Following the American lead: Canada's diplomacy towards Cuba in the pre-revolutionary period, 1939--1959

This thesis provides an original view of Canadian diplomacy towards Cuba in the post-Second World War, pre-revolutionary period by looking at previously unavailable diplomatic correspondence. The evolution of Canada's diplomacy in Cuba within the context of shifting international realities, Canada-U.S. relations, and the changing dynamics of personnel and policies at the Department of External Affairs (DEA) in Ottawa, is the central focus of this thesis. It makes the argument that Canadian diplomacy in the period largely followed the dictates of American policy.;This thesis relies heavily on despatches sent between Canadian diplomats in Havana and Ottawa. These documents were retrieved directly from the Library and Archives Canada (LAC), and haven been drawn from fifteen volumes that collectively contain over 4000 RG 25 (External Affairs) documents on Canadian-Cuban bilateral relations from 1939 until 1959.;Keywords: Canadian-Cuban relations, Pre-revolutionary Cuba, Canadian diplomacy, Cold War, Canadian-U.S. relation...