How Did Baseball Affect The Relationship Between Cuba And The United States?

Since the Cold War, Cuba and the United States have had a relationship fraught with conflict, however there are long standing ties that are older than either nation. This section will explore establishment of these ties, specifically looking at how baseball became a cultural affinity between Cuba and the United States. Historically, political and economic actions between the U.S. and Cuba have affected the baseball relationship, this section will highlight the reverse. It will show how baseball helped Cuba achieve independence, paving the way for a deeper political and economic relationship with the United States. It will also show how baseball contributed to the growing turmoil that brought about the Cuban Revolution, which impacted the

The Spanish government felt baseball, “competed with bullfighting as the Cuban national sport,” and that it, “symbolized ‘dangerous’ notions of freedom and egalitarianism.” The United States had previous failed to politically link itself to Cuba, but baseball was providing the opportunity it needed. With the surge of baseball in Cuba, Adrian Burgos observed that its, “popularity among the new subjects in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean worked hand in hand with the [American] imperial project.” Through baseball, the United States was able to find a more permanent and stable link to Cuba. While Spanish authorities continued to intervene in baseball’s development, by the end of the Ten Years’ War baseball had

Cuba would once again attempt to rid itself of Spanish rule, resulting in the American-Spanish War. While the war signified a strengthening of political ties between Cuba and the United States, it was also the culmination of a growing American imperialist movement. During the second half of the nineteenth century baseball had become part of the, “‘civilizing’ influence on other nations,” and the hallmark of American culture. It would become an American export, played in Japan, Panama, Nicaragua and Mexico. But for Cuba, the game would hold a much more important political