“Finis Hispaniae”
It’s all over. We have been informed about the Santiago disaster. Spain’s best fleet has been destroyed, Cuba is lost, and Spain has been dealt a mortal blow. The magnitude of the disaster is frightening. Camara is no longer coming. Two days ago, the second convoy of American troops arrived. As for Manila, its only options are either to open its gates or to let itself be reduced to ashes. Admiral Dewey no longer conceals the fact that the United States will not let go of the Philippines. He has decided to take back from the Filipinos the cannons and artillery that he loaned them. He is now against the Filipinos entering Manila because he wants the Americans to take sole possession of the city.
This battle is unfair; on one side, gold, arms, order, force and all the power; on the other, sepulchral moroseness and decay.