The Spanish-American War

In the late 19th century, the Spanish empire was only a fraction of what it used to be. They held on to its Caribbean colonies and the Philippines, with some smaller colonies across Africa and in the Pacific islands. The notion among many Cubans was becoming clear, they wanted their independence from the Spanish capital to become their own country. Although they had tried to get rid of the Spanish crown in the 10 years war unsuccsessfully, the idea was still alive. The Cubans tried again in 1895.

With the rise of imperialism sweeping across many European nations, the U.S. was under pressure to quickly gain new possessions of territories to show off the power of the American government to its European counterparts. With the weak Spanish government trying to hold onto to its American colonies in the New World, the U.S. saw the perfect moment to gain its possessions. Many Cubans wanted to become independent from Spain, whilst many also had their eyes on the U.S. to help them achieve it.

Newspaper depicting the sinking of the Maine

After the U.S. sent a military ship to protect its interest in Cuba from the rebellions sweeping the island, the ship of Maine was reportedly sunk down by the Spanish, when in reality the boat had an explosion not caused by the Spanish, yet it was fabricated by the press to seem as the Spanish had done it. As a result, congress had declared war on Spain and the two countries would go to war over the claim of the Caribbean nations Spain held onto, the Philippines and the Pacific islands, such as Guam. With the vast support of the congress, Roosevelt had blockaded the ports of Cuba, and war had finally broken out in April of 1898. The U.S. had then sent more troops and ships to the island of the Philippines, to beat the Spanish at the battle of Manila Bay, only to help the Filipino people to start another uprising against the Spanish, which 2 years earlier was not successful.

The motive for the American government was to capture more ports, which would make it easier for the American government to station its ships and conduct trade at an easier level. The end of the war marked the end of the 400 year old domination over Spain's Caribbean islands, from Columbus to Roosevelt, the island of Cuba was free from Spain, with one condition only, and that being that it still had to remain under U.S. influence. Till this day, Puerto Rico is yet to decide whether to remain with the U.S. or to become independent, a territory still held by the American government from the Spanish-American war.

Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-maine-explodes#
http://www.history.com/topics/spanish-american-war