CUBA, the largest and richest of the West Iηdia Islands, and the most important colony of Spain, was discovered by Columbus on 28th October 1492, during his first voyage. It was first called Juana in honour of Prince John, son of Ferdinand and Isabella; but after Ferdinand’s death it received the name of Fernandina. It was subsequently designated Santiago, from the patron saint of Spain; and still later Ave Maria, in honour of the Virgin. Its present name is that by which it was known among the natives at the time of its discovery. It was then divided into nine independent principalities, under as many caciques. The aborigines are described as living in a state of happy tranquillity among themselves, and possessing a religion devoid of rites and ceremonies, but inculcating a belief in the existence of a great and beneficent Being and in the immortality of the soul. Cuba was twice visited by Columbus after its discovery—in April 1494, and again in 1502. In 1511 his son Diego Columbus, for the purpose of colonizing the island, fitted out an expedition, consisting of above 300 men, under Diego Velasquez, who had accompanied his father on his second voyage. Their first settlement was Baracoa, and in 1514 they founded Santiago and Trinidad. In July 1515 was planted a town called San Cristoval de la Havana, which name was transferred in 1519 to the present capital, the first-named place being now called Batabano. In 1538 Havana was reduced to ashes by a French privateer; and to prevent a similar disaster in future the Castillo de la Fuerza, a fortress which still exists, was built by Fernando de Soto, governor of Cuba, afterwards famous for his explorations in the southern and western regions of the United States, as well as for the discovery of the Mississippi. In 1554 ...the French again attacked and destroyed Havana. The early settlers devoted themselves principally to the rearing of cattle; but about 1580 the cultivation of tobacco and the sugar-cane was commenced, and this led to the introduction of the system of negro slavery. Previous to 1600 two other fortresses were built for the defence of Havana—the Moro and the Punta, which are still in existence. For about a century and a half after this period the island was kept in a state of almost perpetual fear of invasion from the French, English, Dutch, or the pirates infesting these seas; and several ineffectual efforts were made to reduce it. About 1665 the walls of Havana were commenced. In 1762 Havana was taken by an English fleet and army under Lord Albemarle, the former consisting of more than 200 vessels of all classes, and the latter of 14,041 men, while the Spanish army numbered 27,610 men. The defence was exceedingly obstinate. The English commer ced operations on the 6th of June; but it was not until the 30th of July that the Moro Castle surrendered; and on the 14th August the city capitulated. The spoil divided among the captors amounted to £736,185. By the treaty of Paris, in February of the following year Cuba was restored to the Spaniards, and from that time its progress has been rapid; indeed, this restoration is regarded by native writers as the true era whence its importance and prosperity are to be dated. The administration of Las Casas, who arrived as captain-general in 1790, is represented by all Spanish writers as a brilliant epoch in Cuban history. He promoted with indefatigable perseverance a series of public works of the first utility, introduced the culture of indigo, extended the commercial importance of the island by removing as far as his authority extended the trammels imposed upon it by the old system of privilege and restriction, and made noble efforts to effect the emancipation of the enslaved native Indians. By his judicious administration the tranquillity of the island was maintained uninterrupted at the time of the revolution in San Domingo; although, as is generally believed, a conspiracy was formed at the instigation of the French among the free people of colour in Cuba. In 1795 a number of French emigrants arrived from San Domingo. In 1802 Jesu Maria, a populous suburb of Havana, was destroyed by a fire, which deprived 11,400 people of their habitations. On the deposition of the royal family of Spain by Napoleon (the news of which arrived in July 1808) every member of the Cabildo took oath to preserve the island for the deposed sovereign, and declared war against Napoleon. Since that time the island has been ruled over by a succession of governor-captain-generals from Spain, armed with almost absolute authority, some of whom have conducted themselves honourably, while the names of others arc loaded with infamy, the office having been frequently sought and bestowed only as the means of acquiring a fortune. The deprivation of political, civil, and religious liberty, and exclusion from all public