The Spanish American War

The Spanish American War was a conflict between Spain and America which took place in 1898. The war itself did not necessarily last as long as others in history, arguably less than, spanning only a few months between April to August. The primary cause of the war itself was the state of anger in Cuba, whose citizens were calling for independence from the rule of the Spanish (Spain). America intervened in the situation in Cuba as a result. Cubans were in deep trouble after the failed and unorganized attempt at revolting from the Ten Years War, alongside a revolt held just a few years prior to the Spanish American War. Spain had a deep distaste for America, at the time, for sympathizing with the Cubans wish for independence, so a war was launched between the two countries.

Facts about the Spanish American War:

  1. War wasn’t the most prominent or deadly issues for both sides of the battle. Disease like yellow fever and typhoid fever ran rampant during these times and often took the lives of whole units during this war. These diseases took over seventy-five percent of the Spanish before the war even took place, and only around 23% of the fighters were left alive or in decent enough health to actually battle.

  2. Because of this war, the famous Treaty of Paris was initiated and signed, which gave Cuba their independence from Spanish rule, and in turn, America bought the Philippines.

  3. After the Spanish American war, Spain lost a large amount of its national power. This is because many of the countries which Spain ruled followed in Cuba’s footsteps and attempted to seek independence from their ruling. Soon Spain no longer held its position as one of the strongest and more powerful colonized nations in the world.

  4. Theodore Roosevelt was the first volunteer to ride cavalry for the Spanish American war. The battle which Roosevelt fought in was called the Battle of San Juan Hill.

  5. William Mckinley was the current president during this war. He actually asked to declare war with Spain during this issue between them and Cuba, however he initially was not interested in doing so. Mckinley, in fact, wanted to stray away from any type of combat, but the media slandered his name and offered offensive terms towards his position, such as being a “weak man”. So, Mckinley sought after an armed conflict, seeing that there was little to no other successful way to respond.

The Spanish American war was a prominent time period and battle for the history of not just Spain and America, but Cuba as well. While there were many Spanish deaths in this battle, only an estimated three hundred eighty to four hundred Americans died. Needless to say, the United States won the battle. As a result, the Treaty of Paris was signed and put into action, Cuba was given its independence, and Spain lost a vast majority of its power.

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