what caused spain to lose its influence in the new world
Spanish Empire Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Iberia, forcing the abdication of Charles IV and replacing him with Bonaparte's brother Joseph, produced unforeseen changes in Spain and its overseas empire. The outbreak of the Spanish American wars of independence was a result of Napoleon's destabilizing actions in Spain and led to the fragmentation of the former viceroyalties into independent nation-states. Royal government disappeared and local strongmen emerged in the Spanish American republics in the wake of these wars.[18]
Spanish–American War The Spanish Government regarded Cuba as a province of Spain rather than a colony, and depended on it for prestige and trade, and as a training ground for the army. Prime minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo announced that "the Spanish nation is disposed to sacrifice to the last peseta of its treasure and to the last drop of blood of the last Spaniard before consenting that anyone snatch from it even one piece of its territory."[38] He had long dominated and stabilized Spanish politics. He was assassinated in 1897 by Italian anarchist Michele Angiolillo,[39] leaving a Spanish political system that was not stable and could not risk a blow to its prestige.[40]