The Spanish-American War

The Spanish-American war of 1898 is significant in many aspects. A brief description here throws light on what conditions made this war inevitable and the consequences of this war on a global scale.

Spanish-American war is an important historical event that took place at the turn of nineteenth century. It ended the overseas Spanish empire, losing its colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines islands, Guam, etc. In the late Fifteenth Century, Spain was ahead in expanding its colonies overseas, especially in the Americas. New lands were explored and conquered by Spaniards, turning into Spanish colonies. Right from the eastern coast of the United States, i.e. territory of Virginia, to the tip of South America, i.e., Tierra del Fuego, the Spanish Empire was established. Apart from the colonies in South and Central America, it also had a number of Caribbean islands, in the Pacific the Philippines, not to mention California and Alaska on the western side of the America, under its rule.

Spain In The 1960s

By late sixties of the Nineteenth Century, the Spanish colony of Cuba became increasingly hostile to the Spanish rule. With the example of ending of the Spanish rule in South America earlier, Cubans had already started the freedom movement with their own guerrilla fighters force known as mambises. Cuban Revolutionary Party was founded by the Cuban leader José Martí in 1892. Cuban Revolutionary Party fueled the freedom movement further. José Martí was killed in an armed struggle against the Spanish rule.

American Sugar Industry

United States had already established commercial interests in Cuba, by this time. American sugar industry had bought up a great number of agricultural lands in Cuba. Changes in sugar tariff of United States proved helpful for the revolutionary movement picking up at that time in Cuba. By this time, the US investment in Cuba in sugar and other trades was worth $50 million, and the annual trade was worth twice that amount. With such valuable financial investment it was obvious Cuba was a prime concern for America. The Cuban freedom movement against the Spanish rule was identifying supporters in the United States.

The Cuban Crisis

The pressure was mounting in America to intervene in the Cuban-Spanish strife. However, opposite to public outcry, President Cleveland declared America would maintain neutrality on the Cuban crisis. In February 1896, General Weyler imposed martial law in Cuba, which gave rise to the American public demand for the US intervention in the Cuban conflict. On December 7, President Cleveland warned Spain that the United States might have to intervene if the crisis in Cuba continues. The letter by Spanish Foreign Minister Enrique Dupuy de Lôme was published in the New York Journal on February 9, 1898. The criticism of the US President in the letter fueled the already-rising anti-Spanish sentiment in American public as well as the government.

Subsequent events forced the US government to send the warship USS Maine to Cuba in the American interests. Sudden explosion on that warship in Havana harbor invoked a great public uproar against the Spanish. The death toll of American men in this disaster was 260. Obviously, sinking of the US warship at a neighboring Spanish colony was condemned widely in the US. Sensational, rather exaggerated and provoking reports about Spanish atrocities began to appear in American newspapers. More and more incidents of ill treatment to US citizens and Cubans by Spanish authorities in Cuba were published, along with theories suggesting the explosion on USS Maine being not an accident but the handiwork of Spanish forces.

US Congress passed a resolution that sanctioned an amount of $50 million for the preparation of military forces required in the present situation on March 9. On March 28, the explosion on USS Maine was found to be due to a mine blown. This report by the US Naval Court of Inquiry confirmed the ongoing speculations in the newspapers. The rising public demand, the sensational stories of Spanish atrocities, and a concern about the commercial interests in Cuba as well as an appeal by Cuban freedom movement for help thus forced the US President McKinley first to order the blockade of Cuba. After four days, on April 25, American government declared war against Spain.

After the declaration of war, the US government declared its withdrawal from war with Spain to conquer Cuba as an overseas US colony.

Theaters of War

As the Spanish Empire was spread over a number of overseas colonies, it was imperative to fight the Spanish on different strategic places where the local uprising against the Spanish rule had reached its height, to crush the Spanish military strength. The then Spanish colonies in Central America and the Pacific region thus became the theaters of Spanish-American war. Main thrust of US forces was on Spanish bases at Cuba, Guam, and the Philippines. The war was fought on the Caribbean Sea that is in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and in the Pacific Ocean that in Guam, and the Philippines islands, both in naval as well as ground campaigns.

