Spain's 1898 Crisis: Cuban Independence & U.S. War

Prelude to Conflict

In 1898, Spain and the U.S. started a war for control of Cuba. It was a short war due to American superiority, but it had serious repercussions for Spain's dwindling empire. This crisis favored the emergence of cultural movements that criticized the Restoration period and sought political regeneration.

Cuban War of Independence

Cuba had been a Spanish possession since its discovery by Christopher Columbus. For Spain, it was the "pearl of the Antilles" due to its natural resources and strategic position. From the 19th century, it became the largest producer of sugar.

In the mid-19th century, changes occurred driven by the Creole aristocracy, as the profitability of slavery and the sugar monopoly declined, alongside issues with taxes.

Taking advantage of the fall of Queen Isabel II in Spain, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes initiated the war against Spain for Cuban independence, thus beginning a long and hard conflict (the Ten Years' War).

It was a war in which the rebels used guerrilla tactics and had the support of the campesinos (peasants). Spain could not deploy all its troops to this war because it was simultaneously fighting the Third Carlist War at home. After the Carlist War ended, Spain focused its troops on Cuba, promising amnesty. The war then concluded with the Peace of Zanjón (1878). However, Spain did not fulfill its promises of reform.

In 1886, slavery was finally abolished in Cuba. Later, the Overseas Minister, Antonio Maura, proposed administrative reforms and an extension of the census, but these were rejected by conservative elements in the Spanish Cortes as unpatriotic. Spaniards in Cuba who did not want reforms clashed with the government's attempts.

Conversely, the independence movement grew stronger, led by the Cuban Revolutionary Party, founded by José Martí, leading to the final war for independence starting in 1895.

Philippine Situation

The Philippine islands had a limited Spanish presence, concentrated mainly in the capital, Manila. Spain faced a combination of peasant uprisings, conflicts involving the clergy, and growing nationalist movements. The lack of meaningful reform led mestizos and natives to form a mixed emancipatory movement, which included supporters of reform. Governor General Camilo García de Polavieja ordered the execution of the nationalist leader José Rizal in 1896, further inflaming the situation. The subsequent Captain General, Fernando Primo de Rivera, negotiated deals that resulted in a temporary pacification (Pact of Biak-na-Bato, 1897).

Spanish Counter-Guerrilla Strategy in Cuba

Prime Minister Cánovas initially sent General Martínez Campos to repeat the pacification methods used successfully in the past, but Campos realized the situation was different and advocated negotiation alongside force. When this failed, Cánovas replaced him.

Martínez Campos was succeeded by General Valeriano Weyler, who arrived with reinforcements (eventually commanding around 200,000 soldiers) and implemented a harsh anti-guerrilla strategy. To deny insurgents support from the rural population, Weyler instituted the infamous reconcentración policy, forcing farmers into fortified towns and camps, where many died from disease and starvation. Weyler's methods were brutal towards both the rebels and the civilian population.

The war was unfavorable for the Spanish. It was fought in difficult jungle terrain for which the soldiers were neither adequately trained nor equipped. Coupled with tropical diseases (like yellow fever), this caused high mortality among the troops, making a decisive victory increasingly elusive.

Attempts at Political Reform

Cánovas's underlying idea was to introduce political reforms to stabilize the situation once military success was achieved. However, this approach faced opposition, and the harshness of the military campaign drew criticism, particularly from the United States, which increased its sympathy and unofficial support for the Cuban rebels.

Cánovas's assassination in August 1897 caused a political shift in Spain. The Liberals, led by Práxedes Mateo Sagasta, came to power. They decided that pacification should primarily come through political means. General Weyler was recalled and replaced by the more moderate General Ramón Blanco. Sagasta's government, with Segismundo Moret as Overseas Minister, granted amnesty and a comprehensive regime of political autonomy for Cuba and Puerto Rico in late 1897.

However, these significant reforms came too late. They failed to satisfy the Cuban independence movement, which now demanded full sovereignty, and did little to appease the increasingly interventionist stance of the United States.

The Spanish-American War Erupts

The U.S. was a rapidly industrializing nation and a rising world power with expansionist ambitions, while Spain struggled to hold onto the remnants of its once-vast empire. The key reasons explaining the U.S. interest and eventual intervention include:

• Economic interests: Significant American investments in Cuban sugar plantations and mines.
• Strategic interests: Desire for military control over the Caribbean sea lanes.
• Expansionist ideology: Belief in Manifest Destiny and a desire to project power.

The U.S. often masked its imperialist ambitions under humanitarian concerns for the Cuban people and invoked strategic arguments, sometimes related to the future possibility of an isthmian canal (later built in Panama).

President William McKinley's administration initially attempted diplomacy and even offered to buy Cuba from Spain, but Spain refused to sell its sovereignty. The situation escalated, driven by sensationalist "yellow journalism" in the U.S. press that inflamed public opinion against Spain.

The immediate pretext used by the U.S. to declare war against Spain was the mysterious explosion of the American battleship USS Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. Although the actual cause of the explosion remains debated by historians (an internal accident being likely), the American press and government immediately blamed Spain. Despite Spanish attempts to avoid conflict and agree to investigations...