Great Britain, the United States, Anglo-Saxonism, and the Beginnings of a “Special Relationship“ in the Context of the Spanish-American War of 1898
Abstract
This thesis deals with Britain's reaction to the Cuban war for independence in the years 1895-1898, when the island was engulfed in an uprising against Spanish rule. The deteriorating situation soon provoked calls for military intervention against Spain in the neighboring United States.
At the same time, most European powers opposed the ambitions of the United States. In the Spanish-American dispute, Britain gradually moved from neutrality to support for the United States, given its own political interests, the need to protect its empire, and the evolving ideology of Anglo-Saxonism.
The development of the attitudes of British politicians and diplomats and the analysis of the views held by the British press, which greatly influenced British public opinion, will show the British attitude towards the United States and the seeds of the so-called "special relationship" practiced by the United Kingdom to date. In addition, broader economic, geopolitical and ideological factors and the imperial context are analyzed, as well as British diplomacy presented in connection with the end of the so-called policy of "splendid isolation" and Britain's gradual involvement in the Alliance-building process culminating before the First World War.