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Cuba University Entrance History Exam study materials
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Cuba University Entrance History Exam practice questions

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Question 1Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

¿Cuál era el nombre taíno de la isla que los españoles llamaron Cuba?

  1. Quisqueya
  2. Borinquen
  3. Haití
  4. Cubanacán Correct answer.

Explanation

Los taínos designaban la isla como Cubanacán, término que los cronistas recogieron al llegar en 1492. Borinquen corresponde a Puerto Rico y Quisqueya a La Española, islas vecinas del mismo grupo cultural.

Question 2Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

¿Qué enmienda constitucional estadounidense se incorporó a la Constitución cubana de 1901 y condicionó la independencia de la isla?

  1. La Enmienda Platt Correct answer.
  2. La Enmienda Teller
  3. La Enmienda Spooner
  4. La Enmienda Foraker

Explanation

La Enmienda Platt fue aprobada por el Congreso de Estados Unidos en 1901 y se insertó como apéndice en la Constitución cubana, otorgando a Washington el derecho de intervenir y de establecer bases navales. Definió jurídicamente la condición neocolonial de la República proclamada en 1902.

Question 3Cuba after1959: revolution, Cold War and institutions

¿Qué acontecimiento marcó la salida del poder de Fulgencio Batista y el inicio del proceso revolucionario cubano en enero de 1959?

  1. El triunfo de la huelga general y la huida de Batista el 1 de enero de 1959 Correct answer.
  2. La promulgación de la Constitución socialista de 1976
  3. El asalto al Cuartel Moncada en Santiago de Cuba
  4. La invasión de Playa Girón por fuerzas contrarrevolucionarias

Explanation

El 1 de enero de 1959 Batista abandonó el país ante el avance del Ejército Rebelde y el respaldo de una huelga general convocada por el movimiento obrero. Ese vacío de poder permitió la entrada de las columnas rebeldes en La Habana y abrió la etapa de construcción del nuevo Estado.

Question 4Cuba after1990: crisis, reform and dated historical milestones

El Período Especial en Cuba se declaró oficialmente en 1990 principalmente como respuesta a la crisis provocada por la desaparición del campo socialista y el recrudecimiento del bloqueo estadounidense. ¿Qué nombre recibió el conjunto de medidas de emergencia adoptadas entonces para enfrentar la escasez?

  1. Batalla de Ideas
  2. Período Especial en Tiempo de Paz Correct answer.
  3. Plan Macareño
  4. Reforma Económica de 1993

Explanation

El gobierno cubano denominó oficialmente a la crisis de los años noventa "Período Especial en Tiempo de Paz", expresión que aludía a la contracción económica extrema sin conflicto bélico abierto. Las demás denominaciones corresponden a programas o momentos distintos de la política económica cubana.

Question 5Historical evidence, chronology and justified interpretation

Un estudiante ordena estos hechos de la historia de Cuba: 1) Asalto al Cuartel Moncada, 2) Triunfo de la Revolución, 3) Invasión de Bahía de Cochinos, 4) Crisis de los Misiles. ¿Cuál secuencia es cronológicamente correcta?

  1. 1, 2, 3, 4 Correct answer.
  2. 2, 1, 4, 3
  3. 1, 2, 4, 3
  4. 1, 3, 2, 4

Explanation

El asalto al Moncada ocurrió en 1953, el triunfo revolucionario en enero de 1959, la invasión de Bahía de Cochinos en abril de 1961 y la crisis de los misiles en octubre de 1962. Por tanto el orden 1-2-3-4 respeta la sucesión temporal de los acontecimientos.

Question 6Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

On October 10, 1868, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes initiated the Cuban independence struggle at his sugar plantation La Demajagua. What was his first revolutionary decree regarding enslaved persons?

  1. He granted immediate and unconditional freedom to his own slaves and invited them to join the struggle for Cuban independence as free citizens Correct answer.
  2. He maintained slavery unaltered until Spanish colonial authorities could be formally compensated
  3. He sold his enslaved laborers to purchase arms and ammunition in Jamaica
  4. He ordered enslaved persons to remain on plantations under Spanish military oversight

Explanation

At the sugar mill La Demajagua on October 10, 1868, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes rang the bell to convene his enslaved workers, declared them free men ('¡Ciudadanos, hasta este momento habéis sido esclavos míos!'), and invited them to join the armed struggle for a free and independent Cuba as equal citizens.

Question 7Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What was the fundamental historic achievement of the Guáimaro Assembly held in Camagüey in April 1869?

  1. The political unification of the revolutionary forces from Oriente, Camagüey, and Las Villas, and the adoption of Cuba's first republican constitution Correct answer.
  2. The signing of a peace treaty with the Spanish Crown granting colonial autonomy
  3. The unconditional surrender of the Cuban Liberation Army to General Martínez Campos
  4. The annexation of Cuba to the United States as a federal territory

Explanation

The Guáimaro Assembly (Asamblea de Guáimaro, April 10–12, 1869) unified the regional revolutionary movements (Oriente, Camagüey, and Las Villas), established the Republic in Arms (República de Cuba en Armas), elected Carlos Manuel de Céspedes as President, and approved Cuba's first Constitution, which proclaimed universal human equality and the absolute abolition of slavery.

