Focus Question: 

When did countries in the Caribbean and in Central America became independent nations and how independence was achieved?

The Boston Globe, May 28, 1898 cartoon shows Uncle Sam seated in restaurant looking at the bill of fare containing "Cuba steak," "Porto Rico pig," the "Philippine Islands" and the "Sandwich Islands" (Hawaii) with President William McKinley saying to the waiter: "Well, I hardly know which to take first!"

Overview of Central American/Caribbean Independence Movements

 Click here for a "Crash Course" on Latin American Revolutions

• Click here for an overview of the Spanish-American War, which effected Puerto Rican and Cuban independence.

• Click here for another overview of the Spanish-American War

CROSS-LINK: America's Role in World Affairs from the Civil War to World War I

Mexico

CROSS-LINKS

• The Mexican-American War

• The Mexican Revolution

• Mexican Immigration to the United States

Background: (Click here for a timeline) 

• Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Mexico was home to the Aztecs.

• 1521: the Aztec empire fell. Europeans gained full control.

• 1810-1821: War for Independence, freed Mexico from Spain

• 1910: The Mexican revolution → led by mestizos (half-indigenous and half-Spanish-blooded Mexicans). 

The Mexican Revolution:

• Began 1910

• Liberals and intellectuals began to challenge the dictator Porfirio Diaz, who had been in power since 1877

• Violated principles and ideals of Mexican Constitution of 1857

• Francisco I. Madero, exiled for political activism, drafted the Plan of San Luis Potosí

• Called for uprising November 20, 1910

• Restore constitution of 1857

• “Replace dictator Diaz with a provisional government”

• Establish democratic republic

• Abolish unlimited presidential terms

• 1911: armed struggle in Chihuahua led by Pscual Orozco and Francisco “Pancho” Villa

• Success sparked uprisings across the country

• May 25, 1911: Diaz resigned and leaves country

• Francisco I. Madero became president after elections

• Assassinated in early 1913 by Victoriano Huerta, commander of federal forces, and joined Diaz’s nephew to seize power

• 1914: US president Woodrow Wilson sent American Marines to support revolutionaries. 

• Huerta’s presidency ended and Venustiano Carranza (supported by the US) “called for a constitutional convention to draft supreme law of Mexico”

• Final constitution approved in 1917, agrarian reform and economic rights for Mexican people present in constitution 

• Carranza effectively ignored its promises and the revolution continued until 1920 when Carranza was assassinated

(Background and Mexican Revolution information gathered from this article) 

Cuba

Fidel Castro, 1959

CROSS-LINKS:

• The Cuban Revolution

• The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962

History of U.S. Diplomacy with Cuba, 1898 to 2015 from U.S. Department of State

Fidel Castro, Cuban Revolutionary Who Defies U.S. Dies at 90 (November 25, 2016)


Brief Timeline of Cuban History from Michigan State University.

See also The Economic History and Economy of Cuba from the Department of Economics, San Jose State University

1895: Cuban War for Independence from PBS.

For a brief overview, see Spanish-American War for Cuba's Independence from the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, University of South Florida.

Jose Marti

Republic of Cuba History Archive from Marxists.org

See also

• Cuba in 1898 from the Library of Congress.

• The Struggle for Cuban Independence from Miami Dade Public Schools.

• The Cuban Revolution of 1959 from the Cold War Museum

Click here for a biography of Jose Marti

Click here for a look at the USA's perspective during the fight for Cuban Independence

Click here for a podcast of Cuban Independence

 Cuban Missile Launch Site 2, 1962

Cuba's New Now, National Geographic (August 2015)

Haiti

CROSS-LINK:  Toussaint L'Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution

Portrait of Toussain L'Ouverture 

Click here for a history of Haitian Independence

 Click here for a timeline of Haiti's history


Click here for the first part (4 parts total) of an essay on Haitian Independence

 PBS documentary: the Haitian Revolution (2009)

In return for its independence, France required Haiti to pay restitution for lost slaves and property. In today's money, the total debt was about 21 billion dollars. After the earthquake in 2010, France was urged to repay this money to help with rebuilding, but denied this request.

Click here for a video on Haitian Independence and the years following

Puerto Rico

CROSS-LINK: Puerto Rico: History and Government 

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Puerto Rico is the only territory that has never gained full independence. 

Click here to read article on the shift from Spanish to United States controlled Puerto Rico.

Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances 

Segundo Ruiz Belvis 

Click here to read an article explaining Grito de Lares (Cry of Lares), Puerto Rico's First and Only Cry for Independence. 

Click here for a timeline of Puerto Rican History

 Click here for a full history of Puerto Rico

Click here for a history of Puerto Rico in the Spanish-American War

Click here for a list of reasons why Puerto Rico is currently not an independent country

Link here for a timeline of Puerto Rico in the Spanish-American War

The Insular Cases

The Strange Case of Puerto Rico, Slate (October 9, 2017)

• In a series of decisions called the Insular Cases, the Court ruled that "unincorporated" territories like Puerto Rico did not have the full protections of the Constitution