stations, combined with a heavy taxation to maintain the standing army and navy, have resulted in a deadly hatred between the native Cubans and the mass of officials sent from Spain. This has manifested itself in frequent risings for greater privileges and freedom. Of this kind were the conspiracy of the “Black Eagle” in 1829, the insurrection of the black population in 1844, the conspiracy of Narciso Lopez in 1848, his landing with 600 men from the United States in 1850, and his third attempt in 1851, which cost his life and that of many of his followers. Soon after this a reformist party sprang up, desirous of coming to a settlement which should insure the rights of the colony without impairing the interests of Spain, and after protracted efforts this party succeeded in obtaining an inquiry at Madrid on the reforms needed by Cuba; but the only alteration decreed was that of a new system of taxation, more oppressive than the former. Great sympathy had long been shown for the Cubans by the people of the United States, and in 1848 President Polk had gone the length of proposing through the American ambassador at Madrid a transference of the island to the United States for a sum of $1,000,000. A similar proposal was made ten years afterwards in the senate—the sum suggested being $30,000,000—but after debate it was withdrawn. When the Spanish revolution of 1868 broke out, the advanced party in Cuba at once matured their plans for the liberation of the island from the military despotism of Spain, rose in arms at Yara in the district of Bayamo, and made a declaration of independence, dated at Manzanillo, on the 10th of October of that year. This insurrection soon assumed formidable dimensions in the eastern portion of the island; on the 18th of October the town of Bayamo was taken, and on the 28th the jurisdiction of Holguin rose in arms. Early in November the patriots defeated a force which had been sent against them from Santiago de Cuba, and the greater number of the Spanish-American republics hastened to recognize the Cubans as belligerents. During subsequent years, in spite of the large and continued increase of the number of troops sent from Spain, and organized by the Spanish authorities in the island, the yearly campaigns up to the present time have shown that in the eastern interior the Cuban patriots are practically invincible, and that by maintaining a guerilla warfare they can attack and harass and even defeat their enemies who may be bold enough to act on the aggressive.
In a debate on Cuban affairs in the Cortes of Madrid in November 1876 it was stated that, during the past eight years, in attempting to crush the insurgents, Spain hud sent to Cuba 145,000 soldiers and her most favoured commanders, but with little or no result. On tl.3 other hand Cuba, under the perpetual apprehension of the rebellion, has seen her trade decrease, her crops reduced, and her creoles deserting to the United Statesand Spanish republics; and her taxes have been trebled in vain to meet the ever-increasing expenses and floating debts.
The island of Cuba is long and narrow, somewhat in the form of an irregular crescent with its convex side towards the north. It divides the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico into two passages, that to the north-west being 130 English miles wide at the narrowest part, between the points of Ycacos in Cuba and Sable on the Florida coast, and the south-west passage of nearly the same width, between the Cabo de San Antonio of Cuba and the Cabo de Catoche, the most salient extremity of the peninsula of Yucatan. On the north-east, east, and south-east, narrower channels separate it from the Bahamas, Hayti, and Jamaica. Cuba lies between 74° and 85° W. long., aud 19° and 23° N. lat. Its length, following a curved line through its centre, is 730 miles, and its average breadth is 80 miles. The area of Cuba is 43,319 English square miles; the neighbouring island of Pinos, 1214 square miles; and the smaller coastal islands, 1350 square miles;—in all 45,883 square miles. The coast of Cuba is generally low and flat, and is surrounded by numerous islands and reefs, which render the approach both difficult and dangerous to those not acquainted with the proper channels. The low nature of the shore subjects it to frequent floods and inundations; and especially on the north side of the island there are many large lagoons, from which a considerable quantity of salt is obtained. No island, however, in proportion to its size, has a greater number of excellent harbours, many of them accessible even to ships of the line. Of these the chief are the ports of Bahia, Honda, Mariel, Havana, Matanzas, Cardenas, Nuevitas, and Nipe on the northern side, and Guatanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Trinidad, and Cienfuegos on Xagua Bay on the southern.
