Spanish American
War
In 1868 Cuban
rebels declared independence and started a guerilla war against Spain and its authorities.
Nearly 200,000 troops were sent from Spain to Cuba to shut down the rebellion and
appointed General Valeriano Weyler as governor. The Cuban rebels would stage hit and runs,
burned plantation and sugar mills, and tore up railroad tracks. Knowing that
they had American businesses in Cuba, the rebels hoped that with the
destruction of American property would lead to America’s intervention in the
war. To prevent the rebels from doing these things, Weyler would heard hundreds
of thousands of men and women into “reconcentration camps” where they would all
be kept without food or water.
In 1897 the
president made it clear that if the Spanish did not negotiate then America
would have to intervene. The Spanish offered up Cubans right to their own
government but they would still have to be a part of the Spanish empire, the
Cubans refused. On April 19, congress proclaimed Cuba independent and declared
that Spain withdrew themselves from the island. In response, Spain declared war
on America. On December 10, 1898 the United States and Spain signed the Treaty
of Paris.
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