As the Spanish American war was ending in the summer of 1898, US troops launched an invasion of Puerto Rico, one of Spain’s remaining two principal islands in the Caribbean. The Puerto Ricans decided not to offer a strong resistance, and the island was captured with only a few casualties. After an armistice was signed… Continue reading US Invades Puerto Rico 1898
Tag: 1898
US forces drive Spanish out of the Philippines 1898
On August 13, 1898 during the Spanish American War, US forces drove the Spanish out of Manila in the Philippines. Manila had been a Spanish colony since the 16th century. According to one report, US commanders were unaware of a ceasefire that was signed with the Spanish on the previous day. A more cynical interpretation is… Continue reading US forces drive Spanish out of the Philippines 1898
Puerto Rican Constitution Day 1952
The Island of Puerto Rico was among the numerous battlefields in the Spanish American War. US forces landed (or, invaded, depending on your point of view) on July 25, 1898, ending 400 years of Spanish rule. This event is now celebrated in Puerto Rico as Constitution Day, honoring the Constitution that was adopted by the… Continue reading Puerto Rican Constitution Day 1952
Juan Alamia of the Rough Riders 1898
On May 27, 1898, Texas native Juan Alamia volunteered for the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry in San Antonio, Texas. This unit was later known as the “Rough Riders” under the leadership of the charismatic Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. (Theodore Roosevelt served as US President from 1901-1909.) As a soldier in the Rough Riders, Alamia fought… Continue reading Juan Alamia of the Rough Riders 1898
José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín, Governor of Puerto Rico
February 18, 1898 is the birthday of the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico, José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín. Marin was a poet, journalist, and politician, and is regarded as the “father of modern Puerto Rico”. For his long career in public service, Marin was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1962 by… Continue reading José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín, Governor of Puerto Rico
Fake News in the Spanish-American War 1898
After the Cuban revolution broke out in January 1898, the battleship USS Maine sailed into Spanish waters. On February 15, 1898, the Maine exploded and sank in the Havana harbor in Cuba, killing more than 260 US servicemen. The explosion was of unknown origin, but Congress and the public were quick to blame the Spanish… Continue reading Fake News in the Spanish-American War 1898
“Message to Garcia” 1898
Under the leadership of Calixto Garcia, a Cuban freedom fighter, the Spanish forces were defeated on February 1, 1898, at Rejondon de Baguanos, Cuba. Garcia fought in three wars in Cuba to free the country from Spanish rule. Garcia joined with US forces when they landed in Cuba at the start of the Spanish-American War. … Continue reading “Message to Garcia” 1898