Spanish-American War was a significant event in American history that resulted in America overthrowing the Spanish rule of several countries in the Caribbean. Due to the victory of the United States, Spain had to relinquish its claims in Cuba and ceded their sovereignty over Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the U.S.

    The Cuban War for Independence from Spain began in 1895. This was the third and final war between Cuba and Spain, but then the United States of America interfered. They decided to take Cuba’s side in the war under President William McKinley who claimed they were doing so for “humanitarian reasons”. While Spain treated the Cubans horribly, even torturing them, this was an obvious smear campaign from American journalists attacking the Spanish. Plenty of American civilians went to Cuba around that time, so the government sent the USS Maine to protect them instead of forcing them to return to America. The USS Maine arrived in the harbor of Havana, Cuba on January 25^th, 1898, but about three weeks later the ship was mysteriously sunken. The US government immediately pointed fingers at the Spanish government and used this as an opportunity to declare war against Spain.

    While the US was hungry for war, the Spanish had been in a precarious political situation for a few months and did not want to engage in another war. Unfortunately for them, most of their colonies in the Caribbean and Central America had either already gained their independence or requested reforms, so they could not afford to lose another territory and had to go to war. The US Navy was much more powerful than the Spanish Navy, and the US fleet was able to destroy a Spanish fleet quickly and easily in the Pacific Ocean during their first battle.

    The US Navy then went to Manila Bay, Philippines, and defeated the Spanish in that area. However, rather than giving the Philippines their independence, the US held its revolutionaries at bay and gained control of the islands which led to the Philippine-American War a few years later. Then they captured Guam without a single shot fired. The Spanish garrison in Guam was captured and they left no Americans on the island. All this had happened while Cuba just wanted their independence, and not to be colonized by America. Unfortunately, they were under the control of the US until yellow fever broke out, forcing the American troops back to their country, and finally freeing Cuba.

    Over the course of the Spanish-American War, Spain lost several colonies, as well as their entire navy. They had no interest in continuing the fight, so the Treaty of Paris was offered in 1898 as a compromise. Just ten weeks later, the treaty was accepted, and the Spanish-American War had officially ended. Cuba went on to organize their independence in 1902, and the US-controlled none of their territory other than Guantanamo Bay.

    The Spanish-American War lasted only around three months, but lots of changes occurred in this small window. Several of Spain’s colonies had been repossessed by the United States or even set free. In conclusion, the Spanish-American War was a very important historical event because of all the changes in the colonies in the Caribbean and the political changes in Spain and the US.