Running Head: SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

The Spanish American War: As seen by Cubans

Diana D. Mateo
University of Texas at El Paso

Running Head: SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

Abstract
Spain has always been a very powerful country, which is always trying to take over other lands
to gain more territory. Spanish believe that if they had more territory than other countries they
would eventually rise as a world power. When Spain took over Cuba there were many Cubans
who were satisfied but as the years went by many of them started to show their dissatisfaction
and their feelings towards Spain. When Spain took over there were many Cubans who were
starting to fight for their independence, Without reaching any solution, the United States decided
to get involved , which lead to the deaths of many American soldiers. The purpose of this
literature review is to explore one of the factors that lead to many US deaths during the Spanish
American war, the reasons why Spain wanted to take full control over Cuba and discuss the
many reasons that Spain had to not give Cubans their freedom

Running Head: SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

The Spanish American War: As Seen By Cubans

Cuba was an island who was discovered by the famous Italian explorer named Christopher
Columbus and it was inhabited by many Mesoamericans. Cuba used to be ruled and occupied by
Great Britain until they gave the island to Spain, which is basically how Spain got the island.
Cuba used to be a geopolitical aberration as well. The island of Cuba was about 90 miles away
from Florida and it was separated from Spain by the Atlantic Ocean. Cuba had many ties with
Spain because at that time Cuba was evolving from a slowly growing colony into the worlds
leading sugar producer (Spanish Cuban American War History of Cuba, n.d.).
The Spanish American war first started in April, 1898 and it was a conflict fought between
Spain and the United States. The United States declared war on Spain on February 15, 1898 after
the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor (Milestones, 2016). The war originated in
the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain. Spains brutality against Cubans was published
in many U.S. newspapers and because of that Americans sympathy for the rebels rose. There
were many U.S citizens who demanded for the U.S. to intervene and help Cubans but they also
demanded the intervention after the sinking of the Battleship Maine. When Spain heard this he
announced an armistice on April 9 and speeded up its program to grant Cuba limited powers of
self government but the U.S. Congress demanded the withdrawal of Spains forces from the
island. Congress authorized the president to use force to secure the withdrawal, while
renouncing, any U.S. design for annexing Cuba (Foster, 2015). Once the U.S intervened, Cubans
felt excited because they knew that there was going to be a change and new beginning in their
lives. The poor treatment that they were receiving by the Spanish ended and most Cubans felt a
great satisfaction that they gained their independence (Voanews, 2010). As the years went by
Cubans started to resent the U.S. involvement because segregation, disenfranchisement and the

Running Head: SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

rhetoric of imperialism that stressed racial superiority were becoming progressively blatant in
American Society (Powell, 2015). This paper aims to review these three questions:
1. What was one factor that led to many US deaths?
2. Why did Spain want to take full control over Cuba?
3. Why Spain did not want to give Cubans their independence?
These three questions will explain the purpose of this literature review by providing background
information of Spain and Cuba, the involvement of the US and explain the main causes for this
conflict to occur.
What was one factor that led to many US deaths?
There were many factors that led to many US deaths such as diseases, starvation, and
exposure. Diseases were the most dangerous and the one that led to many deaths. Cuba use to be
an island were there were not any diseases, unfortunately for them, when Spain invaded them
they brought many diseases with them and infected many Cubans. Some of these diseases were
Malaria, typhoid, dysentery and the most well known by everybody which was the yellow fever.
The yellow fever was the disease responsible for the deaths of over 400 American soldiers. In
1901, there was a major named, Walter Reed, a U.S. Army physician who decided to discover
how the yellow fever was transmitted. He discovered that mosquitoes were the source of the
spread. There were about 5,000 US soldiers who died from other diseases as well. 2,000 soldiers
were contaminated by yellow fever and according to General William Shafter, it was a thousand
times harder to stand up against than the missiles of the enemy. The first case of this disease
was known to take place at Siboney on July the 6th (Cheng, 2006).
Yellow fever was most likely to strike during the summer on rainy seasons. Theodore
Roosevelt was so concerned about this disease that he send a letter to Secretary of War Russell
Alger saying "If we are kept here it will in all human possibility mean an appalling disaster, for