Question 8Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

Which prominent Cuban revolutionary leader conducted the legendary cavalry rescue of Brigadier Julio Sanguily on October 8, 1871?

  1. Ignacio Agramonte y Loynaz Correct answer.
  2. Antonio Maceo Grajales
  3. Máximo Gómez Báez
  4. Vicente García González

Explanation

On October 8, 1871, Mayor General Ignacio Agramonte, at the head of only 35 Camagüey cavalrymen, launched a daring machete charge against a Spanish column of 120 riflemen to successfully rescue the captured Brigadier Julio Sanguily, a feat considered a masterpiece of Cuban military tactics.

Question 9Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What military innovation did General Máximo Gómez introduce into Cuban warfare at the battle of Tienda de El Pino (or Pino de Baire) on November 4, 1868?

  1. The mass machete charge (la carga al machete), turning the common agricultural tool into a devastating shock weapon Correct answer.
  2. Trench warfare with heavy artillery fortifications
  3. Naval submarine warfare against Spanish transport galleons
  4. Aerial reconnaissance using hot air observation balloons

Explanation

On November 4, 1868, at Tienda de El Pino (Pino de Baire), Máximo Gómez led the first mass machete charge in Cuban history. Transforming the rustic cane-cutting machete into a terrifying cavalry weapon, the charge routed superior Spanish infantry and became the signature tactic of the Liberation Army.

Question 10Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What were the primary internal causes that led to the collapse of the Ten Years' War and the signing of the Pact of Zanjón in February 1878?

  1. Regionalism, indiscipline, caudillismo, and internal seditions (such as Lagunas de Varona and Santa Rita) that fractured Cuban military and political unity Correct answer.
  2. A complete lack of popular Cuban support for the independence cause from the outset
  3. The intervention of the United States military on behalf of Spain
  4. The total annihilation of all Cuban mambí combatants by Spanish forces

Explanation

The Ten Years' War (1868–1878) ended not because Spain conquered the Cuban army militarily, but due to internal political fragmentation: corrosive regionalism, lack of civilian-military coordination, the deposing of Céspedes, caudillismo, and military seditions (Lagunas de Varona in 1875 and Santa Rita in 1877).

Question 11Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

On March 15, 1878, General Antonio Maceo held a historic conference with Spanish General Arsenio Martínez Campos at Mangos de Baraguá. What was Maceo's resolute stance?

  1. He rejected the Pact of Zanjón because it neither granted Cuban independence nor abolished slavery, declaring that hostilities would resume (Protesta de Baraguá) Correct answer.
  2. He accepted the Spanish peace proposal on the condition that he receive a personal pension in Spain
  3. He proposed the indefinite annexation of Cuba to the United States
  4. He surrendered his army and pledged eternal loyalty to King Alfonso XII

Explanation

At Mangos de Baraguá on March 15, 1878, Antonio Maceo uttered his immortal refusal to accept peace without independence and without the total emancipation of enslaved Cubans: 'No estamos conformes con lo pactado en el Zanjón... el 23 se rompe el fuego'. The Protest of Baraguá saved the moral dignity and revolutionary continuity of the Cuban nation.

Question 12Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What major socio-economic transformation occurred in Cuba during the period known as 'La Tregua Fecunda' (The Fertile Truce, 1878–1895)?

  1. The definitive abolition of slavery (1886), the rapid penetration of US monopoly capital into sugar production, and the emergence of an organized working class Correct answer.
  2. The complete restoration of 18th-century Spanish colonial monopolies and trade bans
  3. The industrialization of heavy machinery manufacturing across central Cuba
  4. The total eradication of foreign investment in Cuban agriculture

Explanation

Between 1878 and 1895, Spain abolished slavery (patronato ended in 1886), transforming enslaved laborers into wage-earning rural proletarians. Concurrently, US monopoly capital heavily penetrated the sugar industry, modernizing mills (centrales azucareros) and binding Cuba's economy in structural dependence to the US market.

Question 13Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

On April 10, 1892, José Martí officially founded the Partido Revolucionario Cubano (PRC). What was the fundamental purpose of this political organization?

  1. To organize and unify all patriotic forces to achieve the absolute independence of Cuba and assist in the independence of Puerto Rico through a necessary, generous war Correct answer.
  2. To negotiate parliamentary representation for Cuba within the Spanish Cortes in Madrid
  3. To campaign for the electoral annexation of Cuba into the United States
  4. To establish a military dictatorship led exclusively by veteran generals

Explanation

Article 1 of the Bases of the Partido Revolucionario Cubano (PRC) states that the party was established 'para lograr, con el esfuerzo reunido de todos los hombres de buena voluntad, la independencia absoluta de la Isla de Cuba, y fomentar y auxiliar la de Puerto Rico'. It united veterans ('pinos viejos') and youth ('pinos nuevos') into a single civilian-military vanguard.

