When the United States threw its might
into the war, Spain was defeated, and its
empire was no more. Spain would be riven
by bloody revolution and political repression.
Poet Antonio Machado, who belonged to a
group of liberal artists and writers called the
Generation of 1898—the year the Spanish-
American War took place—spoke for the
anguish of many in this verse:
Miserable Castile, yesterday lording
it over everybody,
now wrapped in her rags scorns all she
does not know.
969
Led by Simón Bolívar, the short-
lived Gran Colombia begins to
break away from Spain. By 1830
Gran Colombia will split into
what is now Colombia, Panama,
Venezuela, and Ecuador.The United States recognizes
Mexico, Chile, Peru, and the
United Provinces of the River
Plate (this later split to form
parts of Argentina, Bolivia,
Brazil, and Uruguay).Three civil wars further
weaken Spain. Distracted
by its domestic woes, Spain
struggles to contain an
independence movement
in Cuba.Following a short war, Cuba
is free of Spain; the United
States takes possession of
Puerto Rico, Guam, and the
Philippines. The Spanish
Empire has ended.THE BACARDÍ RUM DISTILLERY WAS FOUNDED
BY SPANIARD FACUNDO BACARDÍ IN
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, CUBA, IN 1862.LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
MARY EVANS/AGE FOTOSTOCKTHE LAST OF SPAIN
Above, an 1899 map
showing two of the
dramatic conquests
made by the United
States the year
before: Cuba (with
insets showing its
two principal cities,
Havana and Santiago
de Cuba) and Puerto
Rico. U.S. forces then
completed Spain’s
humiliation by taking
the Philippines.