The Philippines was under the colonial rule of Spain from 1521 up until 1898 when the United States defeated Spain in what's known today as the Battle of Manila Bay.

The Battle of Manila Bay is one of the most forgotten part of the Spanish-American War. It was through this important event that the United States was able to build up their military presence in Asia.

THE CONFLICT

It all started when the USS Maine sunk at Havana Harbor in Cuba on the evening of February 15, 1898, killing 266 all-American crewmen. Although the United States had no apparent evidence that Spain was behind the sinking, the former firmly believed that the latter did it and so the Spanish-American war started. That time, the Philippine archipelago of 7,107 islands was also a colony of Spain. The United States attacked and took over the Philippines to get back to Spain for their alleged sinking of the USS Maine.

THE COMPROMISE

The United States had easily thrown the Spanish forces out of the Philippines. They aimed for the the capital (Manila) so they could have almost total control of the Philippines.
The treaty signed in Paris by both the United States and Spain on December 10, 1898 ended the Spanish-American War. The United States had to pay Spain $20 million for possesion of the Philippines. However, Spain had to cede the island of Guam and Puerto Rico to the U.S. and also let Cuba be an independent nation by itself.

It ended the Spanish colonialism in the Philippines, in the Pacific and in Central America, but marked the beginning of American age of colonialism.