“Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!”

This is the story of the road to war for American Empire. Ruled by Spain, Cuba has nonetheless been at odds with the Crown for decades. The Caribbean isle has rebelled and warred against the colonial power more than once in the second half of the nineteenth century. The US has watched with great interest as some of its leaders and citizens have cheered for Cuban liberty, while others have thought more about annexation.

The US is ascendant; the Spanish Empire is in its death throes. The US sees the Western Hemisphere as its turf; Spain is doing all it can not to lose the last remnants of its previously world-wide power. Those tensions hit a breaking point in February 1898, in Cuba’s Havana Harbor …
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