Question 14Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What official newspaper did José Martí establish in New York on March 14, 1892, to propagate the revolutionary ideas of the PRC?

  1. Patria Correct answer.
  2. El Mambí
  3. Granma
  4. La República en Armas

Explanation

On March 14, 1892, Martí published the first issue of 'Patria' in New York. Conceived as the theoretical and ideological organ of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, it educated emigrant workers and unified revolutionary consciousness across the Americas.

Question 15Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

Signed on March 25, 1895, in the Dominican Republic by José Martí and Máximo Gómez, the Manifesto of Montecristi established which core principles for the 1895 war?

  1. That the war was not waged against ordinary Spanish people, but against the colonial regime; that it sought a republic free from feudality; and that it must prevent imperial expansion Correct answer.
  2. That all Spanish civilians residing in Cuba must be permanently expelled without trial
  3. That the war aimed solely at restoring the Spanish Constitution of 1812
  4. That Cuba would request formal annexation by the United States upon defeating Spain

Explanation

The Manifesto of Montecristi ('El Partido Revolucionario Cubano a la Isla de Cuba') laid out the program of the 1895 Necessary War: it emphasized that the war was not driven by racial hatred against Spaniards ('guerra sin odio'), aimed to create a democratic republic without feudal abuses, and highlighted the geopolitical role of a free Cuba in preserving the independence of Latin America.

Question 16Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

On February 24, 1895, armed uprisings erupted simultaneously across various regions of Cuba. What was the historical significance of this date?

  1. The outbreak of the 1895 War of Independence (Guerra Necesaria), marked by uprisings centred on Oriente (Baire, Jiguaní, Guantánamo, El Cobre) and extending to Ibarra in Matanzas Correct answer.
  2. The victory of the Cuban Liberation Army over General Weyler
  3. The signing of the Treaty of Paris
  4. The landing of the Granma yacht

Explanation

February 24, 1895, marks the resumption of the Cuban independence war organized by José Martí and the PRC. Uprisings were coordinated across the island (especially in Oriente at Baire, Jiguaní, Guantánamo, and El Cobre, as well as Matanzas at Ibarra).

Question 17Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

Where and under what circumstances did José Martí, National Hero of Cuba, fall in combat on May 19, 1895?

  1. At Dos Ríos, riding toward a Spanish firing line accompanied by Ángel de la Guardia during a clash near the confluence of the Contramaestre and Cauto rivers Correct answer.
  2. At Mangos de Baraguá during peace negotiations
  3. At San Pedro in Havana province alongside General Antonio Maceo
  4. At Punta Brava in an ambush by the Spanish San Quintín battalion

Explanation

On May 19, 1895, at Dos Ríos (Oriente), near the confluence of the Cauto and Contramaestre rivers, Martí broke ranks against Máximo Gómez's orders to remain in the rearguard, charged forward on his white horse alongside the young combatant Ángel de la Guardia, and was fatally struck by Spanish rifle fire.

Question 18Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What was the strategic objective and military outcome of the Invasión de Oriente a Occidente (October 1895 – January 1896) led by Máximo Gómez and Antonio Maceo?

  1. To extend the war across the entire national territory, paralyze the colonial sugar economy that financed Spain, and reach Mantua in Pinar del Río Correct answer.
  2. To establish a defensive redoubt exclusively in the Sierra Maestra mountains
  3. To negotiate an armistice with the Spanish Governor in Havana
  4. To capture naval ports to await a US expeditionary fleet

Explanation

The Invasion from East to West (Invasión a Occidente) ran from Mangos de Baraguá on October 22, 1895, to Mantua in Pinar del Río on January 22, 1896. Crossing the whole length of the island, it broke through the Spanish trochas (Júcaro-Morón and Mariel-Majana) and destroyed the sugar harvest that financed Spain's war effort, carrying the insurrection into the wealthy western provinces for the first time.

Question 19Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What were the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of General Valeriano Weyler's 'Reconcentración' policy implemented in Cuba in 1896–1897?

  1. Forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of rural peasants into fortified towns without food or sanitation, causing over 300,000 deaths from starvation and disease Correct answer.
  2. The voluntary migration of Cuban urban workers to Spain
  3. The construction of modern pre-university high schools across rural areas
  4. The peaceful land redistribution of colonial sugar estates to peasant families

Explanation

Spanish Captain General Valeriano Weyler instituted the genocidal 'Reconcentración' (1896–1897), forcibly moving the entire rural civilian population into barbed-wire urban garrisons to deprive the Liberation Army of food and intelligence. Lacking nourishment, clean water, and medicine, over 300,000 Cuban civilians perished from famine, typhus, and dysentery.

Question 20Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

Where and on what date did Mayor General Antonio Maceo and his aide-de-camp Francisco (Panchito) Gómez Toro fall in combat?

