1898-4-25 Spanish–American War

.25th April 1898: US declares war on Spain → Spanish–American War > .

2021 Truth About The Cuba Protests - Second > .

The Cuban War of Independence had begun in February 1895, in which Cuban rebels sought to break from Spanish influence amidst seismic social changes that had upset the economic stability of the country. Meanwhile, the United States took great interest in the conflict as business interests on the island began to suffer. Yellow journalism – that which often presents no legitimate news story – was also aggressively anti-Spanish and contributed to mounting tensions.

With growing concerns about the safety of U.S. interests in Cuba, the battleship USS Maine was sent from Key West, Florida to Havana harbor at the end of January 1898. Three weeks later, on 15 February, a fierce explosion on board the ship killed 260 members of the crew. An investigation was immediately launched, but in the meantime the sensationalist New York Journal and New York World newspapers reported that the ship had been sunk by Spain.

Although President McKinley initially opposed going to war, the wider public demanded action. Eventually he requested permission from Congress to send troops to Cuba in an attempt to end the civil war. Passed by a vote of 311 to 6 in the House and 42 to 35 in the Senate, the Joint Resolution for Cuban independence was followed by an ultimatum to Spain to leave Cuba or else face American military intervention.

In response to the ultimatum Spain severed diplomatic relations with the United States and, on 21 April, declared war. A U.S. blockade of Cuba began the same day. Congress didn’t formally declare war until 25 April, although the declaration recognized that a state of war had existed since Spain’s declaration four days earlier.

1894-12-22 Dreyfus Found Guilty

.22nd December 1894: Alfred Dreyfus found guilty of treason in France - HiPo > .

22-7-26 France's Hx & Geostrategic Choices in Central Europe - gtbt > .

Late 19th Century History (1875-1899) - HiPo >> .

Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most controversial and polarizing political dramas in modern French history. The incident has gone down in history as the Dreyfus Affair, the reverberations from which were felt throughout Europe. It ultimately ended with Dreyfus's complete exoneration.

In 1894, the French Army's counter-intelligence section, led by Lieutenant Colonel Jean Sandherr, became aware that information regarding new artillery parts was being passed to the Germans by a highly placed spy, most likely on the General Staff. Suspicion quickly fell upon Dreyfus, who was arrested for treason on 15 October 1894.

On December 22nd 1894 Alfred Dreyfus, a French-Jewish artillery officer was found guilty of treason in one of history's largest miscarriages of justice. The origin of the scandal lay in a ripped-up letter in wastepaper basket at the German Embassy in Paris. Having been handed by the cleaner who found it to French counter-espionage, it was found to contain French military secrets and was determined to have been leaked by someone within the General Staff.

Alfred Dreyfus, who had been born into a Jewish family in the Alsace region before its annexation by Germany, had been promoted to the rank of captain by 1889. He joined the General Staff in 1893 but, following the discovery of the letter known as the bordereau, was arrested after his handwriting was compared to that in the letter.

Dreyfus’ trial began on 19 December, but was preceded by weeks of anti-Semitic articles in the right-wing wrong-wing press. The trial itself was conducted in a closed court, where the seven judges unanimously found him guilty of treason after being handed a secret dossier during their deliberations. They declared their verdict on 22 December, and sentenced him to life imprisonment preceded by military degradation. This involved the insignia being torn from his uniform and his sword broken, before being paraded in front of a crowd stirred up by the press shouting, “Death to Judas, death to the Jew.”

Dreyfus was transported to Devil's Island in French Guiana, but in France new evidence began to emerge that another officer was the real traitor. With support from the Dreyfusards including the novelist Emile Zola, a retrial in 1899 reduced the sentence while the President of the Republic granted a pardon. However, it wasn’t until 1906 that Dreyfus was finally exonerated and readmitted to the army.

1894-7-25 First Sino-Japanese War 1895-4-17

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First Sino-Japanese War 1894-1895 - House > .

How Europe Colonized Asia - Pacific War 1 - K&G > .

How the Meiji Restoration Turned Japan into an Empire - Pacific War 2 - K&G > .

China's Hundred Days' Reform and Cixi's coup d'état (1898) | Hx China - House > .

History and Future of Korean Geopolitics - Mac > .

Japan - Never a Superpower - KhAnubis > .

23-9-14 Hx Japan vs Xina: Why Xina and Japan are headed to war - BuBa > .

23-8-23 China vs Japan vs Korea: Japan Preparing for War with Xina - BuBa > .

