America’s war with Spain was as a result of conflicting interested between the United States and Spain. The Americans declared war against Spain in a bit to end the Spanish rule in Cuba (Graves, 2000). The Spanish rule in Cuba had been characterized by endless atrocities against the people of Cuba. The American public was enraged by the Atrocities that were being committed by the Spanish government which prompted a revolt against Spain.
William McKinley was the then American President was very reluctant to declare war Against Spain but he could not escape the immense pressure from the Angry American public. Signs of impending war between the two nations had been from 1873 but the situation got worse in 1897. What provoked the American Government most was the sinking of the American battleship by the perceived Spanish forces in Havana harbor in 1897 (Graves, 2000). This paper will highlight the Spanish-American war in details.
From the beginning of the 19th century, America was against colonization of the countries in the Caribbean region by the European governments. Since Madrid and Washington were both interested in having control over Cuba, there was no way a conflict between the two governments could be avoided (Alger, 2010). After Spain had established a colony in Cuba, the Cuban people were agitated to fight for their independence because of the atrocities that were being committed by the Spanish rule in their country.
The Cuban people declared war with the Spanish colonial authorities that lasted for over a decade ranging between 1868 and 1878. The Spanish colonial authorities managed to put down the uprising but some Cuban revolutionaries such Jose Marti continued to fight for their country’s autonomy while in exile (Alger, 2010).
Jose Marti and his fellow revolutionaries decided to embark on a guerilla campaign to fight the Spanish authorities in 1885 but their plan did not turn out as successful as they had expected (Dolan, 2001). The Spanish colonial authorities managed to contain the uprising by cutting down the supply of weapons and any other form of assistance by moving residents to reconcentartion camps where they could easily be monitored by the Spanish military forces.
This brutal strategy by the Spanish colonial authorities received a lot of condemnation from the United States. The action by the Spanish authorities in Cuba was seen as extermination by McKinley who was the then president of the United States.
The Spanish authorities later claimed that Cuba was just like a province under the Spanish empire and not necessarily a colony because the island had been under its control for over four centuries (Dolan, 2001). Spain claimed that Cuba played a vital role in the country’s economy and therefore they could no afford to lose the most prestigious island.
This new attitude by Spain sparked a lot of fury in Cuba and the United States because it was seen a sheer indignation (Trask, 1996). These latest claims by Spain was a major catalyst in the of the already existing conflict between Spain and the United States.
The United States also had plans of having control over the entire American continent but its conflict with Spain was delaying its plans. The United States also had business interest in Cuba that was being hampered by the Spanish rule. The revolt in Cuba was greatly affecting the shipping and sugar industries in America and therefore prompting the U.S government to call for stability in the island (Trask, 1996).
President McKinley wanted the revolt to be ended diplomatically and to ensure that, he sent Steward Woodford to negotiate for Cuban autonomy. The negotiations were successful and Cuba was granted autonomy in January 1898 (Venzon, 2003). The sinking of the U.S battleship in Havana by the Spanish officers that broke the diplomatic convention between the two countries sparked animosity. The Cuban government had only been in power for eleven days when hell broke loose.
The U.S has deployed its naval force to Cuba to try and stop the new riots that had been ignited by the Spanish officers. The sinking of the U.S battleship in February 1898 resulted in the death of 266 American sailors. This led to a public outcry in the United States and at this moment America had lost its patience with Spain (Venzon, 2003). A swift response was demanded by the American public and therefore Washington did not have any other option but to declare war against Madrid.
The American Congress immediately approved $ 50 million to be used by defense forces to fight Spain. Although the cause of the explosion of the ship was not exactly known, there was no way a diplomatic approach could be used to solve this conflict (Dolan, 2001). Further public investigations proved that the explosion was external therefore war was inevitable.
In April, 1898, President McKinley sent American troops to Cuba to help end the civil war after seeking permission from the already willing congress. The Senate agreed that the intervention was only to help Cuba gain independence and completely withdraw after their mission was accomplished.
The U.S government sent an ultimatum to Spain on April 20, 1898 but Spain responded by breaking its diplomatic relationship with America (Alger, 2010). From April 23, both Washington and Madrid declared war and the U.S Navy immediately went into action by beginning a blockade of Cuba.
The U.S Army was not well prepared for war at the time of declaration but later joined the naval forces after getting the necessary supplies for the war. The Army received an extra boost from volunteers and other National Guard units bringing its total number to 220,000 from the initial target of 78,000 (Dolan, 2001).
The American Army forces were consoled by the fact that the Spanish forces were not in any way better than them. By April 29, The US navy forces had put the Spanish fleet under their control (Trask, 1996). Madrid immediately recalled Pascal Cervera from Cape Verde Islands to lead the Spanish onslaught. Pascual came with four cruisers and three destroyers ready for war.
The action officially began on July 1, when the American forces attacked the areas occupied by the Spanish forces especially garrisons and seized the enemy positions in the village of El Caney , San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill (Venzon, 20003). The Spanish forces under the command of Admiral Cervera were completely overwhelmed by the dominant American forces with many causalities being reported on the Spanish side alone (Venzon, 2003).
During this confrontation, almost 474 Spaniards were killed and wounded. This was a major achievement by the American forces because they also managed to capture 1,750 Spaniards as prisoners with only one American being killed in the process. On July 17, the Spanish forces of around 24,000 soldiers officially surrendered to the American forces. The American force was organized in almost ten cavalries that gave the little chance for the Spanish forces to respond (Alger, 2010).
Santiago was forced to surrender because resisting the U.S attacks would lead to more deaths. The pro-independent rebels in Cuba were also very instrumental in helping the American forces to win the war (Alger, 2010).
The American forces continued camp in Cuba for a month after the war but their withdrawal was accelerated by yellow fever that had began to cripple the force. Roosevelt, who was the deputy army commander immediately requested Washington to withdraw forces because 75% of the American soldiers were not fit to fight to because yellow fever (Dolan, 2001). The American forces started to withdraw from Cuba on August 7. The black soldiers were left behind to support the young regime in Cuba.
Although many American soldiers left Cuba having contracted yellow fever, there mission had been successful because Cuba had finally become independent and was free from the brutal Spanish colonial rule (Dolan, 2001).
In conclusion, the 1898 war between the United States and Spain was cause by both political and economic reasons. The Spanish colonial rule in Cuba was very brutal and his caused a revolt by the native people. The riots in Cuba affected the economy of America because its shipping industry and sugar investments in Cuba were under threat.
The American government decided to join forces with pro-independence Cubans rebels to bring down the Spanish colony for Cuba to become completely autonomous. The American forces won the war to guarantee the Cuban people their independence.
References
Alger, R. (2010). The Spanish-America war. New York, NY: Read Books Design.
Dolan, E. (2001). The Spanish-American war. New York, NY: Twenty-First Century Books.
Graves, K. (2000). The Spanish-American war. New York, NY: Capstone Press.
Trask, D. (1996). The war with Spain in 1898. New York, NY: University of Nebraska Press.
Venzon, A. (2003). America’s war with Spain: A selected bibliography. New York, NY: Scarecrow.