  1. At San Pedro, Punta Brava, Havana province, on December 7, 1896 Correct answer.
  2. At Tienda de El Pino on November 4, 1868
  3. At Dos Ríos on May 19, 1895
  4. At Jimaguayú on May 11, 1873

Explanation

On December 7, 1896, Antonio Maceo ('El Titán de Bronce') was mortally wounded during an unexpected skirmish at San Pedro, near Punta Brava in Havana province. Máximo Gómez's young son, Panchito Gómez Toro, who was recovering from a wound, left the field hospital to defend his general's body and was killed at Maceo's side.

Question 21Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What pretext did the United States government use to declare war on Spain and militarily intervene in Cuba in April 1898?

  1. The suspicious explosion of the battleship USS Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, sensationalized by the yellow press Correct answer.
  2. An unprovoked Cuban mambí attack on Miami
  3. A formal invitation from the Cuban Revolutionary Party requesting permanent US sovereignty
  4. A Spanish naval bombardment of New York City

Explanation

On February 15, 1898, the US battleship USS Maine exploded in Havana harbor under mysterious circumstances. US political interests and sensationalist yellow journalism (Hearst and Pulitzer) immediately blamed Spain without evidence, providing the casus belli for the US Joint Resolution and imperialist intervention in April 1898.

Question 22Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

Why did the Treaty of Paris, signed on December 10, 1898, represent a grave historic betrayal of the Cuban people?

  1. It was negotiated and signed exclusively between Spain and the United States, completely barring Cuban representatives and transferring Cuba to US military occupation Correct answer.
  2. It forced Cuba to pay war reparations to Spain
  3. It restored British colonial rule over the Caribbean
  4. It partitioned Cuba into four independent regional republics

Explanation

The Treaty of Paris (December 10, 1898) concluded the Spanish-American War. Despite thirty years of heroic Cuban sacrifice, the United States refused to recognize the Republic of Cuba in Arms or the Liberation Army, prohibited Cuban representatives from attending the negotiations, and forced Spain to surrender sovereignty of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines directly to the US.

Question 23Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

In his posthumous, unfinished letter to Manuel Mercado dated May 18, 1895 (the day before his death), what did José Martí identify as his ultimate life duty?

  1. To prevent through Cuban independence that the United States should expand over the Antilles and fall with that added weight upon Latin America Correct answer.
  2. To seek personal political office in a post-independence government
  3. To establish commercial treaties with European colonial monarchies
  4. To retire from political writing and dedicate himself exclusively to lyrical poetry

Explanation

In his political testament to his Mexican friend Manuel Mercado on May 18, 1895, Martí wrote: '...ya estoy todos los días en peligro de dar mi vida por mi país, y por mi deber... de impedir a tiempo con la independencia de Cuba que se extiendan por las Antillas los Estados Unidos y caigan, con esa fuerza más, sobre nuestras tierras de América'. This defines the visionary anti-imperialist essence of the Cuban Revolution.

Question 24Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What was the historical importance of the sedition of Lagunas de Varona in April 1875 during the Ten Years' War?

  1. It was a major military mutiny led by Vicente García that demanded the resignation of President Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, fracturing revolutionary discipline and paralyzing the Invasion to the West Correct answer.
  2. It resulted in the execution of General Máximo Gómez by Spanish forces
  3. It marked the triumphant entry of Antonio Maceo into Havana
  4. It was the first socialist strike organized by Cuban industrial workers

Explanation

On April 27, 1875, General Vicente García led the sedition of Lagunas de Varona in Las Tunas, refusing to obey the central civilian government of the Republic in Arms and demanding constitutional reforms and Cisneros Betancourt's resignation. This severe blow of regionalism and indiscipline halted Máximo Gómez's western invasion in Las Villas and accelerated the internal decay that led to Zanjón.

Question 25Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What patriotic newspaper did Carlos Manuel de Céspedes establish in Bayamo shortly after liberating the city in October 1868?

  1. El Cubano Libre Correct answer.
  2. Patria
  3. Granma
  4. La Gaceta de La Habana

Explanation

On October 18, 1868, Céspedes took Bayamo, and on October 24, he founded 'El Cubano Libre' in Bayamo, directed by José Joaquín Palma. It was the first independent newspaper published in liberated Cuban territory. The title was revived by Antonio Maceo in 1895 and later by Che Guevara in the Sierra Maestra.

Question 26Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What historic document was adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic in Arms in September 1895 at Jimaguayú?

  1. The Constitution of Jimaguayú (Constitución de Jimaguayú), which organized the civilian and military government for the 1895 Necessary War Correct answer.
  2. The Guáimaro Constitution
  3. The Constitution of Baraguá
  4. The Constitution of La Yaya

Explanation

In September 1895, at Jimaguayú (Camagüey), delegates from all war fronts met to draft Cuba's second wartime constitution: the Constitution of Jimaguayú. Learning from the civilian-military frictions of Guáimaro, it concentrated executive authority in a Government Council (Consejo de Gobierno) with Salvador Cisneros Betancourt as President and Máximo Gómez as General-in-Chief.

