The Republic of Cuba had maintained neutrality during much of World War I until German submarine warfare resumed on February 1, 1917. On April 7, one day after the United States entered the war, Cuba declared war on Germany and began to support the Allied war effort. Cuba also declared war on Austria-Hungary later that year, on December 16.
A draft law was enacted, and 25,000 soldiers were ready for shipment to France when the armistice intervened. A hospital unit of 100 Cuban doctors and nurses was equipped and sent to the Western Front (World War I).
Background
Mario Garcia Menocal (December 17, 1866 - September 7, 1941) served as President of Cuba from 1913 until 1921. Supported by the US and an economic boom, he maintained his office when World War I broke out. President Woodrow Wilson and the USA entered the war on April 6, 1917. With strong ties to its neighbours and put under preassure by New York Times reports of German U-boats resupplying in Cuba, the later followed suit an declared war on April 7.
Entering World War I
The Arizona Daily Star - Cuba declares war on Germany on Friday 7 April 1917.Original Spanish newspaper in 1917.
Because of the total submarine warfare declared by Germany and the continued sinking of ships of different neutral nationalities on the American shores, Brazil and Cuba had sent angry protest to the Germans. President Menocal, encouraged by the United States` entry into the war, asked the congress of Cuba to declare war as well, enthusiastically stating that Cuba could not remain neutral. The Cuban senate unanimously passed a resolution that a state of war existed against Germany and the Cuban congress approved the declaration of war on April 7, 1917.
After the declaration of war all German ships within Havana Harbor were seized. Likewise Cuban ports opened to Allied warships. Likewise, a bill was being drafted to authorize the offering of a contingent of 12,000 men to the United States.
Internal politics were strengthened by the declaration as liberals, who agreed with the move, decided to stop criticizing the government. In July 1917, the Menocal government suspended constitutional guarantees with the measure being claimed to be intended against German spies.
The Cuban government also agreed to the stationing of U.S. Marines on the island. However the Americans, afraid that this would undermine the national and international position of the Menocal government, announced that the goal of the intervention was to support the sugar harvest as major war contribution of Cuba, thus becoming known as Sugar Intervention.
The Cuban Red Cross was also reorganized, established operations in Europe and supported the Allied forces on the Western Front.
War on Austria-Hungary
The United States declaration of war on Austria-Hungary on December 7, 1917. Panama followed on December 10, 1917 and Cuba would do the same on December 16. From WW1, Cuba was given some recognition for their efforts in the form of donations from America, however, they lost money overall.
Recognition of Mexican government
In the midst of the diplomatic crisis, caused by the disappearance of the diplomatic baggage of Mexican Ambassador Isidro Fabela, the government of Cuba officially acknowledged the Constitutionalist government of Venustiano Carranza. Federico Jimenez O'Farril presented a handwritten letter of the Cuban president to the Mexican president in which he granted recognition.
Despite that diplomatic act, the relationship between the two countries cooled because of the treatment of the Mexican travelers in Havana.
Cuba's foreign policy has been fluid throughout history depending on world events and other variables, including relations with the United States. Without massive Soviet subsidies and its primary trading partner, Cuba became increasingly isolated in the late 1980s and early 1990s after the fall of the USSR and the end of the Cold War, but Cuba opened up more with the rest of the world again starting in the late 1990s when they have since entered bilateral co-operation with several South American countries, most notably Venezuela and Bolivia beginning in the late 1990s, especially after the Venezuela election of Hugo Chávez in 1999, who became a staunch ally of Castro's Cuba. The United States used to stick to a policy of isolating Cuba until December 2014, when Barack Obama announced a new policy of diplomatic and economic engagement. The European Union accuses Cuba of "continuing flagrant violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms". Cuba has developed a growing relationship with the People's Republic of China and Russia. In all, Cuba continues to have formal relations with 160 nations, and provided civilian assistance workers – principally medical – in more than 20 nations. More than one million exiles have escaped to foreign countries. Cuba's present foreign minister is Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.
The Zimmermann Telegram was a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico if the United States entered World War I against Germany. Mexico would recover Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. The telegram was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence.
A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a national government indicating that a state of war exists between that nation and another. A document by the Federation of American Scientists gives an extensive listing and summary of statutes which are automatically engaged upon the United States declaring war.
Gerardo Machado y Morales was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933.
