In the month of April, 1898, war was declared between the United States and Spain. The cause of this war was the feeling of the people of the United States in regard to the way in which Spain was treating the people of Cuba and Porto Rico. These were the only colonies left of the many Spain had once possessed in the New World.

For years Spain had oppressed and ill-treated the Cubans until human nature could no longer bear such bitter injustice, and the people rose against it. Spain poured her armies into the island, and the means which she used to put down the rebellion were contrary to humane ideas among civilized people. The United States more than once protested against them. Spain, however, paid no attention to these protests. She did not show in any way what the American Declaration of Independence calls “a decent respect for the opinions of mankind.” Instead, she continued her barbarous course in Cuba until other nations began to feel that the United States, as the nearest neighbor of that unhappy country, should interfere.

At last, during the night of February 15, 1898, the United States battle-ship Maine, while lying in Havana harbor, was blown up. A mine had been placed in the harbor exactly where the battle-ship was allowed to anchor. This mine had exploded, and, as a result, 266 lives were lost of the 353 officers and men who were on the ship.

A court was held to inquire into this awful event, but it was not possible to say where the blame for the catastrophe belonged. It was evident, however, that the state of affairs in Cuba was becoming dangerous to other nations, and was no longer to be borne. The President of the United States, in a special message to Congress, stated plainly that the war in Cuba must end. Congress then passed a resolution to declare war against Spain if that nation did not at once take her army out of Cuba and restore peace there. As Spain refused to do this, war was declared, first by the United States, and then by Spain.

At this time Commodore George Dewey was in command of the South Pacific squadron of the United States. This fleet, which numbered ten ships, was lying in the harbor of Hong-Kong. As that harbor is under English control, and as Great Britain was friendly to both Spain and the United States, she was compelled to treat both nations fairly. To allow the fleet of one of these nations to remain in the harbor would have been unfair to the other one; so Commodore Dewey was notified that his ships must leave Hong-Kong. At the same time he received orders from his own government to go in search of the Spanish fleet and to capture or destroy it.

This fleet, as Dewey knew, was in Manila harbor; and, obeying orders, he at once set out for Manila. The Spanish ships, seven in number, with ten small gunboats, were anchored off Cavite. Commodore Dewey entered Manila harbor under cover of the night, and when day broke on Sunday, May 1, 1898, his ships lay at anchor in front of Manila.

At six o’clock that morning began the famous battle of Manila Bay. By half-past seven the Spanish flagship was in flames, and the commander of the fleet, Admiral Montojo (mon tō´hō) was forced to take refuge on another ship of the fleet, the Isla de Cuba. By noon of that day the Spanish fleet was wholly destroyed, and the admiral and all survivors had fled into Manila. The Americans had sustained no loss of life, and only a slight injury to one of the ships, the Boston.

They next opened fire on the arsenal and fort at Cavite, and kept this up until a flag of truce was shown. By sunset Cavite was under control of the United States, and the Stars and Stripes floated over the town and the forts at Cañcao (kän kä´ō), Punta (pön´tä), and Sangley (säng´li).

Commodore Dewey now demanded the surrender of Manila, which was refused by Governor-General Augusti. Dewey refrained from taking the city by force, but declared the port blockaded. On the following day he demanded control of the telegraph station, and on this being refused he ordered the cable cut. The officials in Manila had just time to send the dire news to Spain before this order was carried out.

Admiral Dewey—for his government at once rewarded him by promoting him to the rank of admiral—now held the key to the situation in the Philippines. He was in possession of the island of Corregidor (kōr-räg´ē dör), of the arsenal at Cavite, the city of Cavite, and the surrounding country. His fleet lay in the harbor, ready at any moment to force the surrender of Manila; but he was awaiting instructions from home and the arrival of land forces, for which he had asked, before completing his victory.

The Filipinos in arms had taken fresh courage on the approach of the Americans, and had closed in about Manila, so that the Spaniards were literally prisoners within the city limits. Outside, in Manila Bay, the American fleet lay, cutting off all chance of escape by sea.

In the meantime the Filipino leader, Emilio Aguinaldo, had come to Cavite from Hong-Kong, with a number of his companions in exile. They had been given arms from the arsenal by Admiral Dewey, and Aguinaldo had the admiral’s permission to organize his countrymen into an army. It was intended that this army should act with the American forces, when the latter should be ready to take the city and occupy the islands. Aguinaldo, however, took advantage of this opportunity to attempt to organize a dictatorial government, with himself at the head. Out of his misguided ambition to rule, great trouble grew, for Filipinos and Americans alike. The country, already suffering from a long period of misrule and warfare, was plunged into still deeper misery. The Americans were seriously hampered in their efforts to restore order, and the establishment of peace was hindered.

