Spanish-American War
The war between America and Spain for control of Cuba, the Philippines and other Spanish colonies, which America won.
The war began on April 25, 1898 when the United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor in February of that year. Though so called "yellow journalism" newspapers were quick to blame the act on Spain it is now believed to have caused by a boiler explosion.
The first battle of the War was the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1 when Commodore George Dewey of the USA destroyed the Spanish fleet under Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo.
The War ended when representatives of Spain and the United States signed a peace treaty in Paris on December 10, 1898. The treaty ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States, and allowed the victorious power to purchase the Philippines from Spain for $20 million. The treaty also established the independence of Cuba. The war had cost the United States $250 million and 3,000 lives, of whom 90% had perished from infectious diseases.
In Spain the War lead to the collapse of the government of Práxedes Mateo Sagasta.