Running Head: SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

the surgeons here estimate that over half the army, if kept here during the sickly season, will
die." He was concerned for his life but also for his soldiers lives. Even though he sends this
message the Alger ordered Theodore Roosevelt and his troops to stay there in Santiago because
they wanted to wait for the Spanish forces to surrender and because of that there were many
more deaths. The Spanish forces did surrender on July 17 but the U.S. lost many soldiers due to
the yellow fever (Cheng, 2006).
When the Spanish American War was declared there were many U.S. volunteers who
entered training camps in the southeastern United States. Most of the surgeons that were there
advised soldiers to maintain hygiene but the camps there were so filthy that lead to a deadly
typhoid outbreak. There were about 171,000 personnel and about 20,700 people who contracted
the disease. More than 1500 died which was pretty bad because most of the people who were
dying included many American soldiers. At the end the board visited these camps and decided to
establish sanitary measures for military commanders to protect the troops (Cheng, 2006)
There were many American soldiers who were being struck by diseases, dysentery being
one, but when people discovered the first case of yellow fever this disease began to spread. There
were many officers and doctors who blamed this disease on infected buildings in Siboney. July
11th, the general from the U.S. troops, General Nelson Miles, ordered people to evacuate and to
burn Siboney. Diseases were the main reason for so many U.S. deaths because there were fewer
than 400 American soldiers killed in combat. More than a third of the American soldiers died
from yellow fever and malaria that was caused by mosquitoes (McSherry, 2016).
Why did Spain wanted to take full control over Cuba?
Spain had many New World colonies but unfortunately for them by the end of the 1800s,
Spain lost all its colonies except for Cuba and Puerto Rico. At this time, there were many Cubans

Running Head: SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

who were very dissatisfied with Spain because most of them did not wanted to be under the
Spanish rule any more due to the bad treatment they were receiving from the Spanish. There
were many Cubans who decided to move to Florida and other parts of the United States to get
away from the Spanish and their rules. Even though they moved they still remained loyal to

Cuba

(Florida Center for Instructional

Technology, 2002). This map shows the many cities in Florida that were used as military bases

Running Head: SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

during the Spanish War. The cities of Lakeland, Jacksonville, Fernandina, Tampa, Pensacola,
Key West, and Miami were used as military bases for the American troops. Most of the fighting
took place in Cuba but the first major battle that the U.S. had with the Spanish been fought in
the harbor of Milan. Milan used to be located in the Philippine Islands and was during the
Spanish American war was ruled by Spain (Florida Center for Instructional Technology, 2002).
Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders helped in the Spanish American War fighting.
The Rough Riders was a group of cowboys and college athletes commanded by the general
Roosevelt. Theodore was a general who later on became the governor of New York and the
president of the United States. The Spanish American War did not last long it only lasted a few
months but the destruction was fatal. This war was declared to be over when Spain signed a
peace treaty which was called the Treaty of Paris. The Treaty of Paris gave the United States
control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippine Islands and Guam. Cuba was the only country who
became independent (Florida Center for Instructional Technology, 2002).
One of the greatest inspiration Cubans had to fight against the Spanish rule was a writer
who lived in New York named Jose Marti. Jose Marti was a Cuban who helped Cuba fight for its
independence from Spain. Marti was the leader of the revolution, unfortunately, he did not get to
fight because when he was on his way to battle he was killed but the propaganda he put about
Cuba in every newspaper he wrote was a very essential part that made the U.S intervene in Cuba.
Tomas Estrada Palma became the leader and president of Cuba. Spain wanted to keep Cuba
because of the great sugar boom and the Cubans ports to foreign trade that they had (Aydit,
2006).
In the year of 1868, there was a landowner named Carlos Manuel de Cespedes who gave
the Cry of Yara, best known as Grito de Yara, where he freed his slaves and initiated Cubas

