Battle of Manila Bay 1898
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 1 May 1898 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1898 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Philippines | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Spanish–American War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Spain under the Restoration, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 14.4900, 120.9300 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Manila Bay, also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on May 1, 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The United States Navy's Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish Navy's Pacific Squadron under Counter-admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón. The battle took place in Manila Bay in the Philippines, and was the first major engagement of the Spanish–American War. The battle was one of the most decisive naval battles in history and marked the end of the Spanish colonial period in Philippine history.
Tensions between Spain and the United States worsened over the Spanish conduct during their efforts to quell the Cuban War of Independence, with many Americans being agitated by largely exaggerated reports of Spanish atrocities against Cubans. In January 1898, fearing the fate of American interests in Cuba due to the war, the cruiser USS Maine was dispatched to protect them. Less than a month later, the warship exploded while lying at anchor in Havana harbor, killing 261 sailors onboard and inflaming American opinion. The U.S. Asiatic Squadron commanded by Dewey, a veteran of the American Civil War, was ordered to Hong Kong on 25 February as a precaution because of the presence of a Spanish fleet in the Philippines.
The U.S. declared a state of war with Spain on 25 April. On 1 May, the American squadron steamed into Manila Bay to engage with the Spanish.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Manila Bay (revision 1376888595), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Zapote River 1899 · 5 km
- Battle of Zapote Bridge (1897) 1897 · 5 km
- Battle of Alapan 1898 · 8 km
- Battle of Manila (1570) 1570 · 11 km
- Battle of Manila (1574) 1574 · 11 km
- Battle of Manila (1945) 1945 · 11 km
Other battles of the Spanish–American War
- Action of 25 April 1898 1898
- Battle of Cienfuegos 1898
- Battle of El Caney 1898
- Battle of Guantánamo Bay 1898
- Battle of Manila (1898) 1898
- Battle of Nipe Bay 1898
- Battle of San Juan Hill 1898
- Capture of Guam (1898) 1898
- First Battle of Cárdenas 1898
- First Battle of Manzanillo 1898
All 11 battles of the Spanish–American War →
Browse more: battles in Philippines · Asia · 19th century battles