Spanish-Confederacy War (Differently)

The Spanish-Confederacy War (Spanish: Guerra hispano-americana) was fought between the Confederate States of America and Spain in 1898. Hostilities began following C.S intervention in the Cuban War of Independence.

The main issue of the war was Cuban independence. Revolts had been occurring for some years in Cuba against Spanish rule. There had been war scares before, as in the Virginius Affair in 1873, but in the 1890s, C.S public opinion was agitated by anti-Spanish propaganda put out by both the Dixiecrat and the Readjuster political parties during the election of 1896. Both political parties hoped to expand Confederate influence in the region.

Following the call for intervention in the war by U.S News Papers publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. Newly elected Readjuster President Marion Butler signed a joint Congressional resolution demanding Spanish withdrawal and authorizing the President to use military force to help Cuba gain independence on May 2, 1898. In response, Spain severed diplomatic relations with the Confederacy on May 3. On the same day, the C.S. Navy began attempts to blockade the ports of Cuba. On May 5, Spain stated that it would declare war if the C.S. forces invaded its territory. On May 8, Congress declared that a state of war between the Confederacy and Spain had de facto existed since May 3, the day the blockade of Cuba had begun. The Confederate States sent an ultimatum to Spain demanding that it surrender control of Cuba, but due to Spain not replying soon enough, the Confederacy assumed Spain had ignored the ultimatum and continued to occupy Cuba.

The war was fought in the Caribbean. Like many American agitators for war hoped, the Confederacy’s early navel strike proved decisive, allowing expeditionary forces to disembark in Cuba against a Spanish garrison already facing nationwide Cuban insurgent attacks and further wasted by yellow fever. American, Cuban, and Mexican forces obtained the surrender of Santiago de Cuba despite the good performance of some Spanish infantry units and fierce fighting for positions such as San Juan Hill. Madrid sued for peace after an obsolete Spanish squadron sunk in Santiago de Cuba.

The result was the 1898 Treaty of Philadelphia, negotiated by neutral power the United States under President McKinley. The terms were favorable to the Confederacy which allowed it control of Cuba and Puerto Rico.

The defeat and loss of the last remnants of the Spanish Empire was a profound shock to Spain's national psyche and provoked a thorough philosophical and artistic reevaluation of Spanish society known as the Generation of '98. The Confederacy gained dominance in the Caribbean, and recognition by Europe as a possible future power in the coming 20th century.