THE BEGINNING OF AMERICAN OCCUPATION.
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.
[Illustration:
ADMIRAL MONTOJO.
]
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).
[Illustration:
GOVERNOR-GENERAL AUGUSTI.
]
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.
[Illustration:
THE FIRST AMERICAN FLAG RAISED IN MANILA.
]
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?
[Illustration]