The highest part of the island is in the range extending in the south-east from the Punta de Maysi to Cape Cruz, called the Sierra or Montaños de Maestra or Cobre, the summits of whieh are the Pico de Tarquino, 7670 feet, the highest point of the whole island; Gran Piedra, 5200 feet; Yunque and Ojo del Toro, 3500 feet. From this sierra a ridge of much smaller general elevation follows nearly the central line of the island westward throughout its extent, rising to form a more marked range in the extreme west of Cuba, on which the Pan de Guajaibon attains 2530 feet An almost isolated mass, of which the Pico de Potrerillo is the summit, 2990 feet above the sea, rises immediately behind the harbour of Trinidad, near the centre of the southern coastland. The south-eastern sierra is one great calcareous mass, resting on a schistose formation. The summits are for the most part rocky and naked, occasionally interrupted by more gentle undulations. The central and western parts of the island contain two formations of compact limestone, one of clayey sandstone, and another of gypsum. Caverns abound in the limestone formations. The secondary formations, east of Havana, are pierced by syenitic and euphotide rocks united in groups. The syenite strata are intercalated with serpentine, and inclined to the north-west. In some places petroleum runs out of rents in the serpentine; and abundant springs of this fluid are also found in the eastern part of the island.
The rivers are necessarily short, and flow toward the north and south. The largest is the Cauto, rising in the Sierra del Cobre, and falling into the Bay of Buena Esperanza on the southern coast, after a course of fifty leagues, for twenty of which it is navigable by boats, though at low water obstructed by bars. The Sagua la Grande rises in the Sierra del Escambray, and falls into the sea in front of the Boca de Maravillas, being navigable for five leagues. The principal of the other rivers are the Sagua le Chica, the North and South Iatibonica, the Cuyaguateje, Sasa, Agobama, and Hanabana. North-east of Guantanamo the hills of the south-eastern sierra are known as those of Quibijan and Baracoa, and in the hill of Moa in this range there is formed a huge cavern in which the River Moa descends from a height of 100 yards, forming a superb cascade.
Situated within and near the border of the northern tropical zone the climate of the low coastlands of Cuba is that of the torrid zone, but the higher interior of the island enjoys a more temperate atmosphere. As in other lands on the border of the tropics, the year is divided between a hotter and wetter season, corresponding to the northern declination of the sun, and a cooler and drier period. The months from the beginning of May to October are called the wet season, though rain falls in every month of the year. With May spring begins in the island, rain and thunder are of almost daily occurrence, and the temperature rises high with little daily variation. The period from November to April is called the dry season by contrast. On a mean of seven years, the rainfall at Havana in the wet season has been observed to be 27 ’ 8 inches, of the dry months 12 - 7 or 40 ’ 5 inches for the year. At Havana in the warmest months, those of July and August, the average temperature is 82° Fahr., fluctuating between a maximum of 88° and a minimum of 76°; in the cooler months of December and January the thermometer averages 72°, the maximum being 78°, the minimum 58°; the average temperature of the year at Havana, on a mean of seven years, is 77°. But in the interior, at elevations of over 300 feet above the sea, the thermometer occasionally falls to the freezing point in winter, hoar frost is not uncommon, and during north winds thin ice may form, though snow is unknown in any part of the island. The prevailing wind is the easterly trade breeze, but from November to February cool north winds (los nortes, or “northers ”), rarely lasting more than forty-eight hours, are experienced in the western portion of the island, to which they add a third seasonal change. From 10 to 12 o’clock are the hottest hours of the day; after noon a refreshing breeze (la virazon) sets in from the sea. Hurricanes may occur from August to October, but are less frequent than in Jamaica or Hayti, and sometimes five or six years may pass without such a storm. Slight shocks of earthquake are occasionally felt. There are no diseases specially indigenous to the island; the yellow fever, which breaks out with renewed virulence regularly with the wet season in the coastlands and seaports of Cuba, annually causing great loss of life, is quite unknown in the interior.