The Allies of World War II were a group of countries that together opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War (1939–1945). The Allies promoted the alliance as a means to defeat Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan, Fascist Italy and their allies.
Aurelio Mario Gabriel Francisco García Menocal y Deop was the 3rd President of Cuba, serving from 1913 to 1921. His terms as president saw Cuba's participation in World War I.
The Banana Wars were occupations, police actions, and interventions on the part of the United States in Central America and the Caribbean between the end of the Spanish–American War in 1898 and the inception of the Good Neighbor Policy in 1934. These military interventions were most often carried out by the United States Marine Corps, which developed a manual, The Strategy and Tactics of Small Wars (1921) based on its experiences. On occasion, the Navy provided gunfire support and Army troops were also used.
Latin America–United States relations are relations between the United States of America and the countries of Latin America. Historically speaking, bilateral relations between the United States and the various countries of Latin America have been multifaceted and complex, at times defined by strong regional cooperation and at others filled with economic and political tension and rivalry. Although relations between the U.S. government and most of Latin America were limited prior to the late 1800s, for most of the past century, the United States has unofficially regarded parts of Latin America as within its sphere of influence, and for much of the Cold War (1947–1991), actively vied with the Soviet Union for influence in the Western Hemisphere.
The neutral powers were countries that remained neutral during World War II. Some of these countries had large colonies abroad or had great economic power. Spain had just been through its civil war, which ended on 1 April 1939 —a war that involved several countries that subsequently participated in World War II.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to World War I:
During World War I (1914–1918), Brazil initially adopted a neutral position, in accordance with the Hague Convention, in an attempt to maintain the markets for its export products, mainly coffee, latex and industrial manufactured items. However, following repeated sinking of Brazilian merchant ships by German submarines, President Venceslau Brás declared war against the Central Powers in 1917. Brazil was the only country in Latin America to be directly involved in the war. The major participation was the Brazilian Navy's patrol of areas of the Atlantic Ocean.
The American entry into World War I came in April 1917, after more than two and a half years of efforts by President Woodrow Wilson to keep the United States out of the war.
San Julián Air Base or Base Aérea San Julián is a military air base located approximately 8 mi (13 km) southwest of the city of Guane a municipality in the province of Pinar del Río in Cuba. The provincial capital, Pinar del Río is located to the northeast approximately 36 mi (58 km) with the capital of Havana also to the northeast 134 mi (216 km).
The Sugar Intervention refers to the events in Cuba between 1917 and 1922, when the United States Marine Corps was stationed on the island.
The history of Cuba during World War II begins in 1939. Because of Cuba's geographical position at the entrance of the Gulf of Mexico, Havana's role as the principal trading port in the West Indies, and the country's natural resources, Cuba was an important participant in the American Theater of World War II, and it was one of the greatest beneficiaries of the United States' Lend-Lease program. Cuba declared war on the Axis powers in December 1941, making it one of the first Latin American countries to enter the conflict. When the war ended in 1945, the Cuban military had developed a reputation of being the most efficient and co-operative Caribbean nation.
Liberia remained neutral for the first years of World War I, but on 4 August 1917, in the wake of the declaration of war upon the German Imperial Government by the United States of America, Liberia joined the Allied side, and is counted amongst the war's victors.
The 1917 United States declaration of war on Austria-Hungary, officially House Joint Resolution 169, was a resolution adopted by the United States Congress declaring that a state of war existed between the United States of America and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It occurred eight months after the earlier declaration of war against Germany that had brought the United States into World War I. Enacted on December 7, 1917 and coming into effect the same day, it was officially terminated in 1921, three years after the effective capitulation of Austria-Hungary.
The diplomatic history of World War I covers the non-military interactions among the major players during World War I. For the domestic histories of participants see home front during World War I. For a longer-term perspective see international relations of the Great Powers (1814–1919) and causes of World War I. For the following (post-war) era see international relations (1919–1939). The major "Allies" grouping included the British Empire, France, Russia, Italy and the United States. Opposing the Allies, the major Central Powers included Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). Other countries and their colonies also became involved. For a detailed chronology see timeline of World War I.
Following the United States declaration of war on Germany (1917), the Haitian government protested against the heavy German U-boat submarine activity in the area, and officially declared war on July 12, 1918.
The history of U.S. foreign policy from 1913–1933 concerns the foreign policy of the United States during World War I and much of the Interwar period. The administrations of Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover successively handled U.S. foreign policy during this period.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
