8 Shocking Crimes That Were Secretly Committed By Governments

7. The USS Maine Sparks The Spanish-American War

Although not a war many people in the present are familiar with, the end of the 19th Century saw the short but significant Spanish-American War. Largely concerned with the Cuban War of Independence - itself the the result of years of hostility between the Cubans and their Spanish occupiers - the US sought to intervene in the ongoing conflict and "liberate" the island for their own ends.

With American newspapers successfully stirring up anti-Spanish sentiment, and the existing garrison on the island already depleted from skirmishes with the locals, the US government had a prime opportunity to strike. However with no easily justifiable interest in the island, they lacked any clear mandate to intervene. That was until the USS Maine, and armoured cruiser deployed in the region, was mysteriously sunk. Still in service despite being hopelessly out of date and previously put forward for decommissioning, Maine found itself stationed in Havana Harbour.

A series of explosions ripped through the hull, and sent over 260 sailors to their deaths. The US blamed everything, from a naval mine planted by the Spanish, to Cuban revolutionaries mistaking it for a Spanish ship. After demanding Spain give Cuba their Independence as an apology for the destruction of the Maine, war was formally declared. Over 100 years later, both Spain and Cuba's official view on the incident is that the ship was deliberately sabotaged by the Americans as a precursor for war.