US PAYS $20MM FOR THE PHILIPPINES

It was the United States who paid Spain $20MM for the Philippines as a result of the Treaty of Paris of 1898. Rather than making the Philippines a war conquest (free of charge that is), the U.S. paid Spain because the queen of Spain had already ordered that all hostilities be suspended (an armistice was already in effect when Admiral Dewey attacked the Spaniards at Manila).

Here's a very interesting side note. Remember, this is the first international engagement that the U.S. had beyond the Revolutionary War with Britain. Many Americans didn't agree with the "new U.S. foreign policy" saying that it was too imperialistic (remember your history, Manifest Destiny, Imperialism?). In fact, Andrew Carnegie (Carnegie Steel Company) actually wanted to buy the Philippines for $20MM and give the Filipinos their freedom and their (our) country back! Imagine if that would have happened...but that's an entirely new topic as there is debate between whether or not we were better off with or without the U.S. occupation for 50 years.

Now, there's another interesting thing to note regarding the finances of this war with Spain. I did not know this until I read this in my very old antique book I bought about the Philippines (The Story of the Philippines, 1st Edition, 1898). Remember General Emilio Aguinaldo? He was the guy who led the Filipinos against Spain and eventually the U.S. during the Philippine-American War. While in exile in Hong Kong (where the first Philippine flag was sewn), it was revealed that he and the other revolutionaries exiled there received $400,000 from Spain (still not sure why Spain would do this..need to read more on this). Well, you can imagine that the Spanish press had a field day with this printing that Aguinaldo had sold himself, his revolutionaries and his country for a handful of gold. This wounded his honor and his patriotism. I think this is partly why today Filipinos still debate whether or not to include Aguinaldo among the truly great heroes of the Philippines...Rizal, Bonifacio, etc. But what from what I can gather, Aguinaldo never used any of that money. He kept it in reserve to fund arms in the event that independence from Spain could not be achieved.

See my other post on this topic.

http://veritas1911.blogspot.com/2006/02/aguinaldo-received-payment-from-spain.html