In 1898, Teddy Roosevelt was the first American to head off to Spain to see the wondrous gadgets from the future that had settled the Spanish-American War. An Assiti Shards event caused the Spain of 1960 (with Portugal) to be swapped holus-bolus for Spain on the day of the USS Maine's explosion. The Spaniards rickety old ships were upgraded to the Spanish fleet of 1960 which was more than able to deal with the 1898-era US Navy. TR's interest was more than curiosity, he was determined to equip the Rough Riders with Me-109s and T-26s.