End of Empire - China's Last Emperor - House >> .

Japan - VisPol >> .

Pacific War - week by week - K&G >> .

0:00 Introduction
0:46 Donghak Peasant Rebellion
5:18 First Sino-Japanese War
8:15 Beiyang and Weihaiwei
11:05 Treaty of Shimonoseki

The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the port of Weihaiwei, the Qing government sued for peace in February 1895.

The war demonstrated the failure of the Qing dynasty's attempts to modernize its military and fend off threats to its sovereignty, especially when compared with Japan's successful Meiji Restoration. For the first time, regional dominance in East Asia shifted from China to Japan; the prestige of the Qing dynasty, along with the classical tradition in China, suffered a major blow. The humiliating loss of Korea as a tributary state sparked an unprecedented public outcry. Within China, the defeat was a catalyst for a series of political upheavals led by Sun Yat-sen and Kang Youwei, culminating in the 1911 Xinhai Revolution.

The war is commonly known in China as the War of Jiawu, referring to the year (1894) as named under the traditional sexagenary system of years. In Japan, it is called the Japan–Qing War. In Korea, where much of the war took place, it is called the Qing–Japan War

1890-3-20 Bismarck Resigns

.20th March 1890: Wilhelm II formally accepts Bismarck's resignation - HiPo > .

20th March 1890: Kaiser Wilhelm II - Otto von Bismarck’s resignation - HiPo > .

Late 19th Century History (1875-1899) - HiPo >> .

Bismarck's resignation had been demanded by the Kaiser a few days earlier and was submitted on the 18th. Bismarck’s exit from office two days later ended his decades-long domination of German and European politics, and ushered in the new age of Weltpolitik.

As Minister President and Foreign Minister of Prussia, Bismarck had overseen the unification of Germany in 1871. He then continued as Chancellor of Germany for almost two decades, throughout which Germany dominated European politics, and controlled the balance of power to ensure peace.

However the death of Kaiser Wilhelm I, which was quickly and unexpectedly followed by his son Frederick III, led to the young and relatively inexperienced Wilhelm taking the throne. Rather than allow his Chancellor to govern as he had done for the previous few decades, Wilhelm preferred to rule as well as reign which led to confrontations between the two men in the tussle for control.

The situation came to a head in early 1890, when they disagreed over social policy. While Bismarck was keen to introduce permanent anti-socialist laws, Wilhelm preferred to be more moderate. The stark difference in their positions became most obvious when Bismarck said he sought a violent confrontation in order to suppress the socialists. Wilhelm later took offence at Bismarck negotiating a new political alliance without his knowledge.

With their relationship in tatters, Wilhelm insisted that the 75 year old Bismarck submit his resignation. He was succeeded by Leo von Caprivi, and dedicated the rest of his life to writing his memoirs.

1887-6-18 Germany, Russia sign Reinsurance Treaty

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18th June 1887: Germany and Russia sign the secret Reinsurance Treaty - HiPo > .

22-7-26 France's Hx & Geostrategic Choices in Central Europe - gtbt > .

Territorial Evolution Of HUNGARY - Knowledge > .

Late 19th Century History (1875-1899) - HiPo >> .

Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary had entered into a second Three Emperors’ Alliance in 1881. Like the one before it, the agreement was designed by the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, to isolate France from potential allies and avoid rivalry between his two neighbours over territory in the Balkans.

 
Continuing tensions between Austria-Hungary and Russia over this region led to the agreement’s collapse in 1887 and forced Bismarck to find another way to maintain French diplomatic isolation.

Germany had already formed the Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary in 1879, so the Reinsurance Treaty was created to ensure Russia continued to side with Germany. In return Germany agreed to a Russian sphere of influence in Bulgaria and the Black Sea.

By the time the treaty came up for renewal in 1890, Wilhelm II had become Kaiser of Germany. He insisted that Bismarck resign the Chancellorship in March that year, and argued that his personal relationship with Tsar Alexander III would be enough to avoid any future problems with Russia. Bismarck’s successor Leo von Caprivi was also unwilling to seek a renewal of the Reinsurance Treaty, meaning that it lapsed.

Without the treaty to tie St Petersburg to Berlin, the Russian government began to forge closer relations with France. France’s improving diplomatic situation was formalised in the Franco-Russian Alliance of 1892. This opened up Germany to the possibility of a war on two fronts, making the failure of the Reinsurance Treaty a contributing factor to the outbreak of the First World War.