Spanish–American War

The Spanish–American War grew out of the Cuban struggle for independence, public pressure in the United States and the destruction of USS Maine in Havana harbour. The United States declared war on Spain in April 1898, and fighting spread rapidly across the Caribbean and the Pacific.

American forces defeated Spanish fleets at Manila Bay and Santiago de Cuba, while campaigns in Cuba and Puerto Rico exposed serious weaknesses in mobilisation, transport and medical support. Theodore Roosevelt gained national fame with the Rough Riders during the fighting around San Juan Heights.

The Treaty of Paris transferred Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines to the United States and ended Spanish sovereignty in Cuba. The war accelerated the emergence of the United States as an imperial power and led directly to conflict in the Philippines, making it important for fiction about expansion, race, journalism, military celebrity and the Progressive Era.