ABSTRACT
The calamitous events that befell Spain in 1898, known as the Desastre del 98 (1898 Disaster), catapulted the United States into an empire. Acquisition of Puerto Rico and other Hispanic colonies forever altered the nation as well as the new territories. Described as “our islands,” residents were considered “their people” (as opposed to “our people”) 1 due to the centuries’ long association to Spain. Thought to belong to an inferior “race,” they became the subject of a colonizing mission that had as finality acceptance of the American way of life.
