Figure 1.--This photo postcard shows two Cuban boys and their goat cart at the Cuban town of Guantanamo. The United States after the Spanish American War which liberated Cuba obtained a lease for a naval base at Guantanamo Bay. The base became an important part of the Panama Canal defenses. The snapshot was taken from a sailor aboard the battleship 'USS Arkansas' probably in 1919 just after World War I.

Cuba was still a newly independent country when World War I broke out in Europe. Cuba's economy was based primarily on sugar, exporting sugar. Cuba was the world's largest exporter. Sugar became a particularly scarce food commodity during the War. Sugar beet production in Europe was affected by the fiughting. In Germany and Austria-Hungary food inclus=ding sugar became sarce because of the Royal Navy blockade. Among the Allies it became scarse because of American policies toward Cuba. Herbert Hoover oversaw the International Sugar Commission who sought to limit the sugar prices. Unlike other agricultural commodities Hoover sought to regulate, sugar was mostly imported and Cuba was the primary source. The inevitable impact of price controls set at abnormally low levels was to produce a shortage. The situation was further worsened by uban politics. Conservative Cuban president Mario García Menocal was re-elected (November 1916). His Liberal opponents began to question the validity of the election. This led to an armed insurgency led by former president José Miguel Gómez. The Liberal foirces were most active in Eastern Cuba. The Liberals failed to unseat President Menocal, but as a result of their insurgency disorder abd banditry became commin in the countryside. American sugarcane plantation owners pleaded for protection. The captain of the the USS Paducah< landed a small force (February 1917). The Cuban Government was prepared to cooperate with the United States after America declared war on Germany (April 1917). Cuba also declared war on Cuba. As the Liberals were also aznti-German, this help to defuse the politicazl situatrion. This meant that the Allies had access to an important source of sugar. President Mario Menocal proposed that Cuban join with the United States in pursuing 'international justice'. The Cuban Congress approved the policy. Cuba's geographical position made it difficult to pursue any other policy. Cuba was an important part of the American defenses of the Panama Canal. The United States had a naval base at Guantanamo. Cuba's declaration of war on Germany meant that it was virtually impossible for German U-boats to operate in the Caribbean. Most of the other islands were British and French colonies and thus histile to Germany. The Cubans interred German and Austrian citizens in a camp. The Cubans sent a hospital unit of 100 Cuban doctors and nurses which set up on the Western Front. The Government approved a conscription law and 25,000 Cuban soldiers were preparing for transport to France when the Armistice ended the War (November 1918). Unrest in the countryside unerved planters who oleaded for protection. The Cuban Government cooperated in this, inviting American interventioin, offering what they called 'trining' camops. Anerican Marines began arriving (August 1917). This became known as 'The Sugar Intervention". The sugar price issue with the United States was finally resolved and Cuban planters increased production. The American intervention proved very uppopular, but Cuba would achueve a record sugar harvest (1918). The shortage turned into a glut after the War and the price plummeted to only 1.8¢ a pound, adversely affecting the economy.

Created: 7:21 PM 6/25/2013
Last updated: 7:22 PM 6/25/2013