Visualizing History: Cuban Revolution Part I

The start of a revolution had been brewing for many years in the tiny Caribbean island of Cuba. On July 26, 1953, a group of young militants led by Fidel Castro attacked the Moncada military barracks in Santiago in a bid to overthrow U.S. supported dictator, Fulgencio Batista. Even though the attack was a failure that lead to their arrest, Castro and his followers not only succeeded in starting the Cuban Revolution but gained the attention of the Cuban people.
http://www.rcgfrfi.easynet.co.uk/ratb/cuba/cuba_rev.htm

Visualizing History: Cuban Revolution Part II

After being released from prison in May 1955 Castro, his younger brother Raul, Argentine doctor Ernesto “Che” Guevara, and their fellow rebels exiled to Mexico to prepare for their to Cuba. Their plans came to fruition on November 26, 1956 when Castro and his followers aboard the tiny yacht, Granma, arrived on Cuba. Severely outnumbered and outgunned, Castro and his followers were attacked by Batista’s soldiers has they landed on the beach. With only a few survivors, Castro and his followers regrouped in the Sierra Maestra mountains to begin their guerrilla warfare campaign.
http://library.thinkquest.org/18355/the_cuban_revolution_-_1959.html

Visualizing History: Cuban Revolution Part III

With the help of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, Castro began to win support from peasants as they traveled from town to town. Hidden in the rugged mountains of the Sierra Maestra from 1956 to 1959, the rebels inflicted heavy damage on the greatly numbered Cuban army. Batista’s armies were unable to cope with the style and fighting conditions of guerilla warfare. Hidden in the mountains during the rebel campaign, Che Guevara would transmit radio messages, Radio Rebelde, the Cuban people helping raise support and awareness of the rebels.

http://www2.truman.edu/~marc/webpages/revsfall99/cuba/

Visualizing History: Cuban Revolution Part IV

With insurmountable pressure from the rebels and uprisings in cities, Bastista decided to flee Cuba on January 1, 1959. Triumphant, Castro and the rebels entered Havana on January 8, 1959 to a jubilant public. With Castro in power along with his most trusted allies, they began to make social and economic changes in Cuba. Much to the behest of the U.S. government, the rebel government ordered the trial and execution of members of the Batista regime and U.S. owned business were expropriated and nationalized.

http://www.rcgfrfi.easynet.co.uk/ratb/cuba/cuba_rev.htm

Visualizing History:Cuban Revolution Part V

Even though the fighting between the guerillas and Batista’s army was over, the Cuban Revolution has continued to this day. Until now, Fidel Castro remained Cuba’s only leader. Since he has recently stepped down, his younger brother Raul has taken over with many questions being raised as to whether or not Communism will remain in Cuba. Time will tell whether not changes will be made in Cuba, which all depends on Raul Castro.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615513_1614695,00.html

Visualizing History: Cuban Revolution Experience

At first it would seem daunting to try to tell a story using pictures with captions. For me, it was not all that bad. I chose the Cuban Revolution because of the recent news of Fidel Castro stepping down. Since the Revolution occurred in the 20th century, I figured it would not be difficult to find pictures detailing the event.

Since the Cuban Revolution was an important event in history, there was an abundance of websites that had content that differed from one another. Instead of going to a more established websites such as museum sites or www.history.com , I chose a different route by picking websites that were made by people who were fascinated with this subject. These websites varied from having large to minimal content and differing in the amount of link or resources they had.

What could quite possibly the most difficult part of this assignment for me was choosing which pictures to use. Because there was an abundance of pictures that pertained to the Revolution, I had to narrow down pictures that had the best visual representation of the story that I was trying to tell. Of course I chose pictures that were taken during a certain part of the story. What made me finally decide is if these pictures showed important people that the story told of and that it helps create story flow. Overall, it was a enjoyable experience telling a story using pictures.

Valentine's Day Challenge: Part II

Personally, I never knew the history of Valentine’s Day until now. I figured it was some ploy by large corporations to make money but using a holiday. It was interesting to learn how it started back in era of the Roman Empire and how it evolved throughout the years.

I looked at four different websites, each having similar and different information regarding Valentines Day history. The websites:

http://www.theholidayspot.com/valentine/history_of_valentine.htm, http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/history-of-valentines-day.htm, http://www.infoplease.com/spot/valentinesdayhistory.html, http://www.essortment.com/valentinesdayh_rygc.htm, based the origins of history on the bishop Valentine and Claudius II.

I found it interesting how historical figures and their actions could cause a yearly holiday as in the case of Valentines Day. For one I don’t know much about the Roman Empire its complex array of politics and culture. These websites were helpful in giving me an idea of how the beliefs of just one man, Claudius II, would change the lives of many people.

The content in these websites are adequate for casual viewers interested in Valentine’s Day history. On the other hand, those looking for primary sources are going to have to look for elsewhere. There is minimal content on these websites, with miniscule links and references. The lack of these options massively hurt these websites as an ideal place to gather more information on this subject.

Finding historical information for Valentines Day was not that difficult for me. As I looked at various site, I would read through each one and chose the ones that offered different content. Some sites were very short on content while others had more information that went beyond the Roman Empire. I decided to focus on the Roman Empire aspect of Valentines Day because it was the foundation from where the holiday started and it was far more interesting.

Overall, I enjoyed gathering information on this subject. It is always fun to learn something new. It is the perfect conversation stimulator for anyone who has a Valentine. Just having some knowledge is not only beneficial for historical knowledge but to also impress a special someone.