In Our Time The Spanish-American War 1898
José Martí's Inclusive Nationalism And Warning
- José Martí framed Cuban nationalism as inclusive of Afro-Cubans and warned against US domination in a famous dying letter.
- Martí promoted Cubamidad over Hispanidad and sought a biracial republic with equal rights.
The Maine Explosion Sparked War Fever
- The sinking of the USS Maine became a decisive public trigger even though its cause remained disputed.
- 260 American sailors died and early reports blamed a Spanish mine, whipping up calls for intervention.
Sea Power Drove American Global Ambition
- Naval power and access to coaling stations shaped US strategy more than direct rivalry with Spain.
- Mahan-inspired naval expansion aimed to secure Caribbean and Pacific footholds for global trade and influence.
Misha Glenny and guests discuss a turning point in world affairs in 1898 that left Spain greatly reduced as an imperial power and the US the owner of the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico, with a significant influence over the newly independent Cuba where the war broke out. The US had been eyeing Cuba for decades, waiting for the right moment and the right kind of action, and in April 1898 intervened in the long-running fighting on the island for independence from Spain. With a much stronger navy it was a very uneven battle and the US soon triumphed over Spanish forces from Manila to Santiago de Cuba. This brief war confirmed the US as a power on the world stage and made a shocked Spain turn inwards to ask what had gone wrong. Meanwhile, people in the Philippines were about to attempt a new and bloody independence fight with the US.
With
Frank Cogliano Professor of American History at the University of Edinburgh
Mary Vincent Professor of Modern European History at the University of Sheffield
And
Stephen Wilkinson Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Buckingham
Producer: Simon Tillotson
Reading list:
Sebastian Balfour, The End of the Spanish Empire, 1898-1923 (Clarendon Press, 1997)
Sebastian Balfour, ‘Riot, Regeneration and Reaction: Spain in the Aftermath of the 1898 Disaster’ (The Historical journal 38.2, 1995)
Ada Ferrer, Cuba: An American History (Scribner, 2021)
Greg Grandin, America, América: A New History of the New World (Torva, 2025)
Richard Kluger, Seizing Destiny: How America Grew from Sea to Shining Sea (Alfred a Knopf Inc, 2007)
Robert W. Merry, President McKinley: Architect of the American Century (Simon & Schuster, 2017)
Walter Nugent, Habits of Empire: A History of American Expansion (Alfred a Knopf Inc, 2008)
Louis A. Pérez Jr., Cuba Between Empires, 1878–1902 (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983)
John Lawrence Tone, War and Genocide in Cuba, 1895-1898 (University of North Carolina Press, 2006)
Mary Vincent, Spain, 1833-2002: People and State (Oxford University Press, 2007), especially chapter 3
In Our Time is a BBC Studios Production
Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Misha Glenny and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world.