What Was The U.S.S. Maine?

The U.S.S. Maine was an American battleship which blew up while berthed in Havana harbour in 1898. The incident help stoke tensions between the United States and Spain, leading to the Spanish-American war of 1898 and the invasion of Cuba by U.S. troops.

Relations between the U.S. and Spain had been strained for some time. An active rebellion against Spanish rule in Cuba had been underway for some time. The United States condemned some of the repressive measures used by the Spanish government in an attempt to quell the rebellion.

The visit of the U.S.S. Maine to Havana was originally intended as a goodwill gesture but the destruction of the ship precipitated a general outbreak of ill-will. An inquiry into the incident concluded that the ship had been blown up by a mine. More recent enquiries concluded that, on the contrary, the ship had most probably exploded because of a defective boiler.

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