Final answer:
Spain signed an armistice and later the Treaty of Paris in 1898, ending the Spanish-American War and marking the end of the Spanish Empire's major colonial holdings. The treaty gave the United States control over former Spanish territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.
Step-by-step explanation:
A few months after its defeat in the Spanish-American War, Spain signed an armistice, a peace agreement signaling the end of the war. In December of 1898, Spain and America signed the Treaty of Paris, formally bringing the conflict to a close and marking the dissolution of the majority of the Spanish Empire. This treaty resulted in the United States acquiring strategic holdings in the Caribbean and the Pacific. As part of the terms, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and sold the Philippines to the United States for $20 million, while Cuba was granted its independence.
The events leading up to the signing of the Treaty of Paris included U.S. forces taking control of Spanish territories with relative ease. The capitulation of Spanish troops in Manila to U.S. rather than Filipino forces, the recognition of Cuban independence, and the cession of the remaining Spanish colonies underlined the dramatic shift in colonial power resulting from the war. These developments signaled the rise of the United States as a colonial power and the end of Spain's colonial era.