Fidel Castro was born in the village of Birán in Cuba on August 13, 1926 into a rich family, the son of Angel Castro, who was a Spanish immigrant, and his cook Lina Ruz Gonzalez. In his early life Fidel Castro went to Jesuit schools and from there he attended the Jesuit preparatory school Colegio Belen in Havana.

In 1945 Castro went to the university of Havana to study law, he graduated in 1950. From 1950 to 1952 Fidel Castro used his training in law in a small partnership. Castro was intending to stand for parliament in 1952, but didn’t due to a cancellation in the election, by General Flugencio Batista.

Castro charged Bastita under the constitution, but Castro’s petition was refused. This infuriated Castro causing him to organise an armed attack on the Monacada Barracks in the Oriente province on July 26, 1953. In the attack more than eighty of the attackers were killed. Castro was captured and sentenced to fifteen years in jail.

During his trial, Castro used those famous words “History Ill Absolve Me” in his closing speech. In 1955 Fidel Castro was freed from the prison in a general amnesty in May 1955. After that Castro was sent to the United States, then to Mexico in exile.

Casrto returned to Cuba around 1956. He took military action in Oriente province on December 2, 1956. The men who remained alive from the last attack on Oriente province fought with Castro’s followers, which consisted of over 800 men. On May 24, 1958, Batista government “launched” seventeen battalions against what was now Castro’s small army.

Castro’s men were greatly outnumbered but due to much surrender from Batistas men, Castro and his army won the war. On New Years day 1959, Batista left the country, and Fidel Castro and his forces took Cuba. The following February, Castro became the Prime Minister of Cuba.

In April 1959 Castro went to the White House and spoke with Vice President Richard Nixon. President Eisenhower was playing golf on the day of the meeting and was unable to talk to Castro. Because of the now bad blood between Cuba and the United States, Cuba signed an agreement to buy their oil from the USSR.

To the United States concern, Cuban Prime Minister, Fidel Castro and USSR Prime Minister became very close, and soon the USSR was sending great quantities on economic aid, as well as military aid from the USSR.

On April 17, 1961, the United States sent a force of Cuban exiles trained by the CIA to south Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. The CIA assumed that this invasion would spark some interest in an uprising against Fidel Castro. There was no uprising but instead Castro’s forces apprehended the Cuban invaders, because President Kennedy backed out of the invasion at the last moment, so the invaders lost their support.

On December 2 1961 Castro stated that Cuba was going to adopt Communism. Pope John XXIII excommunicated Castro. In October 1962 the Cuban missile crisis took place after the United States found that the Soviet Union was attempting to launch nuclear missiles in Cuba. After this short lived crisis the relationships between the United States and Cuba remained very mutual.

In 1976, the Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Elliott Trudeau went to Cuba and hugged the Castro. Pierre Elliott Trudeau gave Castro a $4 million gift, and loaned another $10 million. In Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s speech later that very day, Trudeau said “Long live Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro. Long live Cuban-Canadian friendship.”

In 1991 the Soviet Union lost power and Cuba lost a great deal of its economy because the Soviet Union provided Cuba with so much. Cuba regained it’s economy shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union when it was listed as the second most popular tourist attraction in the Caribbean, after the Dominican republic.

Fidel Castro is no longer the Prime Minister of Cuba. Castro resigned from that position in the 90’s. Cuban /United States relationship is still very mutual since Castro left, but Cuba is doing well with it’s economic booster in it’s tourism.