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Cubas First War for Independence
This was the 10 years war, This war was part of Cubas fight for independence. This was the first of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain. This war started and was led by Cuban business owners who wanted social, economic reforms from Spain. Due to the lack of enforcement of the slave ban, many African Americans were imported. There was an estimated number of 90,000 slaves from 1856-1860. This is another big reason Cubans decided that this war needed to happen. -
Jose Marti led Cubas Second War for Independence
Jose Marti was an activist for Cubans. He led the Cubans in their second war and he was known to destroy property and to use an active guerilla campaign. Most of the property that was damaged was American owned, such as sugar mills and plantations. He feared the US and their imperialism so that was his way to retaliate. Jose died fighting for Cuban independence in 1895 and is today known as a hero to Cubans. -
Yellow Press begins to shape American Public Opinion with Respect to Cubas civil war
This was the style of writing journalists used to persuade readers to be on a certain side or believe the same political beliefs as them. This was especially important tduring this time because this is how the opinion of the general pubic was shaped in terms of the war. The journalists most often would only write what they thought, it was more based on opinion than actual facts -
Valerino Weyler was sent to Cuba by Spain
This was the response from Spain to the Cuban Revolt. The goal was to restore order, Weyler tried to bring order back by putting the entire central and western Cuban population in barbed wire concentration camps. This made it impossible for Civilians to aid rebels. There were approximately 300,000 Cubans held in these camps and thousand died from diseases and hunger. -
US attempts to purchase Cuba
Long before the war started the United States had an interest in Cuba but they were denied by Spain when they tried to go forward with purchasing this land. America wanted Cuba to agree with their way of governing and they knew that they could have this power if they were owners of this land. -
US Invades Cuba
The Spanish thought that the Americans would invade Cuba long before they actually did, the Americans landed in Cuba in June of 1898 and started to Converge in the city of Santiago. They brought along an army of 17,000 people including 4 African-American regiments of the Regular Army and the rough riders. -
Naval Blockade of Cuba
This came before the Destruction of the Spanish Fleet. The battle started with a Naval blockade of Cuba. President Kennedy ordered this when he received word that there were spy plane that spotted missile sites and a plot for an attack on the United States -
Destruction of Spanish Fleet in Cuba
This was the outcome of the Spanish fleet attempting to escape the American blockade in Santiago and the Naval battle that followed this attempt. The Spanish lost more than 300 people and out of around 2,227 men, 150 were wounded. -
Publication of the De Lome letter
This was a private letter written by a man named Enrique Dupuy de Lome. This man was the Spanish minister to the United States. This letter was stolen by a Cuban rebel from a Havana post office and leaked to the newspaper. The New York journal published this letter and readers saw that this was a letter criticizing Mckinley and Americans were outraged with anger. The Spanish government was embarrassed and apologized, and the minister resigned but Americans were still very upset. -
Explosion of USS Maine
The ship blew up in the Harbor of Havana and more than 260 men were killed, at first, no one knew why the ship exploded but there was later speculation that the Spanish blew up the ship. -
US declares war on Spain
On April 9th, the Spanish agreed to most of everything that the United States demanded. These demands included a six-month cease-fire. Most of the public favored the war and on 4/11 McKinley asked congress for permission to use force against Spain, when these rights were granted the United States declared war on April 20th. -
US Attacks on Manila Bay
This battle resulted in the fall of the Philipines and helped the United States in the victory of the Spanish-American war -
Battle of San Juan Hill
As part of the plan to free Cuba, the U.S. Army Fifth Corps battles Spanish forces at San Juan Hill. This was the battle that directly leads to the surrender of Spain on July 17th -
Capture of Puerto Rico
This occurred when the treaty of Paris ruled Puerto Rico an American protectorate. From this point on Puerto Ricans hoped for increased rights and a better economy. Us Troops were also welcomed to Puerto Rico in 1898. -
Armistice is Signed between the US and Spain
This was the end of the Spanish-American war. This agreement marked the American's victory and signaled for the transition of the US into power. -
Spanish Surrender the Phillipines
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Treaty of Paris
The United States and Spain met in Paris to sign this treaty. Spain freed Cuba, turned over the Islands of Guam in the Pacific and Puerto Rico in the West Indies to the United States. The treaty sparked a huge debate, many questioned whether or not the Americans had the right to Annex the Philipines.
