WI: The US stills wins the Spanish-American War but instead puppets Puerto Rico and the Philippines.

[GameBawesome]

In the 19th Century, after winning the Spanish-American War, the United States would buy the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam, for $20 million dollars and also made Cuba an independent republic (But with heavy American control). This was the beginning of American Imperialism overseas, as they would make the Philippines and Puerto Rico into territories than commonwealths, but not before brutally putting down a Philippine resistance.

However, one outlier as I stated before, was Cuba, as due to the Platt Amendment, combine with some anti-imperialist sentiments in the US, they only made Cuba into a sort of puppet, where they can interfere in Cuban politics anytime, they felt for a regime change. This led to some occupations and then regime changes till the Cuban Revolution.

So, what if the US pulled something similar to the Platt Amendment and Cuba, where instead of outright annexing these former Spanish overseas territories into the United States, they merely puppet the Philippine Republic and make a puppet republic in Puerto Rico, instead of outright annexation, or make them into protectorates?

 

[piratedude]

It seems plausible to me, still very much in line with the paternalisc attitude of "we need to guide these savages as to doing democracy right."

I doubt that it would totally prevent violence in the Philippines but i can see it delaying it and putting on a lower register.

 

[ramones1986]

I don't know if the Americans can able to set up parallel/puppet government in the Philippines, as opposed to OTL. Were there American officials who were able to speak Spanish back in the late 1890s?

 

[kasumigenx]

The Philippines would end up divided even if Bonifacio's partisans rule the Philippines because the people of Luzon are not brainwashed and stripped of their history then and the Visayas and Mindanao want their self-determination.

 

[Slime_blob]

The Philippines would end up divided even if Bonifacio's partisans rule the Philippines because the people of Luzon are not brainwashed and stripped of their history then and the Visayas and Mindanao want their self-determination.

The Aguinaldo Government had the support of the peasantry, in the accounts of the US. The masses were generally loyal to Aguinaldo and co, meanwhile the elites, middle class and the clergy were actually fine with it.

IOTL Visayas joined the First Republic, except Negros, mainly due to economic reasons as they control half of sugar production of the Philippines irrc seeing the benefits of US as a bigger market for sugar exports, ITTL its likely that they join the First Republic to benefit from this. Mindanao meanwhile is barely controlled, their own seperatist rebellion the Zamboanga republic only controlled Zamboanga city, its plausible they join if the US recognize PI. The main problem would be the sultanates which would be hard to subjugate but with enough foreign aid. Its plausible that the US and co supports PI


I assume that most Great powers would even support the Philippines mainly fighting for influence through dollar diplomacy, as they are in a strategic position. Technically the Philippines playing sides till ww1 when someone either central powers or entente at gunpoint forces them to join or continue neutrality with US backing.

 

[Slime_blob]

So, what if the US pulled something similar to the Platt Amendment and Cuba, where instead of outright annexing these former Spanish overseas territories into the United States, they merely puppet the Philippine Republic and make a puppet republic in Puerto Rico, instead of outright annexation, or make them into protectorates?

Problem with the Philippines is that they have agents everywhere in Europe, Japan, the revolutionaries, middle class and elites having contacts and buddie, the US being the least likely with Philippine contancts.

Meaning there would be many powers that would have interest in the PI Not only the US would want to pupetize that country.

Its very likely that some compromise candidate like Emilio Aguinaldo, Pedro Paterno, Felipe Buencamino, Pablo Ocampo, or Benito Legarda or any other Filipino leader would want to have business with everyone, technically them playing the great powers to their benefit.

Technically all of the powers in the region that has interest in PI IMO will be giving all aid, material financial military support they can give to the Philippine Republic resulting into a dollar diplomacy battle. Philippines being the centre of the cold war in Asia, that would probably spill to China.

 

[kasumigenx]

The Aguinaldo Government had the support of the peasantry, in the accounts of the US. The masses were generally loyal to Aguinaldo and co, meanwhile the elites, middle class and the clergy were actually fine with it.

