A brief history of the cuban revolution batista seizes power the seeds of the revolution were sown when former army sergeant fulgencio batista seized power assault on moncada on the morning of july 26 1953 castro made his move for a revolution to succeed he needed history will absolve . Cuban revolution armed uprising in cuba that overthrew the government of fulgencio batista on january 1 1959 the revolution had as its genesis a failed assault on the santiago de cuba army barracks on july 26 1953 that attacks leader fidel castro went on to rule cuba from 1959 to 2008. In a history of the cuban revolution x series editors preface avi chomsky provides a compelling and fascinating synthesis of the cuban revolution drawing on historical literature and primary sources from cuba europe and the united states the author takes the reader on