Malaga in 98. Social repercussions of the Spanish-Cuban-American war

Abstract

The 1898 Disaster constituted a decisive event for the political awareness of Spanish society against the unjust and out of date system of the Restoration. The lower classes -submerged in a serious economic crisis- aquired this critical awareness given the exemption of bourgeois sons from the military service, the lack of attention shown to the soldier´  s families and repatriated wounded, the absence of imformation and the rumour concerning the progress of the conflict, etc. The independence press contributed towards this political awareness with realistic analyses long before the Disaster occured, compiling valuable, little used evidence concerning the War, such as the soldiers´   letters. The inmediate reaction of this social protest was seen in the form of strikes. Some of these, although commencing in a patriotic manner, ended in violent acts against the symbols of the established order. Others were directed against the scarcity of goods under the slogan of "pan a real". The dominant classes, on the other hand, unreservedly supported the Spanish war effort as shown by the 1896 loan. Malagam 1898. Social repercussions of the Spanish-Cuban-North American war.