Brush up on your history and listening skills with this compelling Spanish Podcast!
On February 15, 1898, the U.S. Navy battleship Maine mysteriously exploded and sank in Havana Harbor, Cuba, killing 260 Americans.
The explosion of the ship was used by the American yellow press to blame Spain and fueled public outrage, acting as a ‘casus belli’ for the U.S. to declare war on Spain in April 1898.
Spain lost the war and transferred Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the United States.
The actual cause of the Maine’s destruction remains debated, with theories including accidental fire or a naval mine.
Click play to hear about the great international power shift caused by the ‘mysterious’ explosion of a US naval ship.
