 José Martí, Cuba's national hero, helped initiate the final push for independence in 1895.In 1898, the United States fought a brief war known as the Spanish–American War, after the USS "Maine" sank in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898 due to an explosion of undetermined origin.In December 1898, Spain relinquished control of Cuba to the United States with the Treaty of Paris.