Cuban leader Fidel Castro got involved in the Bogotazo uprising in Bogota, Columbia in April 9 of the same year (Wilkinson). Unemployment, labor unrest and delicate political balance characterized 1949 in the history of Cuba. The year 1950 saw Cuba asserting its position in international affairs with the United by voting in favor of military intervention in the Korean crisis, while abstaining on the revocation of the ban against the French government. In 1951, the Cuban government was a party in the strained labor-management relations. (“Cuba Archives”) In a bloodless take over, Batista overthrew Socarra and cancelled the elections of 1952 (Wilkinson). In 1953, Castro led a failed attack of the army barracks in Santiago de Cuba and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The following year, Batista announced general elections scheduled November 1, and outlawed theCuban Communist Party in October 31. The year was also marked by the publication and nationwide circulation of Fidel Castro’s speech, “History Will Absolve Me” and Batista’s victory in the 1954 elections. In 1955, Fidel Castro and his conspirators were released from prison following a general amnesty. Then US vice president Richard Nixon and CIA chief Allen Dulles visited Cuba in 1955 during separate occasions (Sierra). In 1956, brothers Fidel and Raul Castro, met with Che Guevarra and other Cuban revolutionaries in Mexico. Another failed government take-over was attempted by Castro and his cohorts on November 25. Civil strife started on January 17, 1957 with a successful attacks on an army garrison near La Plata River. On November 4, El Cubano Libre (The Free Cuban), the newspaper of the Rebel Army, was published by Che Guevarra. The year 1958 saw the upsurge of public support for the rebel cause amidst the continued violence and harassment perpetrated by Batista and his followers. On the rebel front, Castro and his men continued their offensive In a “mock” election during the same year, Batista’s presidential candidate, Andres Rivero Aguero, was declared the winner. By January 1, 1959, revolutionaries have taken control of Cuba. Batista fled the country with his family and close associates. On January 7 of the same year, the U.S. government officially recognized the new government. Che Guevarra made initial contact with the Soviet Union as a prelude to the rising tide of communism. The final year of this timeline essay - 1960 witnessed Cuba slowly embracing communists as allies in trade until the two countries finally forged diplomatics relatins on May 8th. Works Cited Bartram, Graham. "Cuba." 2007. The Flag Institute website. 6 April 2008 . “Haiti Archives”. Encarta. CD-ROM. Redmond, Washington, 2006. Central Intelligence Agency. "The World Fact Book : Cuba." 20 March 2008. 6 April 2008 . Sierra, Jerry A. "Timetable History of Cuba." not dated. History of Cuba. 6 April 2008 . Wilkinson, Jerry. "History of Cuba." not dated. Keys Historeum. 2007 April 2008 . HAITI AND CUBA : Timeline 1940 – 1960 Comparison and Contrast The countries Cuba and Haiti may be considered geographically as neighbors, separated by a strait in the Carribean Sea called the Windward Passage. As to land area, Haiti is only about one fourth of the size of Cuba. In terms of population, however, Haiti’s people count is just 23.5 percent lesser than Cuba, implying a higher population density in Haiti, which is roughly 314 people per square kilometer of space, compareed to Cuba’s only 103 people per square kilometer. Haiti speaks predominantly French and Creole, while Cubans are Spanish speaking. Haiti is predominantly black, while Cuba is predominantly mulatto. In terms of their monetary unit, both of Cuba’s two official currencies have higher values than the Haitian gourde. Under current rates, 26.50 Cuban pesos (CUP) is worth one US Dollar (USD), while the Cuban convertible peso (CUP) is 0.93 compared with USD 1. Some 38.34 Haitian gourde (HTG) is exhanged for USD 1 – these imply that Cuba has a better than economy than Haiti. Finally, Haiti likes to believe that it is a republic, while Cuba is a communist country Viewed from the 1940 – 1960 timelines, the following summary points out the similarities and differences of the two neighbors Haiti and Cuba: Both fought side by side with the United States and its Allies during World War 2. Both Haiti and Cuba were and are still members of the United Nations. Both countries frequently utilized government take-overs as a means to address political reforms, although they were more frequent in Haiti. Political leaders of both countries recognized and effectively used the military to remain in power or supress opposition. While Cuba legalized its Communist Party in 1943, Haiti outlawed the Communist Party in 1948, although the Communist Party was again outlawed in Cuba in 1954. Political conflicts in Haiti were engendered from ethnicity issues while Cuban unrest was characterized by struggles between the elite and the working class. The turnover of presidents is much faster in Haiti than in Cuba, to wit - during the 1940-1960 timeline, Cuba only had four presidents while Haiti had a total of nine elected and provisional presidents. Read More