Treaty of Paris 1898

In order to mark the end of the six months long Spanish-American war, United States of America and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris 1898. This Treaty marked the end of the Spanish colonial rule in America and the beginning of the United States colonial power. This was a major event in the American history. This Treaty decided the fate of several countries; whether they would be under the control of Spain or the United States. The Treaty was signed on 10th December 1898 in Paris. Here is some information which I am sure you are going to find useful.

Summary and Definition

We will talk about the various terms, but before that let us see the definition so that it becomes much easier for you to understand what the Treaty was all about and also what were the major reasons for signing it. On the 1st of October, 1898, commissioners from both United States and Spain, met in Paris and decided to come to an agreement that would end the long drawn Spanish-American War (read more about the Spanish-American war causes and the Spanish-American war summary for more information on this war). The commissioners who represented the United States of America were:

• William P. Frye - He was the Senator from Maine
• George Gray - He was the Senator from Delaware
• William R. Day - He was the former Secretary of State who had resigned from that position so that he could be a part of the United States Peace Commission. Day was the Chairman of this Commission
• Cushman Kellogg Davis - He was the Senator from Minnesota
• Whitelaw Reid - He was the past Vice Presidential nominee as well as a diplomat.

These were the representatives from United States. The delegation members from Spain were:

• Eugenio Montero Rios
• Wenceslao Ramirez de Villa - Urrutia
• Buenaventura de Abarzuza
• Rafael Cerero
• Jose de Garnica
• Jules Cambon (he was a French Diplomat)

Thus these were the people who were present to sign the Treaty.

Terms of the Treaty

Now that you are clear about when the Treaty was signed, let us now see what were the various terms of the Treaty.

• According to the Treaty, Cuba, which was earlier under the control of Spain, was now declared to be an independent country. But the United States Congress, through the Platt Agreement, made sure that the country came under the control of the United States.
• The Puerto Rico islands as well as the islands of Guam, were also ceded by Spain to the United States of America.
• The major debate was about the island of Philippines. This island was the largest territory of Spain and of course Spain did not want to give up this island easily. The U.S. President, McKinley, insisted about the sovereignty of Philippines to the United States. Finally, what America did was, they offered Spain a compensation of USD 20 million and it was after that Spain gave up Philippines.
• The other important terms mainly dealt with the releasing of the prisoners of war, allowing the entry of Spanish ships into the ports of Philippines, the property rights of the Spaniards as well as all the juridical proceedings that were pending in those countries that were once part of the Spanish colony.
• According to the Treaty of Paris 1898, people from Spain who had settled down in the Spanish territories, were allowed to remain there and also retain their Spanish citizenship provided they declared so in the court within 1 year after ratification.

The Treaty formally let the United States of America expand beyond its continental border, as people from various ethnic origin, such as Hispanic, Malaysian and others, came under the American political rule. Some consider this expansion as nothing but a territorial expansion of the Americans.