Saw the necro'd thread in after 1900 regarding no Spanish American War, and the discussion and various ideas on what would happen to the Philippines interested me. Since it was a necro'd thread, I thought it might be worth starting another one for this specific topic.
So, assuming the USS Maine explodes in port rather than in Cuba, and it can't be pinned on the Spanish authorities, and the war is therefore avoided, what is likely to happen to the Philippines in the long-run? Specifically the Philippines.
Before we get started, I want to avoid the butterfly murder of the thread I was referencing, by saying that the whole 20th Century will be affected by the absence of this war. If there are any world wars, they won't be identical to OTL's, so take that into consideration. I'd rather not see people saying things like, "Well, if the US doesn't have the Philippines, the Japs have no reason to bomb Pearl Harbour!" or anything, because that might never happen anyway.
A lot of the ideas I saw were primarily interested in the Germans and/or the Japanese grabbing the islands (or at least establishing influence) and the international repercussions of that move. Others were adamant that the Philippines were not a backwards Asian nation at the time and would not be conquered by someone else at all. There was also talk of a Spanish 'Commonwealth', which would extend self-government to some extent to Cuba and the Philippines.
What do you think would happen?
So, assuming the USS Maine explodes in port rather than in Cuba, and it can't be pinned on the Spanish authorities, and the war is therefore avoided, what is likely to happen to the Philippines in the long-run? Specifically the Philippines.
Before we get started, I want to avoid the butterfly murder of the thread I was referencing, by saying that the whole 20th Century will be affected by the absence of this war. If there are any world wars, they won't be identical to OTL's, so take that into consideration. I'd rather not see people saying things like, "Well, if the US doesn't have the Philippines, the Japs have no reason to bomb Pearl Harbour!" or anything, because that might never happen anyway.
A lot of the ideas I saw were primarily interested in the Germans and/or the Japanese grabbing the islands (or at least establishing influence) and the international repercussions of that move. Others were adamant that the Philippines were not a backwards Asian nation at the time and would not be conquered by someone else at all. There was also talk of a Spanish 'Commonwealth', which would extend self-government to some extent to Cuba and the Philippines.
What do you think would happen?