Question 27Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What was the final Mambí Constitution approved during the 19th-century independence wars, drafted in Camagüey in October 1897?

  1. La Constitución de La Yaya Correct answer.
  2. La Constitución de Guáimaro
  3. La Constitución de Jimaguayú
  4. La Constitución de 1901

Explanation

The Constitution of La Yaya, approved on October 29, 1897, was the fourth and final constitution of the Republic of Cuba in Arms. It reaffirmed Cuban sovereign independence, rejected any Spanish autonomy, established universal human rights, and created a Council of Government headed by Bartolomé Masó.

Question 28Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

Which courageous Cuban patriot, known as the 'Mother of the Homeland' (Madre de la Patria), made all her sons swear before a crucifix to fight for Cuba's freedom, including Antonio and José Maceo?

  1. Mariana Grajales Cuello Correct answer.
  2. Ana Betancourt
  3. Celia Sánchez Manduley
  4. Vilma Espín Guillois

Explanation

Mariana Grajales Cuello (1815–1893) is the revered 'Madre de la Patria'. At the outbreak of the 1868 war, she made her entire family pledge on their knees before a crucifix to fight until Cuba was free or perish in the attempt. She served as a nurse in mambí mountain hospitals and lost her husband and multiple sons to the independence cause.

Question 29Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

At the Guáimaro Constitutional Assembly in April 1869, which visionary Cuban woman delivered an impassioned speech demanding women's civil rights and equality?

  1. Ana Betancourt Correct answer.
  2. Mariana Grajales
  3. Melba Hernández
  4. Haydée Santamaría

Explanation

On the night of April 14, 1869, at the Guáimaro Assembly, Ana Betancourt addressed the revolutionary delegates with historic words: 'Ciudadanos: aquí todo era esclavo; la cuna, el color y el sexo... la mujer en el rincón oscuro y tranquilo del hogar esperaba pacientemente que una voz sublime la llamara a las revoluciones...'. She demanded that the new republic abolish the subjugation of women.

Question 30Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What was the 'Guerra Chiquita' (Little War, 1879–1880) in the Cuban independence sequence?

  1. An armed uprising launched by General Calixto García and the Cuban Revolutionary Committee in New York, which failed due to lack of weapons, Maceo's absence, and Spanish racial fear propaganda Correct answer.
  2. A border war against Haiti
  3. A localized confrontation between rival sugar planters in Trinidad
  4. A series of skirmishes between Spanish naval forces and pirate ships

Explanation

The Guerra Chiquita (August 1879 – August 1880) was organized by the Comité Revolucionario Cubano in New York, headed by General Calixto García. Lacking logistical supply lines, with Antonio Maceo barred from arriving to neutralize Spanish racist scaremongering about a 'race war', and suffering from exhausted resources, the movement was forced to surrender after a year of struggle.

Question 31Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

Which of the following describes the Spanish Trocha from Júcaro to Morón, built during the 19th-century independence wars?

  1. A heavily fortified military barrier of barbed wire, blockhouses, trenches, and railway tracks stretching 68 km across central Cuba to prevent mambí forces from crossing into the West Correct answer.
  2. A deep sea canal connecting the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean
  3. An underground mining tunnel used for copper extraction in El Cobre
  4. A stone wall surrounding the city of Santiago de Cuba

Explanation

The Trocha de Júcaro a Morón was a 68-kilometer fortified line built by the Spanish military across the narrowest waist of Ciego de Ávila (from south to north) to divide Cuba in two and contain the independence rebellion in the east. Both Máximo Gómez and Antonio Maceo repeatedly broke through this supposedly impenetrable barrier during their invasions.

Question 32Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

In 1873, which major Cuban revolutionary general fell in combat at the Battle of Jimaguayú?

  1. Ignacio Agramonte y Loynaz Correct answer.
  2. Carlos Manuel de Céspedes
  3. Antonio Maceo Grajales
  4. Máximo Gómez Báez

Explanation

On May 11, 1873, at Jimaguayú (Camagüey), Major General Ignacio Agramonte, the revered military genius and moral compass of the Camagüey mambises, was tragically struck in the temple by a stray Spanish bullet and killed at just 31 years of age.

Question 33Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

Where and under what circumstances was Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, the Father of the Homeland, killed by Spanish forces on February 27, 1874?

  1. At San Lorenzo in the Sierra Maestra, isolated after being deposed from the presidency, defending himself with his revolver against a Spanish San Quintín detachment Correct answer.
  2. At Dos Ríos during a frontal cavalry charge
  3. At La Demajagua while ringing the plantation bell
  4. In exile in New York City

Explanation

After being unjustly deposed from the presidency of the Republic in Arms by the House of Representatives at Bijagual in October 1873, Céspedes was confined without an armed escort to the remote hamlet of San Lorenzo in the Sierra Maestra. On February 27, 1874, surprised by a Spanish detachment, he refused to surrender and fired his revolver until falling mortally wounded down a ravine.

