On October 18, 1898, American troops fighting in the Spanish-American War raised the United States flag in Puerto Rico formalizing U.S. control of the former Spanish colony. General Nelson A. Miles had landed approximately 3,500 U.S. troops on the island on July 25. On August 12, Spain and the United States agreed to an armistice; on September 13, the Protocol of Peace was ratified; and on December 10, the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Spanish-American War.
The canals good could could now be shipped directly. Rivers provided faster chapter and more efficient.
Both wars sucked up several major powers into the conflict. In addition, in both wars the central conflict did not involve the USA, but the USA was sucked into it for ideological and business interests. the war ended in a a peace treaty, and there was no decisive victor, but it appeared the USA lost the war politically because of the unpopularity of both wars.
