USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

[SOURCES]
Spain sent this man to Cuba to stop the rioting and protests over independence.

(A) Emilio Aguinaldo

(B) Philippe Bunau-Varilla

(C) William Gorgas

(D) ** Valeriano Weyler

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -In 1896, the Spanish sent the infamous General Weyler, known as “The Butcher, ” to Cuba to put down the insurrection. Weyler lived up to his name. To prevent the insurrectos from leading the population against Spanish rule, Weyler built concentration camps in which he imprisoned a large portion of the population.

Concept note-2: -Cuba. After Arsenio Martínez Campos had failed to pacify the Cuban Rebellion, the Conservative government of Antonio Cánovas del Castillo sent Weyler out to replace him. That met the approval of most Spaniards, who thought him the proper man to crush the rebellion.

Concept note-3: -In the 1890’s Cubans began to agitate once again for their freedom from Spain. The moral leader of this struggle was José Martí, known as “El Apóstol, ” who established the Cuban Revolutionary Party on January 5, 1892 in the United States.

Concept note-4: -General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau understood very quickly that the key to a Spanish victory over the insurgents was to strip the guerrillas of their abilities to live off the land and camouflage themselves in groups of civilians.