How did Cuba become independent from Spain in 1898?

Cuba’s independence from Spain in 1898 was the culmination of a long-standing nationalist struggle that intensified with the Cuban War of Independence beginning in 1895.12

By 1896, revolutionary forces led by Máximo Gómez and Antonio Maceo controlled much of the countryside, prompting Spain to implement a brutal "reconcentration" policy that caused widespread humanitarian suffering. This crisis, amplified by yellow journalism in the United States, built significant American public and political pressure for intervention.123

The situation reached a breaking point in February 1898 when the USS Maine exploded in Havana’s harbour. Following this event, the Spanish-American War ensued. The conflict was brief and one-sided, resulting in Spain’s withdrawal from Cuba under the Treaty of Paris signed on December 10, 1898.123

Following the war, the United States occupied Cuba for over three years, eventually establishing the Republic of Cuba in 1902 after the inclusion of the Platt Amendment in the new nation's constitution.1