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The Spanish-Confederate War was a military conflict that occurred from March 18, 1895 to September 30, 1895. The Confederate States of America won a sound victory over Spain, capturing all of Spain's remaining Caribbean colonial possessions as well as Guam and the Philippines.
Background[]
For decades prior to this war, Spain had been dealing with unrest in its Caribbean colonies. As the mid-1890's approached, their problems were larger than ever as tens of thousands of revolutionaries in Cuba and the Philippines were preparing to rise up in the name of independence. The Confederate States of America, on the other hand, had recently elected a strongly expansionist leader in John Tyler Morgan. Morgan had long held dreams of a vast Confederate colonial empire, and to him this was the first step. His official justification in joining the war was to aid the liberation movements in Cuba and the Philippines.
The War[]
The Spanish-Confederate War would be fought mostly at sea. Under the reign of President Augustus Hill Garland, the Confederacy had greatly expanded its naval capacity with dozens of new steel warships. Spain's fleet, on the other hand, was outdated and deteriorating. Over the course of the war, the Confederate navy proved to be far superior and won the majority of battles at sea.
On land, the Spanish outnumbered the Confederates and rebels considerably. Despite this, land campaigns by the CS were largely successful and managed to push the Spanish off the islands while capturing over 40,000 of their soldiers. By September, it became clear that Spain had little to no chance of winning the conflict, and negotiations began.
Negotiations[]
Negotiations began in October 1895, in Paris. The Confederates came to the table with one goal: gain Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines for themselves. Spain wanted to limit their losses to Puerto Rico and Guam. The negotiations nearly broke down right before Christmas, which would've led to renewed warfare, but a deal was finally reached. The Confederacy would pay $30 million in exchange for all of their demanded islands. Spain had little choice but to accept.
Aftermath[]
The new lands were quickly incorporated into the Confederacy as their own territories. Citizens of the CSA were jubilant after their victory, but President Morgan had even bigger plans in store. He wanted to take more territory from Mexico and take down the rest of France and Britain's American colonial empires. His plans were foiled when the UK placed an embargo on the CS. Spain joined this embargo out of a lust for revenge, worsening the economic situation in the Confederacy. The economic collapse made it hard for the CSA to keep a hold on its newly conquered territories- by 1903, unrest and threats of rebellion in Cuba forced the Confederacy to give up their plans of Cuban statehood.
Spain was greatly distraught by the loss of their last major overseas colonies. Their loss in this war led to a great decline in Spanish national pride, which eventually led to the Spanish Civil War and the rise of communism in Spain.
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