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Most important of the Caribbean islands was Cuba where by the mid 1890s major shares of the local sugar, tobacco and iron interests were American owned.
其中最重要的就是古巴，而在19世紀90年代之前古巴當地的糖，煙草和鐵，大部分都是美國的
In 1895 Spain's harsh colonial regime caused Cuba to revolt.
1895年，西班牙嚴苛的殖民政權致使古巴奮起反抗
As the Cuban revolution raged wealthy American businessmen begged President William McKinley to protect American interests there.
隨著古巴革命愈演愈烈，富有的美國商人請求總統威廉·麥金萊保護美國在古巴的利益
On February 15th 1898 the US battleship Maine exploded and sank in Havana harbour.
1898年2月15日，美國戰艦緬因號在哈瓦那港被炸沉
260 American sailors died, just how and why the Maine sank is still disputed a century later
260名美國戰士陣亡，緬因號為什么會被炸沉，至今仍是個謎題
but even back then it was pretty clear that the Spanish didn't do it.
但即便是當時，也看得出來并非西班牙人所為
But popular opinion hipped up by the press demanded revenge,
但是媒體的大肆報道掀起了民意的憤怒，要求報復
won April 19th 1898 a joint resolution of congress declared Cuba free and independent, that's interesting.
1898年4月19日，聯合決議大會宣布古巴自由獨立，這是個很有意思的事件
It was signed by McKinley the next day, what it meant was the war with Spain was officially on.
麥金萊在宣言上簽了名，這就意味著正式和西班牙開戰
The US military was completely unprepared for war,
美國軍隊完全沒有準備好參戰
the army consisted mainly of raw volunteers led by ancient Civil War veterans, both Northern and Southern.
軍隊里大多數都是新兵，由參加過內戰的北方和南方的老兵帶領著
