Treaty of Paris (1898)

Treaty of Paris

(1898)

The Treaty of Paris, signed on 10 December 1898, between Spain and the United States, ended one war and set the stage for another. Following the U.S. military victories at Manila Bay in May 1898 and in Cuba in early July, Madrid asked for an armistice that began in August. Peace negotiations followed in Paris, the main sticking point being the future of the Philippine Islands, a Spanish colony since 1564. President William McKinley insisted that Spain cede sovereignty to the United States. The treaty gave the United States temporary control over Cuba (Congress had rejected annexation in the Teller Amendment when it declared war) and actual possession of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. Spain received $20 million.

The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty in February 1899 by one vote more than the necessary two‐thirds. By that time, some Filipino nationalists, angry at U.S. intentions, had launched attacks that opened the Philippine War, which lasted several years, became a bitter guerrilla struggle, and ended in defeat for the native fighters. The Treaty of Paris marked the high tide of late nineteenth‐century colonialism in the United States. The euphoria of victory over Spain turned into significant popular unhappiness and doubt about a protracted war against the Filipinos.

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The Treaty of Paris of 1898, signed on December 10, 1898, ended the Spanish-American War.

American and Spanish delegates met in Paris on October 1, 1898 to produce a treaty that would bring an end to the war after six months of hostilities. The American commission consisted of William R. Day, Sen. Cushman K. Davis, Sen. William P. Frye, Sen. George Gray, and Whitelaw Reid. The Spanish commission included the Spanish diplomats Don Eugenio Montero Ríos, Don Buenaventura de Abarzuza, Don José de Garnica, Don Wenceslao Ramírez de Villa-Urrutia, and Don Rafael Cerero, as well as a French diplomat, Jules Cambon.

The Treaty of Paris provided that Cuba would become independent from Spain but the US congress made sure it would be under US control. Specifically, Spain relinquished all claim of sovereignty over - and title to - Cuba. Upon Cuba's evacuation by Spain, it was to be occupied by the United States, and the United States would assume and discharge any obligations that under international law could result from the fact of its occupation.

The Treaty also assured that Spain would cede to the United States the island of Puerto Rico and other islands then under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, as well as the island of Guam in the Marianas or Ladrones.

The major conflict concerned the situation of the Philippines. Spanish commissioners argued that Manila had surrendered after the armistice and therefore the Philippines could not be demanded as a war conquest, but they eventually yielded because they had no other choice, and the U.S. ultimately paid Spain 20 million dollars for possession of the Philippines. The Treaty specified that Spain would cede to the United States the archipelago known as the Philippine Islands, and comprehending the islands lying within the a specified line.

The controversial treaty was the subject of debate in the US Senate during the winter of 1898-1899, and it was approved on February 6, 1899 by a vote 57 to 27, only one vote more than the two-thirds majority required. Only 2 Republicans voted against ratification George Frisbie Hoar of Massachusetts and Eugene Pryor Hale of Maine.

In accordance with the treaty Spain,

• gave up all rights to Cuba.
• surrendered Puerto Rico and gave up its possessions in the West Indies.
• surrendered the island of Guam to the United States.
• surrendered the Philippines to the United States.

The defeat put an end to the Spanish Empire in America and, one year later in the Pacific Ocean (after the German-Spanish Treaty (1899)), and marked the beginning of an age of United States colonial power.

source: www.wikipidia.org