The Cuban Missile Crisis is one of 9 topics in the Grade 12 History CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. Who led the 1959 revolution that overthrew the Batista government in Cuba?
Fidel Castro
Nikita Khrushchev
John F. Kennedy
Che Guevara alone, without Castro
Answer: Fidel Castro — Fidel Castro led the guerrilla movement that overthrew Fulgencio Batista's government in the 1959 Cuban Revolution.
Easy
2. What was the Bay of Pigs invasion of April 1961?
A US-sponsored covert invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles, which failed
A successful Soviet invasion of Florida
A Cuban invasion of the United States
A joint US-Soviet military exercise
Answer: A US-sponsored covert invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles, which failed — The Bay of Pigs invasion was a failed, US-backed attempt by Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro in April 1961, embarrassing the Kennedy administration.
Medium
3. Which Soviet leader secretly agreed with Castro in 1962 to place nuclear missiles in Cuba?
Answer: Nikita Khrushchev — Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, agreed with Castro to place Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962.
