Spain’s Loss of Colonies in 1898: Causes and Consequences
The Loss of Spain’s Last Colonies in 1898
The loss of Spain’s last colonies is closely related to the remodeling of the colonial map imposed by major industrial powers. The crisis of 1898 had internal repercussions abroad.
Causes of the Crisis
- Spain’s failure to abide by the agreements in the Pact of Zanjón (1878) provoked discomfort among the Creoles regarding the political, financial, economic, and tax situation on the island. These groups coalesced around the Cuban Liberal Party or the Cuban Revolutionary Party, founded in 1892 by the poet José Martí. The Cuban Revolutionary Party had the support of the United States, which sought to gain influence over the island. Opposing them were the unconditional Spanish, the owners of sugar mills who opposed any kind of reform for fear of losing their privileges.
- Spain’s economic inability to fully absorb sugar production and other Cuban products and to provide the island with manufactured goods. This fact motivated Creoles to consider that Spain’s economic backwardness was blocking the economic expansion of the islands. The most dynamic sectors of the Cuban economy were attracted by the orbit of American influence, whose ruling classes saw in Cuba an excellent market and a potential area for expansion.
- In Spain, the governments of the Restoration had not managed the problem well. An autonomy plan proposed in 1893 by Antonio Maura, then Minister of Overseas, was rejected because it was believed to undermine national unity. In 1895, an autonomous law was granted, but it was too late: it was not accepted, and the Cubans erupted after the uprising.
- The apparent increase in patriotic sentiment on both islands was supported by the interests of the United States.
Development of the Conflict
The Cuban uprising, led by José Martí and with the collaboration of Máximo Gómez, Antonio Maceo, and Calixto García, was supported by rebellious peasants. In February 1895, they took power in the eastern part of the island under the so-called Cry of Baire. Cánovas pursued a policy of reconciliation, sending General Martínez Campos to negotiate and prevent the advancement of the rebels. He failed and was replaced by General Valeriano Weyler in 1896. Weyler applied a tactic of war to know, erected the famous fortified trail, a few lines that divided the island into three sectors, concentrating the rural population in villages to prevent them from aiding the rebels, and destroyed the buildings that served as a refuge for insurgents.
The economic ruin caused by the prolongation and the hardness of these protests led the U.S. Senate to advise President Cleveland to recognize the state of war in Cuba. The Americans offered themselves as mediators and demanded autonomy for Cuba. Cánovas rejected the proposal and drafted a memorandum in which he granted certain freedoms and autonomy to the island once it was pacified. With this and with his death, everything worsened since the Americans exercised strong diplomatic pressure. Economic or military assistance was rendered to insurgents, if they were waiting for the slightest pretext to make a declaration of war, as they themselves acknowledged, “having the back of the house clean of enemies and win control Atlantic-Pacific” to defend its economic interests in the area.
The new occupant of the White House, Republican William McKinley, protested to the Spanish government for the harsh attitude of Weyler, demanding pacification of the island. He even managed to get Queen Regent Maria Cristina to consider a purchase offer of $300 million, to which the Queen and the government were strongly opposed, as this act of dishonor would have also led to the separation of the monarchy, as Cuba was an indispensable part of the crown.
The Americans put in the effort, and building on the bombing of the battleship Maine, a U.S. warship anchored in the port of Havana in order to protect American citizens and properties on the island and prevent the application of military and administrative measures by Spain. On February 25, 1898, the U.S. declared war on Spain and demanded the resignation of Spanish sovereignty over Cuba.
The War in Spain
When the war began, Spain lived days of true patriotic enthusiasm, encouraged by the government and most of the press. It was believed that Spain could win the war against the United States, despite its industrial potential. That prospect sounded more like a desire than reality. In addition to the differences between the two contenders, there was a great difficulty: the war was to be developed in two widely separated stages, the Pacific and the Atlantic.
Nothing more than declaring war, the American fleet went to support the Philippine uprising led by José Rizal. The goal was Manila, where the Spanish admiral Montojo had fled with his boats, thinking about the additional protection that could provide the coastal batteries guarding the harbor of the city. The disparity of forces was evident: the ships that composed the Spanish fleet, eight vessels, and boats were unprotected against American armored cruisers commanded by Dewey. The naval battle of Cavite lasted three hours. On the first day of May, the Spanish fleet was destroyed by the Americans in Manila Bay. The Philippines surrendered, revolting Cavite, in front of whom Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of the island on June 12, 1898.
In the Atlantic, the Spanish fleet operating near the Canary Islands, commanded by Admiral Cervera, was ordered to transfer to Puerto Rico to protect the island and Cuba. However, when it stopped to take on coal in Santiago de Cuba, it was blocked by the U.S. fleet. The American troops, under the command of Theodore Roosevelt, arrived in Cuba, took El Caney and San Juan Hill, and attacked the port. The Spanish fleet came out of the harbor on July 3 and was destroyed. Santiago capitulated soon after, and the Americans entered San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Manila.
End of the War
The Treaty of Paris
In December 1898, the treaty was signed in which Spain recognized the independence of Cuba, which was occupied by the U.S., and ceded Puerto Rico, the Philippine Islands, and Guam to the U.S. in exchange for $20 million. The remaining possessions, the Mariana Islands, Palau, and the Caroline Islands, were sold to Germany the following year for 20 million marks.
The disaster of 1898 represented the greatest failure of the Cánovas system. The impact on the collective imagination produced by this event plunged the Spanish into a wave of crisis of conscience and affected the whole social fabric of the nation. It found its best expression in a vigorous intellectual reaction. To concentrate its efforts on recovering and modernizing the country, the so-called Regeneracionismo of 1898 would call for production, work, and wealth, and its eagerness to criticize the ills of the country and the aftermath of the oligarchy and despotism.