In 1898, the United States took control of the Philippines from Spain as a result of the Spanish-American War and the subsequent Treaty of Paris. Here is a summary of the key events:
The U.S. declared war on Spain in April 1898, primarily due to American concerns over Spanish colonial rule in Cuba. However, the U.S. Navy’s Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey quickly sailed to attack the Spanish fleet in the Philippines, destroying it in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898.[16]
Filipino revolutionaries led by Emilio Aguinaldo had been fighting for independence from Spain. After Dewey’s victory, Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines and declared independence on June 12, establishing the First Philippine Republic.[1][3][14]
However, the U.S. refused to recognize Philippine independence. After American forces captured Manila from the Spanish on August 13 (largely without Filipino help), tensions rose between the U.S. and Philippine revolutionary forces.[1][16]
In the December 10, 1898 Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded the Philippines to the U.S. for $20 million, along with Guam and Puerto Rico.[4][9][15] The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty in February 1899.
The U.S. asserted that Filipinos were not ready for self-rule and began establishing an American colonial administration, sparking the Philippine-American War with Aguinaldo’s forces in February 1899.[3][13][17] The war lasted over 3 years, resulting in 4,200 American and over 20,000 Filipino combatant deaths, along with as many as 200,000 Filipino civilian deaths.[17]
In summary, the U.S. acquired the Philippines as a colony from Spain in 1898 through military force and negotiation, then brutally suppressed Filipino aspirations for independence, reflecting American imperialist ambitions and paternalistic attitudes. This began nearly 50 years of American colonial rule over the Philippines.
Citations:
[1] https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/macarthur-spanish-american-war-philippines-and-battle-for-manila/
[2] https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/early-20th-century-conflicts/philippine-insurrection.html
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Philippines_%281898%E2%80%931946%29
[4] https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Paris-1898
[5] https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/philippines/tl01.html
[6] https://www.loc.gov/collections/spanish-american-war-in-motion-pictures/articles-and-essays/the-motion-picture-camera-goes-to-war/the-philippine-revolution/?fa=original-format%3Afilm%2C+video
[7] https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/spanish-american-war.html
[8] https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-american-colonial-state-in-the-philippines
[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_%281898%29
[10] https://library.csun.edu/SCA/Peek-in-the-Stacks/us-imperialism-philippines
[11] https://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/historyculture/spanish-american-war.htm
[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_in_the_Philippines
[13] https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/gi-roundtable-series/pamphlets/em-24-what-lies-ahead-for-the-philippines-%281945%29/how-did-america-enter-the-picture
[14] https://www.britannica.com/event/Philippine-American-War
[15] https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/spanish-american-war
[16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War
[17] https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/war
[18] https://guides.loc.gov/world-of-1898
[19] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War