On the 1st of May 1898, the Spanish-American War had begun with the battle of Manila Bay becoming the first battle between the superpowers. The Spanish were prepared for a battle but they lacked the economy and thought it would be more productive to end the war early with a loss. The Spanish were extremely undermanned at Manila and the only real defences that they could use were naval mines. These, however, were not needed to win not only at Manila but strengthen the morale throughout the Spanish soldiers throughout the war.