Of course, so-called international morality was worth less than a penny in the eyes of every nation. Since the United States and Spain had declared war on each other, never mind the Philippines—even if they had truly fought their way onto the Spanish homeland, there would have been no problem.
However, with East Africa and France standing behind it, Spain really seized on this point to negotiate with the United States over the Philippines. Naturally, the United States could not possibly spit the Philippines back out.
In the end, the compromise was that the United States purchased the Philippines. The sum was the same as in history—twenty million US Dollars. But compared with history, the United States had suffered an absolute blood loss this time. On one hand, its losses in the war had been greater; on the other, Mindanao had already been sold to East Africa. Thus, for the same price, the United States could obtain only two-thirds of the Philippines.
Spain felt even more aggrieved. Had it known this would happen, it might as well have packaged up the entire Philippines and sold it to Germany before the war. Twenty million US Dollars was not a low price, but Germany would certainly have offered more. Most importantly, its navy would not have been wiped out to the last man.
Do not be fooled by the Philippine Navy's previous weakness. The Spanish Navy now had a direct break in its ranks. Even if the former Philippine Navy were placed in Spain now, it could at least help the navy preserve a shred of dignity in total tonnage.
First Town.
"Regarding the outcome of the Spanish-American War, the two countries formally signed an agreement on the nineteenth of this month. The United States obtained Cuba, the Philippines, and other