Running Head: SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

independence, most commonly known as the Ten Year War. There was a guerilla called
Mambises, who were very essential for Cubans independence. They very popular and the support
from many Cubans. The U.S. would sell weapons to Spain but not to the Mambises and leading
to a statement in 1878, known as the Pact of Zanjon. This pact ended the war, providing an
amnesty to anyone who fought and freeing the black slaves who fought on either side. There
were many people who were disappointed with the Pact and most people would call it to be a
false promise that would never be kept, unfortunately for them they were right (Sierra, 2013).
During the Spanish American war there were two types of press which were known to be
the yellow press and the honest press and they both formed a very important part in the
intervention of the U.S. From the beginning both of these press rushed to correspondents to
document the level of hostility that were going on in Cuba. There were only few journalists that
actually made it to Cuba and among the rebels the vast majority only made it as far as Florida
and if they were lucky the Hotel Inglaterra in Havana was the closest they could get. Journalists
would usually make up their stories and exaggerate everything. The result of this was many
glorious victories in battles for Cuba which in reality never occurred and along with severely
embellished stories of Spanish brutality and cruelty. The press was very influential and powerful
and was the one who first blamed Spain for the destruction of Maine causing the citizens of the
United States to put pressure on American troops to go to war with Spain. That is the main
reason why the Unites States went to war with Spain (Geocities, n.d.).
Why Spain did not want to give Cubans their freedom?
Spain did not want to give Cubans their freedom because they wanted to keep them as
their slaves for life. They wanted to use them for hard labor and if there was someone that
wanted to resist they could face punishment a punishment of death. Spanish also wanted Cubans

Running Head: SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

to help them look for gold or any valuable objects. Spanish people wanted to suppress the
Cubans because by doing that they gained more items. They also gained political and economic
freedom while preserving slavery. Many of the Cubans who were being held as slaves were
treated poorly and most of them lived in horrible conditions. Any Spanish was able to afford a
Cuban slave but the class of each slave was determined by how they were dressed. If wealthy
families bought a slave they would usually dressed them with expensive clothes so everyone
would know that they were wealthy. Therefore, they would dress their Cuban slaves
appropriately (Aydit, 2016).
In conclusion this literary review has answered many questions concerning the factors
that led to the Spanish American War, the reasons of why Spain did not wanted to sell Cuba to
the United States and the reasons why Spain did not wanted to give Cubans their freedom. There
are still many questions unanswered about this topic but it is important for everyone to know
about this war. Due to this war, the United States signed the Treaty of Paris and seceded Guam
and Puerto Rico. The United Stated then transferred sovereignty over to the Philippines and
because of that the United States became more powerful and rose as the world power. It is very
important for every American to be familiar with this war; it was an important turning point for
both Spain and the United States.

Running Head: SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

10
References

Aydit, G. (n.d.). The Spanish American War: The Cuban Perspective. 1-7. Retrieved
October 12, 2016
Cheng, J. (2006). The Great Fever. PBS.
Geocities. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2016 from
http://www.geocities.ws/films4/propagandapan.htm
Florida Center for Instructional Technology. (2002). Retrieved October 11, 2016 from
http://fcit.usf.edu/FLorIDA/lessons/s-a_war/s-a_war1.htm
Milestones: 1866-1898- Office of the Historian. (n.d.). Retrieved September
26, 2016 from https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/spanish-americanwar
McSherry, P. (2016, September 15). Casualties During the Spanish American War. Spanamwar,
p.1.
Powell, A. (2015). Retrieved October 11, 2016 from
http://www.spanamwar.com/AfroAmericans.htm
Spanish-Cuban-American War- History of Cuba. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016
Voanews, (2010).A Dispute over Cuba Leads to the Spanish American War.
Voanews, p.1.

Running Head: SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

11