Castro took his rise to fame by overthrowing Fulgencio Batista in the 26th of July Movement. This was a group of men who felt that Batista had unjustly ruined the previous elections. Castro and the other members of the 26th of July movement were people who had been exiled from Cuba to Mexico and were making their return. The attacks were not successful however and Castro was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Fidel Castro was born Catholic as a child and renounced his beliefs at a young age. Now an athiest, he was excommunicated from the Catholic church in 1962. Relations between religious people and Castro had been tense until Pope John Paul II worked with Castro to loosen believers to be allowed in the Cuban Communist Party and also be allowed to be members of the Catholic church. This was rare among Communist regimes and Castro is noted for this event.
Castro's foreign policy is also a trademark of his life. When he first rose to power the US had accepted him as leader. Vice President at the time Richard Nixon met with Castro to see if he had any allegiance to the SOviet Union or to Communism. At the time no links were found. Then Cuba bought a lot of oil from the Soviets and in the heat of the cold war the US and Cuba's ties broke down. When the US invaded the on Bay of Pigs Castro was on the battlefield leading his people. This caused support for Castro to grow and he became a very sucessful leader.
Fidel Castro was a man who had an agenda from the beginning. When he overthrew Batista he knew what he planned to do. With the support of the Soviets, Castro was able to build a regime that still rules even in his sickness today. Although America still does not support Cuba or Communism, Castro should be viewed as an effective leader for his cause.