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who resented the ship's intrusive presence or by Cuban rebels seeking
to provoke a confrontation that would aid their cause or even by an
accidental boiler explosion, the sinking of the
Maine
and the loss of
more than 200 American lives precipitated a declaration of war by a
reluctant president under the urging of an aroused Congress and pas-
sionate public opinion. Most Spaniards, from the ministers in Madrid
to the soldiers in the field, were far less eager for the war. From its
very inception a mood of fatalism hung over the conduct of this “affair
of honor.”
By early summer 1898 an American expedition had landed in Cuba
and, ignoring Havana, marched across the island brushing aside half-
hearted resistance. After a fierce assault on the landward defenses of
Santiago, the Americans captured the city. The Spanish naval squadron
sheltering there sailed out to its doom under the guns of the “Northern
Colossus.” Another U.S. expeditionary force had meanwhile sailed
across the Pacific, captured the Marianas on the way, and joined forces
with the American ships that had annihilated the Spanish vessels in
Manila Bay. Already besieged by Filipino rebels, the defenders of Manila
quickly surrendered. All that remained was to scoop up Puerto Rico.
The “ever-loyal island” that had been rewarded by Spain for its fidelity
by a statute of autonomy only a year before was now abandoned by the
mother country. As its legislature convened to hold its first and last
exercise in self-government, the garrison laid down its arms and yielded
the inhabitants to a new colonial overlord. By December 1898 the final
dispositions had been made by a peace treaty that recognized Cuban
independence under the oversight of the United States while transfer-
ring the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to direct American sover-
eignty. Aside from a few fragments in Africa, the Spanish Empire was
at an end.
PORTUGAL: THE LAST BRAGANÇAS
Portugal, during the middle years of the 19th century shared with Spain
many of the consequences of economic and social backwardness
although spared the degree of political instability and domestic violence
that plagued the larger country. A series of untimely deaths and short
reigns weakened the influence of the monarchy. By the time Charles I
ascended the throne in 1889 most of his subjects were unready for the
kind of heavy-handed regime that he introduced and unwilling to
accept it. His reign saw a significant growth in industry, public works,
sponsorship of cultural activities, and a belated effort to exploit the rich
resources of the African colonies. Energetic and arrogant, the king made
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