IOTL Visayas joined the First Republic, except Negros, mainly due to economic reasons as they control half of sugar production of the Philippines irrc seeing the benefits of US as a bigger market for sugar exports, ITTL its likely that they join the First Republic to benefit from this. Mindanao meanwhile is barely controlled, their own seperatist rebellion the Zamboanga republic only controlled Zamboanga city, its plausible they join if the US recognize PI. The main problem would be the sultanates which would be hard to subjugate but with enough foreign aid. Its plausible that the US and co supports PI


I assume that most Great powers would even support the Philippines mainly fighting for influence through dollar diplomacy, as they are in a strategic position. Technically the Philippines playing sides till ww1 when someone either central powers or entente at gunpoint forces them to join or continue neutrality with US backing.

He does not have strong support and he is hated in Luzon, I would say that since I had access to first-degree sources regarding the Philippines prior to and during the Fil-Am war and the interwar period and direct access to historians which I would not divulge here.

 

[htgriffin]

He does not have strong support and he is hated in Luzon, I would say that since I had access to first-degree sources regarding the Philippines prior to and during the Fil-Am war and the interwar period and direct access to historians which I would not divulge here.

Why not? It would bolster your argument.

 

[Slime_blob]

He does not have strong support and he is hated in Luzon, I would say that since I had access to first-degree sources regarding the Philippines prior to and during the Fil-Am war and the interwar period and direct access to historians which I would not divulge here.

The US soldiers, officers, and generals and officials accounts, if I remember correctly said that they felt like they are not only fighting the Filipino Government alongside their army. But also the whole peasantry and Philippine society as a whole. Aguinaldo is definitely popular as technically he is loved by the army, and the elites and middle class are fine with him as President

 

[Metempsychosis]

The Philippines would end up divided even if Bonifacio's partisans rule the Philippines because the people of Luzon are not brainwashed and stripped of their history then and the Visayas and Mindanao want their self-determination.

No it wouldn't. The nation that is the Philippines includes all the archipelago. Luzon is indivisible from the Visayas and Christian Mindanao. Whether you like it or not, that is how the nation developed over the centuries. Unless you want to partition the north and Bicol from the Tagalog regions. For most of Philippine history, to be Filipino is to be of the Pampango-Tagalog principalia and its Criollo allies.

I do agree that Aguinaldo and his clique were not popular with the people, which is why the colorums kept on fighting up to the 1910s against both the bourgeois oligarchy and the Americans who supported them and to whom they kowtowed. I think a compromise between the Americans and the First Republic is possible, especially under more decisive leadership.

 

[Slime_blob]

I think a compromise between the Americans and the First Republic is possible, especially under more decisive leadership.

What about a POD where Aguinaldo resigns not getting stopped by Mabini in December, resulting into Paterno being President and meanwhile have the peace treaty wait for till Filipino Delegates arrive at Paris to join in. Securing the independence of the Philippines

It seems that Pedro Paterno would be in office, if Antonio Luna lost the election, as Luna almost became PM IOTL. If you are looking for a compromise, he is the best you will got and the most likely one IMO. IRRC Luna stopped the delegates to go to Paris, I assume ITTL the Paterno government would have sent delegates in Paris. Which in the treaty states the Philippines is to be independent. Needing Funds, Pedro Paterno makes a deal with the US, giving bases and etc.

 

[Metempsychosis]

It seems plausible to me, still very much in line with the paternalisc attitude of "we need to guide these savages as to doing democracy right."

I doubt that it would totally prevent violence in the Philippines but i can see it delaying it and putting on a lower register.

BTW, even the Americans were divided on taking the Philippines. You have Teddy Roosevelt and McKinley and their ilk with their Manifest Destiny BS, of course, but you also have those who actually did see that Filipinos were already Catholic and had an actual republic. They really had to push hard on the 'black savages of a tropical paradise' propaganda.