War and Genocide in Cuba, 1895-1898

Who defeated Spain? From 1895 to 1898, Cuban insurgents fought to free their homeland from Spanish rule. Though often overshadowed by the Splendid Little War of the Americans in 1898, according to John Tone, the longer Spanish-Cuban conflict was in fact more remarkable, foreshadowing the wars of decolonization in the twentieth century.Tone offers new answers to old questions concerning the war. He examines the origin of Spain’s genocidal policy of reconcentration ; the causes of Spain’s military difficulties; the condition, effectiveness, and popularity of the Cuban insurgency; the necessity of American intervention; and, Spain’s supposed foreknowledge of defeat. The Spanish-Cuban-American war proved pivotal in the histories of all three countries involved. Tone’s fresh analysis introduces new topics for discussion about the war in which the concentration camp was invented, Cuba was born, Spain lost its last American colonies, and America gained an overseas empire.