Question 34Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

In July 1898, why did General Calixto García write his celebrated letter of protest to the United States commander General William Shafter?

  1. Because the Cuban Liberation Army, after fighting alongside the United States forces, was barred from entering Santiago de Cuba for the Spanish surrender and the Spanish colonial authorities were left in their posts Correct answer.
  2. Because Shafter refused to supply the Liberation Army with modern Mauser rifles
  3. Because the United States demanded that Cuban troops be transferred to fight in the Philippines
  4. Because Spain had offered García the governorship of Oriente in exchange for laying down his arms

Explanation

Cuban forces under Calixto García had blockaded the Spanish garrison and covered the United States landing at Daiquirí and Siboney. When Santiago de Cuba capitulated in July 1898, Shafter excluded the Liberation Army from the surrender ceremony and from entering the city, and kept the Spanish colonial officials in office. García resigned his command of the Cuban forces in that theatre and wrote to Shafter that Cubans were not savages who ignored the rules of civilised warfare, protesting that a people who had fought thirty years for independence were being denied recognition in their own capital of the East. The episode is taught as the first open sign of the United States intent to occupy Cuba rather than free it.

Question 35Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What major victory did the Cuban Liberation Army achieve at the Battle of Mal Tiempo on December 15, 1895, during the Invasion to the West?

  1. Máximo Gómez and Antonio Maceo executed a devastating cavalry machete charge in Cruces (Cienfuegos) that completely annihilated a Spanish column, opening the gateway to western Cuba Correct answer.
  2. They signed a temporary armistice with Governor Martínez Campos
  3. They captured the city of Santiago de Cuba
  4. They evacuated their wounded to Jamaica

Explanation

On December 15, 1895, at Mal Tiempo near Cruces (Cienfuegos), Gómez and Maceo's vanguard encountered an elite Spanish infantry battalion. In a furious 15-minute machete charge, the mambises killed nearly 200 Spanish soldiers, captured hundreds of modern Mauser rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition, and shattered Spain's confidence in stopping the western invasion.

Question 36Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

What was the 'Asamblea Constituyente de Guáimaro' of April 1869, and what flag did it adopt as the official national flag of the Republic of Cuba?

  1. The flag with three blue stripes, two white stripes, a red equilateral triangle, and a white lone star, created in 1849 by Narciso López and adopted by the assembly as the national banner Correct answer.
  2. The flag of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes from La Demajagua
  3. The Spanish royal banner with a green cross
  4. A red banner with a golden hammer and sickle

Explanation

At the Guáimaro Assembly in April 1869, delegates debated between Céspedes's La Demajagua flag and the flag designed in 1849 by Narciso López and poet Miguel Teurbe Tolón. The assembly adopted the lone-star flag (la bandera de la estrella solitaria) as the official National Flag of the Republic of Cuba, while decreeing that Céspedes's flag would always accompany it in the sessions of parliament.

Question 37Colonial Cuba, slavery and nineteenth-century independence struggles

Who composed the music and lyrics of the Cuban National Anthem (Himno de Bayamo) sung for the first time on October 20, 1868?

  1. Pedro (Perucho) Figueredo Cisneros Correct answer.
  2. José Joaquín Palma
  3. Manuel Muñoz Cedeño
  4. José Martí

Explanation

On October 20, 1868, upon the liberation of Bayamo by Céspedes's forces, Pedro (Perucho) Figueredo mounted his horse and wrote down the lyrics to the combat march he had composed in 1867. The Bayamese people sang it enthusiastically: '¡Al combate corred, bayameses...!'. October 20 is celebrated across Cuba as the National Day of Cuban Culture (Día de la Cultura Cubana).

Question 38Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

What was the Platt Amendment (Enmienda Platt), imposed by the United States Congress on Cuba in 1901?

  1. A coercive legislative amendment attached to the 1901 Cuban Constitution granting the US the right to intervene militarily in Cuba and lease naval bases such as Guantánamo Correct answer.
  2. A free-trade treaty establishing mutual tariff exemptions for agricultural machinery
  3. A diplomatic pact guaranteeing Cuban military assistance to South America
  4. An educational agreement funding universal literacy in Cuban primary schools

Explanation

Drafted by US Senator Orville Platt and forced into the 1901 Cuban Constitution under the threat of permanent military occupation, the Platt Amendment stripped Cuba of true sovereignty. Article III granted the US the legal right to intervene militarily in Cuban affairs, while Article VII forced Cuba to sell or lease land for naval and coaling stations, creating the naval base at Guantánamo Bay.

Question 39Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

Which delegate to the 1901 Constitutional Convention presented the formal ponencia (report) of March 26, 1901, arguing that accepting the Platt Amendment would reduce Cuba to a United States protectorate?

