Prior to the Spanish-American War of 1898, the majority of Latin America already won their independence from Spain, however, Cuba was an exception due to its surplus of sugar, coffee and tobacco plantations. This control imposed by Spain on Cuba left Cuban citizens resenting their rule due to a multitude of issues, particularly their high taxation and Spain’s rule on Cuba repelling Cubans any political representation in their own country. This distaste for the repressive rules that Spain inflicted on Cuba caused many failed attempts for independence, including the Ten Years’ War and the Little War. The United States sympathized with the Cubans and set out to help. The aid of the United States contributed to the Spanish-American War in 1898, which ended the colonial rule of Spain is …show more content…
Due to the aid of the United States and their attribution to the independence of Cuba in the Spanish-American War helped build a relationship with Latin America, however, the ongoing interference of the United States caused a development of rivalry among Cuban nationalists.
The United States grew interested in the Cuban struggle through what is known to be yellow journalism, which over accentuated stories to sell more copies of their newspapers and overall caused an interest to assist Cuba in their fight for independence. Although this was a narcissistic approach to sell more copies of their newspapers, it prompted the American public to become more aware of Cuban circumstances which later escalated when the battleship USS Maine was sent to