The Cuban Revolution (Spanish: Revolución cubana) was an armed revolt conducted by Fidel Castro‘s revolutionary 26th of July Movement and its allies against the authoritarian government of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. The revolution began in July 1953, and continued sporadically until the rebels finally ousted Batista on 31 December 1958, replacing his government with a revolutionary socialist state. 26 July 1953 is celebrated in Cuba as the Day of the Revolution. The 26th of July Movement later reformed along communist lines, becoming the Communist Party in October 1965.

The Cuban Revolution had powerful domestic and international repercussions. In particular, it transformed Cuba’s relationship with the United States, although efforts to improve diplomatic relations have gained momentum in recent years. In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, Castro’s government began a program of nationalization, centralization of the press and political consolidation that transformed Cuba’s economy and civil society. The revolution also heralded an era of Cuban intervention in foreign military conflicts, including the Angolan Civil War and the Nicaraguan Revolution. Several rebellions occurred the six years after 1959 among the impoverished peasantry, mainly in the Escambray mountains, which were repressed by the Revolutionary government.