The first reënforcements sent out to Admiral Dewey from America reached Manila Bay in June, 1898, and were landed on the 30th day of that month. Others followed very soon, and on the 25th of July General Wesley Merritt (wes´li mer´it), the first American governor-general of Manila, joined Admiral Dewey. On August 7 these two officers together demanded the surrender of the city, and again on August 9; but the Spaniards refused both demands.

On the 13th of August the Americans made a final demand, and on receiving a third refusal they sent their land forces against Manila. At the same time the fleet began the bombardment of the forts and trenches south of the city. The walled city and the business district of Binondo were purposely spared, as it was not the wish of the Americans to do any more damage than was necessary. The battle was very short, lasting hardly more than an hour. At the end of that time the Spaniards yielded to superior force, and a white flag was hoisted in token of their capitulation.

A few hours later the Spanish and the American commanders met, terms were arranged, and Manila and the Philippine archipelago were surrendered to the United States. The Spanish flag, which floated over Fort Santiago, was hauled down, and the Stars and Stripes took its place.

In the meantime, on the day before, August 12, 1898, a protocol of peace had been signed between Spain and the United States. Such a protocol is an agreement between two nations who are at war with each other to cease fighting until terms of permanent peace can be arranged. By the terms of the protocol it was agreed, among other things, that the United States government was to occupy and hold Manila Bay and the city and harbor of Manila until a treaty of peace should be made between that government and Spain. It was also agreed that Spain and the United States should each appoint not more than five commissioners, to meet in Paris at a date not later than October 1. These commissioners were to arrange terms of peace, and in the meantime all fighting between the two nations should be suspended.

The commissioners were chosen by the two countries, and met in Paris as had been agreed. It was not until the 10th of December, however, that they succeeded in arranging terms. A treaty of peace was completed and signed in Paris on that date. It was ratified in Washington on the 10th of February, 1899, by the President of the United States and a representative of the Queen Regent of Spain.

Under this treaty of peace Spain, as had been planned in the protocol, gave up all claim to Cuba; she ceded to the United States Porto Rico and all of her other islands in the West Indies, and also the island of Guam, one of the Ladrone group in the Pacific. Besides this, she ceded “the archipelago known by the name of the Philippine Islands,” which for over three hundred years had been one of her richest colonies. The United States was to pay Spain the sum of $20,000,000, gold, within three months after this ratified treaty was exchanged between the two nations.

Other matters were dealt with in the treaty, but this transfer of the Philippine archipelago is the point which vitally interests us now. It is because of the facts which have been set forth in these chapters that the United States is now in possession of the Philippines, and that this history of the country is written in the English language.

But the real history of the Philippine Islands has only begun. The events that make up the past record of this beautiful land have been but a sad preface to the future which we hope may be hers. The Filipino people have had much to bear. They have been shut away from the rest of the world, and from a knowledge of the world’s progress. They have been governed by unjust laws until the great mass of the people, left to themselves, would scarcely know how to go about to rule their own lives. But they have a history; they have a country; they have a future. It is not the policy of the United States either to forget these things or to let the people themselves forget them. As the late President McKinley expressed it—the United States desires not conquest, but a benevolent assimilation of these islands, that they may become one country and one united, prosperous, and happy people.

Summary.—In April, 1898, war was declared between the United States and Spain. Commodore George Dewey, in command of the American squadron in the Pacific, being ordered to go in search of the Spanish fleet in the Pacific, and capture or destroy it, sailed for the Philippine Islands, where he knew the fleet to be. He entered Manila Bay under cover of night, April 30, and at daybreak on May 1 his ships lay at anchor off Cavite. At six o’clock that same morning the battle of Manila Bay was begun. By noon the Spanish fleet was destroyed, and the admiral and all survivors had fled into the city. By sunset Cavite was taken. Two months later, American troops arrived in Manila Bay, and on August 13 the city of Manila surrendered to the Americans. On February 10, 1899, a treaty of peace was signed between the United States and Spain. Under this treaty, Spain ceded the Philippine Islands to the United States.

Questions.—When was war declared between the United States and Spain? What causes led up to this war? Why did Dewey have to leave Hong-Kong harbor? What were his orders? How did he carry them out? When did Manila surrender to the Americans? When did the first body of American troops arrive? When was the treaty of peace signed? What were the terms of that treaty relating to the Philippine Islands?