of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UK Essays. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on August 16th, 1926, in Mayari, Cuba. He was educated at the University of Havana in law, where he also studied politics. His political ideas were formed throughout these years, and he joined several student political groups devoted to helping the poor workers and peasants. His ideas later matured, and he joined the Ortodoxo Party (Party of the Cuban People), of which he became the leader in 1951. As Fidel Castro was running for elections, general Fulgencio Batista staged a coup d´etat, and established a dictatorship in Cuba. In response, Fidel Castro favoured of armed revolution, and he joined underground groups attempting to overthrow the unpopular dictator. In 1953 he attacked with a group of 150 revolutionists, but failed and was captured. He was jailed until 1955 for conspiracy to overthrow the Cuban government. He used the years in jail to study political philosophy, history and literature, which strengthened his policy of change from corruption to social equality. In 1955 he was granted amnesty and left for Mexico, where he trained a guerrilla group in Sierra Maestra aided …show more content…
After being captured, Castro made an eloquent defense of his action, saying, "history will absolve me." Less than six years later, Castro led the Cuban revolution to victory by overthrowing the corrupt and cruel U.S.-backed Batista dictatorship. This act alone - leading a revolutionary movement to victory on a small island just 90 miles off the coast of the U.S. - would be enough to make Fidel Castro an unforgettable hero in the struggle of oppressed people for liberation. But this was just the beginning of Fidel Castro's 49 years of contributions to the Cuban people's liberation and to oppressed people the world