<P> The Spanish Government regarded Cuba as a province of Spain rather than a colony , and depended on it for prestige and trade , and as a training ground for the army . Prime minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo announced that `` the Spanish nation is disposed to sacrifice to the last peseta of its treasure and to the last drop of blood of the last Spaniard before consenting that anyone snatch from it even one piece of its territory . '' He had long dominated and stabilized Spanish politics . He was assassinated in 1897 by Italian anarchist Michele Angiolillo , leaving a Spanish political system that was not stable and could not risk a blow to its prestige . </P>
<P> The Spanish Government regarded Cuba as a province of Spain rather than a colony , and depended on it for prestige and trade , and as a training ground for the army . Prime minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo announced that `` the Spanish nation is disposed to sacrifice to the last peseta of its treasure and to the last drop of blood of the last Spaniard before consenting that anyone snatch from it even one piece of its territory . '' He had long dominated and stabilized Spanish politics . He was assassinated in 1897 by Italian anarchist Michele Angiolillo , leaving a Spanish political system that was not stable and could not risk a blow to its prestige . </P>
who was president at the start of the spanish american war
who was president at the start of the spanish american war
Prime minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
Prime minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo