USA, USA
On Feb. 15, 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine blew up in Havana Harbor, killing 260 crew members. The episode escalated tensions between the United States and Spain and contributed to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War two months later.
The New York Times reported, “As yet the cause of the explosion is not apparent. The wounded sailors of the Maine are unable to explain it. It is believed that the battleship is totally destroyed. The explosion shook the whole city. The windows were broken in nearly all the houses.”
The Maine was stationed in Havana as a symbol of U.S. support of the Cuban independence movement. Due in part to U.S. pressure, Spain had agreed to grant Cuba limited autonomy beginning Jan. 1, 1898. Later that month, riots broke out in Havana involving Cuban rebels and Spanish forces, and U.S. President William McKinley ordered the Maine to Havana in mid-January to protect U.S. business and military interests.
When the Maine exploded, suspicion immediately fell upon the Spanish. Don Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, the former Spanish ambassador to the United States, declared that there was no chance of Spanish involvement and that the explosion had been an accident.
Regardless of the true cause of the explosion, the American public responded in outrage. Many adopted the rallying cry, “Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!” The American yellow press,particularly William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World, stoked anti-Spanish sentiment.
The U.S. Navy conducted an investigation and on March 28, concluded that a mine had destroyed the Maine, and though the report could not assign responsibility, it was presumed that it was carried out by the Spanish. On April 11, McKinley asked Congress for permission to send troops to Cuba. Two weeks later, Congress declared war.
The Spanish-American War, fought in the Spanish territories of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, was a short, one-sided war. U.S. forces overpowered the Spanish in Cuba, and most of the fighting ended by mid-July.
The explosion of the Maine remains controversial. Numerous investigations have been conducted to find the cause of the explosion, but there has yet to be a definitive finding. In 1976, U.S. Adm. Hyman G. Rickover’s private investigation concluded that the explosion was caused by an internal force, likely a fire in the coal bunker. A 1998 National Geographic investigation found that the hull was bent inward, suggesting that there had been an external force and lending credence to the mine theory.
Source: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/feb-15-1898-u-s-battleship-maine-explodes-in-havana-harbor/
