Background: The Bay of Pigs and Operation Mongoose

Cold War – The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

In this course, Professor Mark White (Queen Mary, University of London) explores one of the most crucial events of the Cold War - the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. We begin by thinking about the background to the Cuban Missile Crisis, including Kennedy’s policies towards Cuba in 1961 and early 1962 – and especially the Bay of Pigs Invasion. In the second module, we examine Nikita Khrushchev’s decision to install medium-range nuclear missiles in Cuba. In the third module, we think about events from late summer through to early autumn, by which point the situation in Cuba has become a major talking-point in US politics. In the fourth module, we think about the ‘private’ phase of the crisis between 14-22 October, before turning in the fifth module to the ‘public’ phase of the crisis between 22-28 October.

Background: The Bay of Pigs and Operation Mongoose

In this module, we think about the background to the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, focusing in particular: (i) John F. Kennedy’s comments on Communism during the 1960 presidential election; (ii) the disastrous Bay of Pigs Invasion; (iii) the various activities aimed at destabilising the Castro regime as part of ‘Operation Mongoose’; and (iv) Kennedy’s huge military build-up in the early years of his presidency.