Hispano-Japanese War
From Turtledove
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The Hispano-Japanese War was a war fought between Spain and Japan in the early 20th century. Spain's power in the Pacific had long since dwindled down to nothing. Japan, on the other hand, had begun asserting itself militarily and politically. This coupled with Spain's obvious weakness led to a brief but bloody conflict from which Japan emerged victorious, taking Spain's possessions in the region, including Guam and the Philippines.
Japan's victory made the rest of the Western world stand up and take notice of her emergence as a modern military power. Never had an Asian country so completely defeated a European one. Indeed, Western journalists were forced to leave the Philippines before they could file complete reports on Japanese atrocities there. Skeptics were quick to point out that Spain was hardly a formidable opponent. Nonetheless, Europe had to concede that Japan had arrived as a player on the political scene, and would have to be dealt with as something like an equal.
