After winning the Spanish-American war in 1898, the United States annexed a bunch of Spain's overseas colonies. Yet, in spite of the war starting over Cuba, the US didn't take it for its own. So why not? Why didn't the United States annex Cuba? To find out watch this short and simple animated history documentary.

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After the United States defeated Spain in the late 19th century, it took most of its remaining imperial possessions.

It annexed Guam and Puerto Rico and turned the Philippines into a protectorate.

Yet Cuba, central to why the war started in the first place, was left to become independent, despite some calls in the United States for its annexation.

And given that the USA took the rest of Spain's colonies for its own, why didn't it also annex Cuba?

So, as of 1898, Cubans had been fighting on and off for decades to win their independence from Spain.

When another rebellion began in earnest, the Spanish response was seen as quite harsh in America.

This led to many there calling for intervention to save the Cuban people, which was backed by American business who did a lot of trade with Cuba.

Most Americans blamed Spain, Spain claimed that it

was an accident but the truth didn't really matter, it was time for war.

To put it bluntly, the United States crushed Spain, and both then signed the Treaty of Paris.

This saw Spain give up the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico and Cuba.

Guam and Puerto Rico were immediately taken by the United States and the Philippines was a slightly more controversial issue.

This was because its rebels had hoped that the United States would help them become a sovereign independent state, but fun fact, no.

Instead, the US opted to keep the Philippines and much like Spain before it brutally crushed any rebellions there.

Why didn't the US take it like close by Puerto Rico.

Well, 1 of the main reasons that Cuba isn't now a state is a man called Henry Teller.

Teller put forward the Teller Amendment which meant that

the US government was forbidden from annexing Cuba,

Some didn't want the agricultural competition that Cuban sugar plantations would bring.

Others just wanted to see the United States liberate Cuba and welcome it as a sovereign sister republic.

Whereas some backers just didn't want more Hispanic or black people in the United States.

Now, whilst of course this was a major roadblock, it didn't mean that annexation was forever off the table.

After Spain's defeat, the US occupied the island and there was no strict timetable on when they had to leave.

Some in the government thus saw this as an opportunity to either take the islands after a long wait or, like the Philippines, set up a protectorate.

Well, in 1901, a new president took office.

many of you will know, fought in Cuba during the war.

He had strong personal beliefs that Cuba should be independent and that it could be trusted to set up a democratic government.

There was, of course, opposition by some in Congress to the United States just simply leaving Cuba without any gains.

This pleased the anti-annexation crowd by leaving Cuba as a nominally independent state whilst also forcing the Cubans to give near-complete control of their economy to the United States.

And in return for American troops leaving Cuba, it had to agree to some punishing demands including never making friends with any enemy of the USA, ceding some land here in Guantanamo Bay to make room for an American naval base, and allowing the US to intervene militarily if its interests were ever threatened.

This essentially made Cuba a puppet state without formally making it a puppet state.

The new Cuban government agreed, because what else could it do, and Cuba became fully independent without occupation in 1903.

A rebellion against pro-American government saw US troops return a few years later, but there was no real talk of annexation.

This was because the United States had gained most of the advantages of annexation without any of the costs, a template which would be repeated in the following decades by future US governments in Central America.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and thank you for watching with a special thanks to my patrons Alex Schwinn, Markus Arsner, YN Hockey, Spencer Lightfoot, Marvin Casau, Captain Psydog, The McWhopper,

Wood, Camoon Yoon, Boogaloo Woogaloo, Gustav Swan, Aaron the White, Daniel Tobian, Anthony Beckett, Maggie Paskowski, Shuenin, Spinning 3 Plates, Words About Books podcast,


Speaker 0: After the United States defeated Spain in the late 19th century, it took most of its remaining imperial possessions. It annexed Guam and Puerto Rico and turned the Philippines into a protectorate. Yet Cuba, central to why the war started in the first place, was left to become independent, despite some calls in the United States for its annexation. And given that the USA took the rest of Spain's colonies for its own, why didn't it also annex Cuba? So, as of 1898, Cubans had been fighting on and off for decades to win their independence from Spain.

When another rebellion began in earnest, the Spanish response was seen as quite harsh in America. This led to many there calling for intervention to save the Cuban people, which was backed by American business who did a lot of trade with Cuba.

Speaker 1: And also, when the USS Maine was

Speaker 0: in Havana harbor, it exploded. Most Americans blamed Spain, Spain claimed that it

Speaker 1: was an accident but the truth didn't really matter, it was time for war. To put it bluntly, the United States crushed Spain, and both then signed the Treaty of Paris. This saw Spain give up the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico and Cuba. Guam and Puerto Rico were immediately taken by the United States and the Philippines was a slightly more controversial issue. This was because its rebels had hoped that the United States would help them become a sovereign independent state, but fun fact, no.

Instead, the US opted to keep the Philippines and much like Spain before it brutally crushed any rebellions there. So why was Cuba different? Why didn't the US take it like close by Puerto Rico. Well, 1 of the main reasons that Cuba isn't now a state is a man called Henry Teller. Teller put forward the Teller Amendment which meant that

Speaker 0: the US government was forbidden from annexing Cuba,

Speaker 1: and this was backed by

Speaker 0: a broad coalition of US politicians.

Speaker 1: Some didn't want the agricultural competition that Cuban sugar plantations would bring. Others just wanted to see the United States liberate Cuba and welcome it as a sovereign sister republic. Whereas some backers just didn't want more Hispanic or black people in the United States. Now, whilst of course this was a major roadblock, it didn't mean that annexation was forever off the table. After Spain's defeat, the US occupied the island and there was no strict timetable on when they had to leave.

Some in the government thus saw this as an opportunity to either take the islands after a long wait or, like the Philippines, set up a protectorate.

Speaker 0: Well, in 1901, a new president took office. President Theodore Roosevelt, who, as

Speaker 1: many of you will know, fought in Cuba during the war. He had strong personal beliefs that Cuba should be independent and that it could be trusted to set up a democratic government. There was, of course, opposition by some in Congress to the United States just simply leaving Cuba without any gains. And thus came the Platt Amendment. This pleased the anti-annexation crowd by leaving Cuba as a nominally independent state whilst also forcing the Cubans to give near-complete control of their economy to the United States.

And in return for American troops leaving Cuba, it had to agree to some punishing demands including never making friends with any enemy of the USA, ceding some land here in Guantanamo Bay to make room for an American naval base, and allowing the US to intervene militarily if its interests were ever threatened. This essentially made Cuba a puppet state without formally making it a puppet state. The new Cuban government agreed, because what else could it do, and Cuba became fully independent without occupation in 1903. A rebellion against pro-American government saw US troops return a few years later, but there was no real talk of annexation. This was because the United States had gained most of the advantages of annexation without any of the costs, a template which would be repeated in the following decades by future US governments in Central America.

Speaker 0: I hope you enjoyed this episode and thank you for watching with a special thanks to my patrons Alex Schwinn, Markus Arsner, YN Hockey, Spencer Lightfoot, Marvin Casau, Captain Psydog, The McWhopper,

Speaker 1: Miss Izzet, Winston K. Wood, Camoon Yoon, Boogaloo Woogaloo, Gustav Swan, Aaron the White, Daniel Tobian, Anthony Beckett, Maggie Paskowski, Shuenin, Spinning 3 Plates, Words About Books podcast,

Speaker 0: Copper Tone and Charles I.

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Why didn't the USA annex Cuba after beating Spain? (Short Animated History Documentary)