/kloc-in the last 20 years of the 0/9th century, the frequency of the word "imperialism" suddenly increased.
As we all know, the arrival of the imperialist era was marked by the Spanish-American War at the end of 19, the Ying Bu War across the century and the Russo-Japanese War at the beginning of the 20th century. As the first imperialist war, the Spanish-American War is one of the landmark events in human history.
Contradictions between Western Colonies and the West
When the United States ranks among the world powers in terms of economic and military strength, and is ambitious to expand overseas, the old imperialist countries have completely carved up the world.
19 14, all African countries were colonized except Ethiopia and Liberia, which maintained political independence.
Although the comprehensive strength of the United States and Germany greatly exceeds that of Britain, France, Spain and Russia, their colonies and spheres of influence are far behind the latter.
This reality has caused great dissatisfaction among emerging powers, so it is urgent to obtain an international status that matches their strength.
However, Spain, once a world power, has become the biggest obstacle on the road of American expansion. Spain used to be in the ascendant, occupying a large number of colonies and spheres of influence in Latin America and the Pacific. However, since the18th century, Spain's national movement has been declining, and it was soon surpassed by Britain, France and other countries.
/kloc-At the end of 0/9, when the emerging empires such as the United States, Germany and Japan rose rapidly, Spain became more decadent and its colonial rule was crumbling.
Therefore, Cuba, which controls the throat leading to the Panamanian isthmus, and the Philippines, located in the southeast of China, have become the targets of the United States because of their strategic positions.
Cuba is the largest island in the West Indies, located in the northwest of the Caribbean, only 90 nautical miles from Miami, Florida, USA.
Cuba and another island, Puerto Rico, guard the gateway of the United States from the Gulf of Mexico to the Caribbean, and are in the navigation channel of the planned Panama Canal, which has a very prominent strategic position.
Located between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea of China, the Philippines is an important gateway for the Pacific Ocean to enter East Asia and China.
After the United States forced the Queen of Hawaii to abdicate and took control of the Hawaiian Islands through a coup in 1893, it began to seek the Philippines as its base for controlling the Pacific Ocean and invading China.
Then, the United States ushered in a good opportunity. After the ten-year war of independence of 1868- 1878, the Cuban people, under the leadership of the patriotic poet Jose Marti and others, once again set off the climax of the war of independence.
At the same time, the Philippine people also held a large-scale armed uprising under the leadership of the patriotic organization "Katipunan" from 65438 to 0896.
Under the heavy blow of the Cuban and Filipino people's wars of independence, Spanish colonial rule fell apart. Seeing that the time has come, the American rulers took advantage of the sympathy and support of the American people for the Cuban and Filipino people to resist the Spanish colonial rulers, created war public opinion, and actively deployed plans for armed intervention in Cuba and the Philippines.
The outbreak of the Spanish-American War
1898 February 15, the American battleship Maine exploded and sank in Havana harbor, killing 266 people. After the incident, theodore roosevelt, deputy secretary of the US Navy, decided that the incident was planned by Spain, which violated its secret agreement with the US Navy and finally ignited the fuse of the Spanish-American War.
From1April 24, 898 when Spain declared war on the United States to1February when the two countries signed an armistice agreement, the Spanish-American War lasted 1 1 day. In the meantime, the battles of Manila Bay, Santiago and Manila broke out one after another. Before the war, the United States had actually planned for this war for a long time.
In fact, as early as the explosion in Maine, the United States had sent an Asian fleet to Hong Kong, targeting the Philippines.
1898, the Filipinos actually drove the Spaniards to Manila, that is, in fact, the Spaniards only controlled Manila in the whole Philippines.
On April 25th, Secretary of the Navy Long sent a telegram to Dewey, informing Dewey that the Spanish-American War had officially broken out and ordering the American Asian sub-fleet to participate in the war.
1 at dawn in may, Dewey's fleet arrived outside Manila harbor, and then the shocked Spanish fleet fired first. Although the Spanish fleet shelled the American fleet with all its strength, it was a naval battle with great disparity.
At that time, Dewey's fleet had six new armored steam warships and five auxiliary ships, while the Spanish fleet had only seven wooden-shell warships, and all the warships were poorly maintained and dilapidated, and even the flagship leaked and caught fire. The shelling of both sides only lasted until noon, and all seven Spanish warships were sunk. The Spanish navy suffered 38 casualties1,while the US navy suffered only 8 minor injuries.
After destroying the Spanish fleet, Dewey blocked Manila and waited for the arrival of domestic troops. In order to monopolize Manila, the US military reached an agreement with the rebel leader, promising to recognize the independence of the Philippines, and privately reached a secret agreement with the Spanish governor to "transfer" Manila to the United States. Then, the US military established a military government and monopolized Manila.
At the same time as the Philippine War broke out, the war between the United States and Spain in Cuba, another main battlefield, was also in full swing.
Before the war, the US Navy sent two sub-fleets to block the Cuban coast, but the Spanish fleet successfully avoided the blockade cruise of the US Navy and arrived at the port of Santiago, and then laid mines outside the port of Santiago to strengthen the coastal defense artillery positions.
On July 1 day, American troops stormed the commanding heights of Elca and San Juan Mountain in the east of the city. Cuban troops in theodore roosevelt fought hand-to-hand with the Spanish in San Juan Mountain.
This highland changed hands several times during this period, resulting in heavy casualties of American troops, as high as 1700.
Epilogue: Great Victory of America
The fiercest battle for Mount San Juan was on July 3, when the Spanish realized that the port of Santiago was difficult to hold, so the Spanish fleet turned to the sea for a breakthrough and the naval battle of Santiago broke out. After the confluence of the two sub-fleets of the US Navy, there are 24 warships, while the Spanish fleet has only nine. This naval battle became another Manila naval battle.
The whole naval battle lasted only four hours, and the Spanish fleet was completely destroyed. After the battle of San Diego, the Spanish completely lost hope. On July 16, the Spanish defenders in Santiago ran out of ammunition and 24,000 Spanish troops laid down their weapons. In addition to Cuba and the Philippines, the US military also attacked other strategic locations in Spain.
On June 20th, American troops captured Guam, an important strategic island in the Pacific Ocean.
On July 4th, American troops occupied wake island. On July 25th, nelson miles led 3000 American troops to Puerto Rico.
In early August, the United States sent another 10000 troops, and then attacked San Juan Mountain, the capital of Puerto Rico, in four groups. With only 50 casualties, the US military occupied the whole island of Puerto Rico.
1898 12 10, the United States and Spain signed the Paris Peace Treaty. Spain ceded the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States. Although Cuba gained independence in name, the United States used platt amendment to turn Cuba into a "protectorate" of the United States.
The Spanish-American War enabled the United States to capture new colonies and expand overseas markets, which in turn stimulated the rapid growth of the American economy.
By 19 13, the output of steel, iron and coal, as the symbol of industrial development level, has been equal to the sum of the three major countries: Britain, France and Germany.
This war has also become an important symbol of the transition from liberalism to imperialism in the United States and even the world.