The Spanish-Cuban-American War and the Birth of American Imperialism, 1895-1902

This major work has as its chief object the re-definition of the conflict known in U.S. historiography as the "Spanish-American" war. This very name, in the author's view, reflects the bias of two generations of historians who relegated Cuba to the passive position of a prize in a struggle between Spain and the United States. It is his contention that the Cuban nation, by virtue of its prolonged and successful rebellion of 1895-1898 was a central protagonist of the conflict, its role ending when it was subjected to neocolonial status by the United States. Using sources available in the United States, materials in the Archivo Nacional and the Library of the City Historian in Havana, and documentary evidence furnished by the leading historians and historical institutes of Cuba, the author reconstructs the narrative of the occupation and subjugation of Cuba by the United States in detail. This volume also covers the imposition of U.S. domination of Cuba through the Platt Amendment, which marked the beginning of American neocolonialism.