m in the western Pacific Ocean had been parts of Spain's far-flung empire B. In 1898 the US and Spain went to war 1. Most of the fighting occurred in Cuba & Puerto Rico, but the first US military action against Spain took place in the Pacific 2. When war erupted, US naval forces were ordered intoaction a) A squadron of 6 ships under the command of Commodore George Dewey steamed from the British port of Hong Kong & moved quickly into the harbor of Manila, the capital of the Philippine Islands 1) Early on the morning of May 1, Dewey's forces attacked the decrepit Spanish fleet 2) By noon the Spanish ships were completely destroyed, & the city of Manila was at Dewey's mercy a. Not a single American sailor was killed in the battle b. Within a few months, American land forces, supported by local revolutionaries, defeated theSpanish forces in Manila c. With the collapse of Spanish power at Manila, the entire Philippine Islands came under the control of the US 1. At this time, American forces also occupies Guam, which was a small Spanish- held island east of the Philippines C. Some Filipinos welcomed the Americans & even fought w/ them against the Spaniards 1. Most of the local population had suffered under Spanish rule for centuries 2. Yet many saw little advantage in changing one foreign master for another a) Led by Emilio Aguinaldo, Filipino locals fought for independence for 3 years against American troops b) The Filipinos used guerilla warfare against the better-equipped US army but were finally defeated in 1901 1) Besides acquiring the Philipine Islands and Guam, the US also took possession of Wake Island in the central Pacific a. Thus the US acquired another link in a chain of island possessions running from its west coast across the vast distances of the Pacific Ocean all the way to East Asia...
