Spain’s Colonial Decline: 1898 Crisis and Moroccan War
Item 13. The Fall of the Spanish Colonial Empire and the 1898 Crisis
At the end of the 19th century, although most territories in Africa, Asia, and Oceania were already occupied, great powers aspired to new colonies. One way to achieve this was by taking remnants of former empires from old powers like Spain and Portugal.
The Cuban Problem and the War with the U.S.
In 1895, independence movements erupted in Cuba and the Philippines, two Spanish colonies. The U.S. aided the Cuban rebels, but their aim was not Cuban liberation but gaining control of the island. American interests were economic (sugar and mining) and geo-strategic (military control over the Caribbean Sea). The U.S. tried to buy the island from Spain, but after Spain’s refusal, the American government opted for intervention. They declared war on Spain, using the explosion of the U.S. warship Maine in Havana’s harbor in 1898 as an excuse. The cause of the explosion was unknown, but the U.S. blamed the Spanish government under Sagasta without proof.
The war was an easy triumph for the U.S., with the Spanish armada destroyed. The first battle took place on May 1 in Manila Bay, where the U.S. Navy destroyed the Spanish ships in less than an hour. The second defeat occurred on July 3 in Santiago de Cuba Bay. During the conflict, the U.S. conquered the Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico and the Philippines.
In December 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed. Spain ceded Puerto Rico, the Philippines (which did not gain independence until 1946), and Guam to the U.S. Cuba gained independence but remained under American protection until the mid-20th century. Spain failed to solve the colonial problem in time; autonomous reforms might have prevented the independence movements.
Impact of the 1898 Disaster
- The Spanish people experienced the defeat as a national trauma, leading to feelings of inferiority and defeat.
- This resulted in the liquidation of the remaining Spanish colonial empire.
- Intellectually, the colonial disaster influenced the development of regenerationism and caused pessimistic reflections among the authors of the Generation of ’98.
The Colonial Intervention in Morocco
The origin of the Spanish military presence in northern Africa lies in agreements with the British in 1904. Great Britain wanted to maintain control of the Strait of Gibraltar, and France aimed to extend its dominion over the Maghreb. Through these agreements, the British supported French territorial claims in Morocco, and the French government supported British colonial actions in Egypt. Both powers reserved a zone in northern Morocco for Spain, preserving British interests in the Strait of Gibraltar.
This colonial venture did not generate enthusiasm in any sector of Spanish society. The Spanish government primarily wanted to ensure the security of Ceuta and Melilla. The Franco-Spanish treaty of 1912 did not fully define the territorial allocation in Morocco, leaving the center and south under French control and the north under Spanish control. The area allotted to Spain was inhabited by independent indigenous tribes, making military occupation difficult and slow.
Between 1912 and 1921, the Spanish Army proved unable to control northern Morocco. The main problem was that the three Spanish enclaves (Ceuta, Melilla, and Larache) were isolated and needed to be connected. In 1921, the colonial army was defeated at Annual by Moroccan rebels led by Abd el-Krim. 12,000 Spanish soldiers died, and much territory was lost, even threatening Melilla. Annual was a new frustration for Spain. It led to an investigation into military and political responsibilities for the disaster, and 39 officers were prosecuted for negligence, including Dámaso Berenguer (High Commissioner in Morocco). Annual became one of the reasons General Primo de Rivera used to justify his coup in 1923.
Commentary
These documents refer to the Treaty of Paris between the U.S. and Spain, ending the conflict over Cuba, and the explosion of the battleship Maine, which triggered the war. The first text outlines the Treaty of Paris (1898), where Spain ceded sovereignty over Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the U.S. The second document shows the battleship Maine in Havana harbor. The ship’s explosion in 1898, resulting in the deaths of 260 crew members, was blamed on Spain by the U.S. without proof, leading to the declaration of war.
The war was a triumph for the U.S. and a disaster for Spain. The first battle in Manila Bay saw the U.S. Navy destroy the Spanish fleet in under an hour. The second defeat occurred in Santiago de Cuba, with 300 Spanish sailors and one American soldier killed. The fall of the colonial empire caused a crisis at all levels of Spanish society. Spain had failed to resolve the issue of its overseas territories through autonomous reforms, which might have prevented independence movements. The U.S. capitalized on this desire for independence to gain control of Cuba and the Caribbean. Cuba gained independence but remained under American protection until the mid-20th century.
In Spain, the defeat was a national trauma, spreading feelings of inferiority and demoralization, reflected in the literary works of the Generation of ’98. The disaster of ’98 prompted intellectuals to seek change and progress, leading to new cultural movements like Regenerationism, the Generation of ’98, and Modernism. This search for solutions involved writers and thinkers such as Ortega, Unamuno, the Machado brothers, Azorín, Baroja, and Valle Inclán, who initiated a literary and intellectual movement, giving rise to the Silver Age of Spanish culture at the beginning of the 20th century.