![]() US public opinion was strong against Spain. The USS Maine's job was to intimidate Spain, and so it rode at anchor in Havana harbor. Only 150 km away, the United States watched closely: its Monroe Doctrine dictated that they resist any European nations seeking to expand into the Americas. In the late 1890s, Cubans were engaged in their third rebellion against Spain, which had long claimed Cuba as a territory. We'll begin with a quick summary for those of you either not from Spain or the United States, or who simply need a refresher on the Spanish-American War. ![]() And, for more than a century since, few can agree on what sank the Maine, plunging two great superpowers into the Spanish-American war. Even as the first bodies slapped into the bay, people began debating what had happened. Below it, the battleship USS Maine, fatally sundered, slid into the black water. The double thuds of massive explosions thundered throughout the city, and voices all along the shoreline screamed as a yellow fireball, dotted with countless shards of debris, billowed skyward. It was just before 10pm on February 15, 1898, when a blazing orange reflection turned the waters of Havana Harbor to fire.
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