  1. Juan Gualberto Gómez Correct answer.
  2. Tomás Estrada Palma
  3. Leonard Wood
  4. Manuel Sanguily

Explanation

Juan Gualberto Gómez presented his historic ponencia to the Constitutional Convention on March 26, 1901, fiercely analyzing and condemning the Platt Amendment as an instrument that destroyed Cuban independence, curtailed foreign relations, and reduced Cuba to a US protectorate.

Question 40Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

On March 18, 1923, a group of young Cuban intellectuals led by Rubén Martínez Villena interrupted a corrupt official ceremony in Havana. How is this historic protest known?

  1. La Protesta de los Trece Correct answer.
  2. El Asalto al Palacio Presidencial
  3. El Grito de Baire
  4. La Huelga de Agosto

Explanation

On March 18, 1923, fifteen young intellectuals (thirteen signed the final manifesto) led by the communist poet Rubén Martínez Villena stormed the hall of the Academy of Sciences to publicly protest the corrupt government purchase of the Convento de Santa Clara orchestrated by President Alfredo Zayas. This action marked the political awakening of the 1920s intellectual generation.

Question 41Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

What revolutionary organizations and institutions did the student leader Julio Antonio Mella establish in the 1920s to promote anti-imperialism and worker-student unity?

  1. The Federación Estudiantil Universitaria (FEU), the Universidad Popular José Martí, and the first Marxist-Leninist Party of Cuba (1925) Correct answer.
  2. The Autonomist Party and the Havana Stock Exchange
  3. The Rural Guard and the Cuban Telephone Company
  4. The Authentic Party and the Bureau of Repression of Communist Activities (BRAC)

Explanation

Julio Antonio Mella was the towering revolutionary leader of the 1920s: in 1922 he founded the FEU; in 1923 he organized the First National Student Congress and founded the Universidad Popular José Martí to educate workers; and in August 1925, alongside veteran socialist Carlos Baliño, he co-founded the first Communist Party of Cuba.

Question 42Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

Where and by whose orders was Julio Antonio Mella assassinated on January 10, 1929?

  1. In Mexico City, shot by gunmen sent by the Cuban dictator Gerardo Machado Correct answer.
  2. In Havana, during a university demonstration
  3. In Santiago de Cuba, during the Moncada trial
  4. In Madrid, by Spanish colonial monarchists

Explanation

On January 10, 1929, while walking down Calle Abraham González in Mexico City with Italian photographer Tina Modotti, Mella was shot by hired assassins dispatched by dictator Gerardo Machado. Before dying, Mella famously stated: 'Machado me mandó a matar; muero por la Revolución'.

Question 43Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

What revolutionary general strike, organized by the CNOC under the political direction of Rubén Martínez Villena, paralyzed Cuba and precipitated the downfall of dictator Gerardo Machado in August 1933?

  1. The General Strike of August 1933 (Huelga General Revolucionaria de Agosto de 1933) Correct answer.
  2. The April 9, 1958 General Strike
  3. The Strike of March 20, 1930
  4. The Sugar Harvest Strike of 1948

Explanation

Starting in late July among Havana transport workers, the strike swelled into a colossal national general strike led by the Confederación Nacional Obrera de Cuba (CNOC) and directed from his sickbed by Rubén Martínez Villena. The strike paralyzed the country, rendering Machado's regime unsustainable and forcing the dictator to flee Cuba by airplane on August 12, 1933.

Question 44Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

During the short-lived Government of the Hundred Days (Gobierno de los Cien Días, September 1933 – January 1934), what radical anti-imperialist and social measures did Secretary of Government Antonio Guiteras Holmes enact?

  1. The government intervention of the US-owned Cuban Electric Company, the 8-hour workday, the creation of the Secretariado de Trabajo, and minimum wage legislation Correct answer.
  2. The privatization of Cuban railroads to American investors
  3. The reinstatement of the Platt Amendment with extended military intervention powers
  4. The outlawing of all labor trade unions and workers' assemblies

Explanation

As Secretary of Government, War, and Navy, Antonio Guiteras was the anti-imperialist soul of the 100-Day Government: he decreed the 8-hour workday, established compulsory minimum wages, created the Department of Labor, intervened the abusive US-owned Compañía Cubana de Electricidad, reduced electricity rates by 45%, and distributed land to peasants in Oriente.

Question 45Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

Where and under what circumstances was Antonio Guiteras Holmes killed alongside Venezuelan revolutionary Carlos Aponte on May 8, 1935?

  1. At the historic Spanish fortress of El Morrillo in Matanzas, while preparing an armed expedition to Mexico, betrayed to Batista's army Correct answer.
  2. At Dos Ríos during a cavalry skirmish
  3. In the Sierra Maestra while commanding Column 4
  4. In the Presidential Palace during the March 13 assault

Explanation

On May 8, 1935, at El Morrillo near the Canímar River in Matanzas, Guiteras and Carlos Aponte were waiting to board the yacht Amalia to sail to Mexico to organize an armed expedition. Betrayed by an informant, they were surrounded by Batista's army and navy forces and died heroically in combat.

