Europe 205
2 United States of America/230 Spain
MID#1557
Dispute Number: 157
Date(s): January 3, 1898 to August 12, 1898
Participants: 2 United States of America/230 Spain
Outcome (and Settlement): Victory for side A (Imposed)
Fatalities: >999 deaths
Narrative: The United States had long sought control over Cuba, the biggest
reminder of European defiance of the Monroe Doctrine in its own backyard. Before
the American Civil War, the interest in Cuba was particularly strong in the American
South and, thus, not as strong of an issue among the northern sentiments that strongly
suspected southern interests. As generations passed after the American Civil War,
interest in Cuba grew precisely when Spain’s continued presence in Cuba had defied
the autonomy the Cubans were promised.
The casus belli for this war was infamously instigated by newspaper publishers in
the United States following the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana on February 15,
- The United States quickly blamed Spain (rightly or wrongly), and American
newspapers fanned the flames of war. US President McKinley petitioned Congress
for an invasion of Cuba; Congress responded by authorizing the recognition of Cuban
independence on April 19. The United States dispatched its naval fleet to Cuba shortly
thereafter, and both sides declared war on each other just days later.
The Americans made short work of the Spaniards in a conflict where Americans
simultaneously attacked Spanish positions in Cuba and the Philippines. The Spanish
signed an armistice on August 12, 1898, that ended the war. Manila fell two days later.
A final peace accord was reached in Paris on December 10. The United States gained
Spain’s colony in the Philippines, though their presence was short-lived. Cuba was
made independent, but the agreement provided for considerable US leverage in Cuban
affairs. Puerto Rico and Guam also became American territories.
2 United States of America/260 German Federal Republic
MID#2559
Started in September 1985. See the narrative in the 2 United States of America/315
Czechoslovakia dyad dispute list.
2 United States of America/265 German Democratic Republic
MID#2854
Dispute Number: 2854
Date(s): June 7, 1958 to July 19, 1958