Cuba |
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| For decades Spain had
struggled with rebellions in Cuba. Americans viewed the Cubans as underdogs, righteously
seeking independence as we ourselves had done a century before. When a brutal Spanish
governor, General Valeriano Weyler, concentrated rural Cubans into prison-like camps, the
United States government, American newspapers, and the American people screamed in
protest. In October, 1897, "The Butcher" Weyler was recalled to Spain, but this move was not enough to quiet American demands for war. America had not only a moral interest in Cuba, only ninety miles from its shores, but also a financial stake in its sugar industry. When the battleship U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, war was sure to follow.
"Starvation by Proclamation in Cuba. Guerrillas Driving Pacificos into One of the Stations of Concentration Established by General Weyler." |
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