The War Begins

The first battle was fought on May 1, 1898 in Bay of Manila. Commodore George Dewey of US Navy, commanding the USS Olympia defeated the Spanish naval force led by Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón with only one casualty, that too due to a heart attack. It took only few hours to defeat the Spanish squadron. However, a flotilla of British, German, French, and Japanese warships was assembled in Manila Bay against the Commodore’s victorious warship. They had different interests like guarding the commercial interests of their respective nations, supporting the beaten forces of the Spanish, taking military advantage of the tense situation, or simply to look for any opportunity to profit from the ensuing strife.

The freedom movement in the Philippines was already started by the eighties. The Filipino leaders such as José Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and Aguinaldo had turned had prepared the country for a public revolution that will overthrow the Spanish rule. The United States had also started to support the freedom movement in the Philippines. As a part of this move, the Filipino leader Emilio Aguinaldo was transported to the Philippines from Hong Kong where he was an exile.

Before the arrival of the US land forces, most of Luzon Island of the Philippines was under control of the Filipino forces defeating the Spanish power. Now back in the Philippines, Aguinaldo announced the Philippines being an independent state on June 12, 1898. Unaware of a peace protocol signed by the American and Spanish Government on August 12, the next day Manila was attacked by US Commodore Dewey and Maj. Gen. Merrit.

American army officer Andrew Summers Rowan was entrusted with the responsibility of establishing contact with the Cuban forces fighting with the Spanish. General Calixto García of the Cuban side was supplied with all the necessary help in terms of maps, intelligence, and a handful of military-trained Cubans by the US Government. This helped strengthen the Cuban fighting against the Spanish rule and preparing for the US troops on the Cuban land. Hearing about the Spanish armada arrived at the major Cuban port Santiago de Cuba, by giving a slip to watching US naval ships, the US North Atlantic Squadron left for Cuba from Key West on April 22. The US fleet reached Cuba in late May.

Fall of Guantánamo Bay

In Cuba, war between the US and Spanish forces began in earnest in June. US Marines captured Guantánamo Bay; 17000 US soldiers landed at Siboney and Daiquirí, near Santiago de Cuba. US forces in Cuba were joined by Gen. Garcia’s Cuban army of 5000 revolutionaries. At that time, the total Spanish troops on Cuba were 150,000 regulars and 40,000 irregulars and volunteers. Cuban rebels numbered about 50,000, whereas the number of US troops was 26,000.

The battles of San Juan Hill, and El Caney proved instrumental in ensuing US victory on Cuban soil against the Spanish forces. After the US attack on the San Juan heights on July 1, Spanish forces declared unconditional surrender of their 23,500 troops in San Juan Hill. By this time, US forces led by Maj. Gen. Nelson Miles from Guantánamo arrived in Puerto Rico, also a Spanish colony, took control of the island without much resistance by Spanish forces.

Guam, another Spanish colony in the region, fell into US hands when Captain Glass of USS Charleston attacked the island. The responsible ill-equipped Spanish officer was unaware of the war broken between Spain and the United States. Faced with American forces ready to attack, he surrendered with 54 Spanish infantry troops. Thus, Spanish rule was ended in Guam.

Spain Surrenders

Defeated at all the theaters of war, Spain agreed to sign a peace treaty with the United States in Paris on December 10, 1898. Through this treaty, Cuba was declared independent from the Spanish rule. Islands of Puerto Rico and Guam were also declared ceded to the United States. This treaty allowed the US the rights to purchase the Philippine Islands from Spain for $20 million. The number of US casualties was 3000 in this war. Almost 90% of this number were victims of infectious diseases rather than actual battle.