Question 46Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

What progressive democratic social reforms were incorporated into the Constitution of 1940, largely through the advocacy of communist and progressive delegates?

  1. Constitutional prohibition of latifundia, the 8-hour workday, paid month-long vacations, maternity protections, and the right to strike Correct answer.
  2. The complete abolition of all private property and immediate nationalization of all trade
  3. The reinstatement of the Spanish colonial penal code
  4. The permanent disenfranchisement of women and racial minorities

Explanation

The Constitution of 1940 was one of the most socially progressive constitutions of its era in Latin America. Pushed by communist delegates (including Blas Roca and Juan Marinello) and progressive forces, it proscribed latifundia, established labor protections (8-hour day, minimum wage, paid leave, union rights), recognized female suffrage, and declared racial discrimination illegal (though successive bourgeois governments refused to enact complementary legislation to enforce these clauses).

Question 47Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

What political movement and slogan did Eduardo Chibás lead against the rampant corruption of the Authentic Party administrations in the late 1940s and early 1950s?

  1. The Partido del Pueblo Cubano (Ortodoxo) with the slogan 'Vergüenza contra dinero' Correct answer.
  2. The Partido Conservador with the slogan 'Paz y Orden'
  3. The Liberal Party with the slogan 'Prorroguismo y Progreso'
  4. The Autonomist Party with the slogan 'Evolución sin Sangre'

Explanation

In 1947, Eduardo Chibás broke from the corrupt Authentic Party to establish the Partido del Pueblo Cubano (Ortodoxos). Adopting the broom as a symbol to sweep out political corruption and the immortal motto 'Vergüenza contra dinero' (Honor against money), Chibás mobilized broad popular support, especially among youth (including Fidel Castro).

Question 48Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

In 1912, a major uprising led by the Partido Independiente de Color (PIC) took place in Oriente province. What were the fundamental demands of this organization and how was the uprising suppressed?

  1. They demanded full racial equality, repeal of the Morúa Amendment that banned race-based parties, and access to land and public jobs; it was brutally suppressed by the government of José Miguel Gómez, resulting in the massacre of thousands of Afro-Cubans Correct answer.
  2. They sought the immediate annexation of Cuba to the British Empire
  3. They fought to re-establish Spanish colonial rule under King Alfonso XIII
  4. They demanded the closure of all public universities across Cuba

Explanation

Founded in 1908 by Evaristo Estenoz and Pedro Ivonnet, the PIC fought against structural racial discrimination in the neocolonial republic. When Senator Martín Morúa Delgado passed an amendment banning parties based on race, the PIC rose in armed protest in May 1912. President José Miguel Gómez dispatched the army, supported by US naval warships, massacring between 3,000 and 5,000 Afro-Cubans in Oriente.

Question 49Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

What was the 'Danza de los Millones' (Dance of the Millions, or Vacas Gordas) in Cuba in 1919–1920, and what was its economic aftermath?

  1. A speculative boom during which raw sugar prices soared to 22.5 cents per pound due to World War I European shortages, followed by an abrupt price crash to under 4 cents (Vacas Flacas) that bankrupted domestic Cuban banks and transferred financial control to Wall Street Correct answer.
  2. A cultural dance festival held annually at the National Theatre
  3. A social reform program that redistributed millions of dollars to rural sugar workers
  4. A military expansion campaign financed by European gold reserves

Explanation

The 'Danza de los Millones' (1919–1920) was a wild speculative bubble caused by European post-WWI demand that drove sugar prices to unprecedented heights (22.5 cents/lb). When the market crashed in late 1920 to 3.75 cents, Cuban sugar barons and native banks (like Banco Nacional de Cuba) went bankrupt. US banks (National City Bank of New York, Chase) foreclosed on insolvent mills, cementing total Wall Street financial hegemony.

Question 50Cuba1902–1958: sovereignty, social change and political crisis

What sequence of events produced the second United States military occupation of Cuba (1906–1909) under the provisional governor Charles Magoon?

  1. The fraudulent re-election of Tomás Estrada Palma and the Liberal 'Guerrita de Agosto' of 1906, which Estrada Palma answered by invoking the Platt Amendment to request United States intervention before resigning Correct answer.
  2. A Spanish attempt to reconquer the island after the Treaty of Paris of 1898
  3. A general strike of sugar workers demanding the eight-hour working day
  4. An outbreak of yellow fever that the Cuban authorities asked the United States Army to contain

Explanation

Tomás Estrada Palma secured a second presidential term in 1905 through open electoral fraud. The Liberal Party rose in the armed protest known as the 'Guerrita de Agosto' in 1906 and, rather than negotiate, Estrada Palma invoked Article III of the Platt Amendment to request United States intervention and then resigned. Washington installed a provisional government headed by Charles Magoon that governed until 1909, a period remembered in Cuban historiography for entrenching administrative corruption and the 'botella', the paid sinecure with no duties.