CHAPTER 45

THE SPANISH WAR, 1898

[Sidenote:  The Cubans rebel, 1894.]

[Sidenote:  Spanish cruelties, Source-book, 374-379.]

472.  The Cuban Rebellion, 1894-98.—­The Cubans laid down their arms in 1877 (p. 372) because they relied on the promises of better government made by the Spaniards.  But these promises were never carried out.  Year after year the Cuban people bore with their oppression.  But at last their patience was worn out.  In 1894 they again rebelled.  The Spaniards sent over an army to subdue them.  Soon tales of cruelty on the part of the Spaniards reached the United States.  Finally the Spanish governor, General Weyler, adopted the cruel measure of driving the old men, the women, and the children from the country villages and huddling them together in the seaboard towns.  Without money, without food, with scant shelter, these poor people endured every hardship.  They died by thousands.  The American people sent relief, but little could be done to help them.  The Cubans also fitted out expeditions in American ports to carry arms and supplies to the rebels.  The government did everything in its power to stop these expeditions, but the coast line of the United States is so long that it was impossible to stop them all, especially as large numbers of the American people heartily sympathized with the Cubans.  Constant disputes with Spain over the Cuban question naturally came up and gave rise to irritation in the United States and in Spain.

[Illustration:  THE “MAINE.”]

[Sidenote:  Destruction of the Maine, 1898.]

[Sidenote:  Cuban independence recognized.]

473.  The Declaration of War, 1898.—­On January 5, 1898, the American battleship Maine anchored in Havana harbor.  On February 15 she was destroyed by an explosion and sank with two hundred and fifty-three of her crew.  A most competent Court of Inquiry was appointed.  It reported that the Maine had been blown up from the outside.  The report of the Court of Inquiry was communicated to the Spanish government in the hope that some kind of apology and reparation might be made.  But all the Spanish government did was to propose that the matter should be referred to arbitration.  The condition of the Cubans was now dreadful.  Several Senators and Representatives visited Cuba.  They reported that the condition of the Cubans was shocking.  The President laid the whole matter before Congress for its determination.  On April 19, 1898, Congress recognized the independence of the Cuban people and demanded the withdrawal of the Spaniards from the island.  Congress also authorized the President to compel Spain’s withdrawal and stated that the United States did not intend to annex Cuba, but to leave the government of the island to its inhabitants.  Before these terms could be formally laid before the Spanish government, it ordered the American minister to leave Spain.