1898

1898 was a year of significant geopolitical change, marked by the emergence of the United States as a major power in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The Spanish–American War, triggered by the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in February, pitted the United States against Spain in both the Caribbean and the Philippines. The U.S. Navy defeated the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay on May 1, and American forces fought in Cuba, with the siege of Santiago de Cuba and battles such as San Juan Hill garnering attention in the United States and abroad. The war concluded with the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898, in which Spain ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States and Spain relinquished sovereignty over Cuba, which became independent in principle though under U.S. influence.

In the same year, the United States extended its reach in the Pacific by annexing the Hawaiian Islands, through the Newlands Resolution signed in July, making Hawaii a U.S. territory. The year also featured major reform efforts in China, notably the Hundred Days of Reform, which aimed at modernizing the Qing dynasty but was overturned by conservative forces.

Beyond these events, 1898 reflected broader colonial and economic shifts of the late 19th century, including rising imperial competition, debates over sovereignty and self-government, and the growth of mass media and urbanization. By year’s end, 1898 established a new trajectory for U.S. foreign policy and the structure of its empire, setting the stage for more extensive involvement abroad in the decades that followed.