U.S. history commemorates 1898 as the moment that the country first emerges as a powerful world leader. For Puerto Rico, it marks the beginning of a colonial relationship that persists to the present day.

At the end of the nineteenth century, U.S. companies looking for new markets are poised for war. Turning attention to Cuba, the U.S. sends a battleship to Havana harbor ostensibly to protect American lives and property. Within weeks, the ship mysteriously explodes, and 266 American seamen are killed.

Newspaper editorials demand revenge. With the battle cry, “Remember the Maine,” the U.S. Congress declares war even though a U.S. investigation at the time could not tie Spain to the explosion. Nonetheless, the U.S. invades Spain's colonies in the Caribbean and Pacific.