Inquiry+2+How+do+historians+explain+his+rise?

The IB History course requires you to develop an understanding of the different perspectives that explain the rise of dictators like Castro. It is useful to reflect on your knowledge to ascertain the issues and debates behind the story, and then see where the historians fit in.

Was Castro's rise inevitable? How far was Castro ideologically driven? Which factors are most important in explaining his rise? **Failure of the political system** [|Castro economic rise.ppt] [|Fid][|el Castro Ideology.ppt] [|history trauma presentation.ppt] [|Presentation_on_the_Cuban_Revolution.ppt]
 * Key issues: **
 * Task:** Read Balfour's perspective (p59-61Balfour) and see how far Stephen Lee's criteria for the rise of single party states by exploring the presentations of fellow students:
 * Economic factors **
 * Ideology**
 * Trauma**
 * Loss of identity**
 * Strong leader**

**Key Question:** How far were the typical conditions that Lee outlines relevant to Castro's rise to power in 1959?

**Task:** Briefly summarize how Intentionalist, Structuralist, Marxist and Revisionist (and Orthodox) historians would explain Castro's rise to power in Cuba: [|How Much Historiography Should Be Included in Essays] [|The_Marxist_Interpretation_of_History.ppt]

[|Evaluating sources]
 * How to use different types of source **

**Primary and Secondary Sources** 1. Is it primary or secondary? 2. What can you learn about why Castro came to power in 1959? 3. Is is an intentionalist, structuralist, marxist or revisionist perspective? 4. Is it reliable or trustworthy? - consider the what, when, who, why aspect of your source formula
 * Task:** Examine how primary and secondary sources explain Castro's rise to power. Refer to the selection of sources below or examine the sites that follow. For each source consider:

[|Sources for chloe n del.doc] [|Nicole Ungmin Sources and evaluation .doc] [|Charlie and Jonathan Sources (linked) and evaluation]
 * Student Work**

[|Internet Modern History Source Book] - make sure that you go to the section on Latin America. The [|CNN Cold War site] has a section on Fidel Castro which also includes primary sources.
 * Finding the Sources**