The mineral riches of the island have not yet been explored to any considerable extent. Though gold and silver have undoubtedly been found in the island, the quantity has never been sufficient to repay the labour of search. Gold was sent to Spain from this island by the early settlers, but it was more probably the accumulated wealth of the aborigines in previous centuries, wrested from them by tyranny and rapine at the period of the conquest, than the product of honest labour on the part of the colonists. Traces of auriferous sand are found in the rivers Holguin, Escawbray, &c. Some specimens of the finest gold have been obtained from the workings of Agabama and Sagua la Grande, but at an expense of time and labour that could not remunerate the parties engaged in it. In 1827 silver and copper were discovered in the jurisdiction of Villa Clara, and the first ores gave no less than 7 oz. of pure silver to the quintal ( = 107¾ lb) of ore; but they have become less productive, probably from not being properly worked. The Cobre copper mines, twelve miles from
Santiago, in the eastern part of the island, are of great extent, and very rich; a village of 2000 inhabitants has formed on their site, and a railroad unites them with the shipping port of Punta de Sal. As much as 50 tons of ore are taken out daily, the richest part of which, being broken up, is shipped to Europe; while the poorer part is smelted at the works, yielding about 14 per cent, of metal. These mines were wrought with some success during the 17th century, and had been abandoned for more than 100 years. Coal of a highly bituminous character, affording a strong heat, and leaving very little solid residue in the form of ashes or cinders, is very abundant. In some places it degenerates into a form resembling asphaltum, and near the coast it is often found in a semi-liquid state like petroleum or naphtha. In the quarries near Havana a thick slate is found, fit for floors and pavements. Marbles and jaspers, of various colours, and susceptible of a high polish, are found in many parts of the island, and particularly in the Isle of Pines. It is generally believed that iron exists in various districts of Cuba, and many parts of the great Cordillera undoubtedly contain rocks of a ferruginous nature; but from the difficulty of access, the scarcity of fuel, and the want of capital, no extensive mining operations have been engaged in. Native loadstone, however, has been found in various parts, and chalybeate springs are numerous.
The only peculiar quadruped known in the island is the jutia or hutia, an animal shaped like a rat, and from 12 to 18 inches in length exclusive of the tail. It is of a clear black colour, inhabits the hollows and clefts of trees, and feeds on leaves and fruits. Its flesh is insipid, but is sometimes eaten. A few deer are found about the swamps, but they are supposed to have been introduced from the continent. The woods abound in wild dogs and cats, sprung from these animals in a domestic state, and differing from them only in habits and size. They are very destructive to poultry and cattle. Of domestic animals, the ox, the horse, and the pig are the most valuable, and form a large proportion of the wealth of the island; the sheep, goats, and mules, are less numerous. The manati frequents the shores. The domestic fowls include geese, turkeys, peacocks, and pigeons. The indigenous birds are distinguished by the beauty of their plumage, and are very numerous, including upwards of 200 species. Birds of prey are few. The vulture and turkey-buzzard are protected by law and custom, on account of their services in the removal of offal. The rivers, bays, and inlets are well supplied with fish. Oysters and other shell-fish are numerous, but of inferior quality. The reefs and shallows, and the sandy portion of the beach, abound in turtle; and the crocodile, cayman, and iguana are common. Large numbers of land-crabs are frequently seen; they cross the island from north to south every spring, when the rains commence. Snakes are not numerous; the mcιja — 12 or 14 feet in length, and 18 or 20 inches in circumference—is the largest, but is harmless; the juba, which is about 6 feet long, is venomous. Among the insects may be specially noticed the bee and the phosphorescent fly. These flies are very numerous, and much used amon r the poorer inhabitants. Fifteen or twenty of them confined in a calabash pierced with holes frequently serve during the night as a sort of lantern. The noxious insects are the chigoe or jigger, a species of ant called vivajagua, the mosquito, the sand-fly, the scorpion (less poisonous than that of Europe ∖ and spiders whose bite is malignant enough to produce fever.
The forests of Cuba are of vast extent, and so dense as to be almost impenetrable. It is estimated that of nearly 20,000,000 acres of land still remaining perfectly wild and uncultivated, nearly 13,000,000 are uncleared forest. Mahogany and other hard woods, such as the Cuban ebony, cedar, sabicei, and granadilla, valuable for manufactures, cabinet work, and ship-building, are indigenous, and are exported to a considerable extent. The palm is the queen of the Cuban forests, and the most valuable tree on the island. The most common species, the Palma Peal (Oreodoxa regia), is found in all parts, but especially in the west. The fruits of Cuba are those common to the tropics, of which the pine-apple and orange are the most esteemed. Of the alimentary plants, the plantain is by far the most important. Next in order come the sweet and bitter cassava—the sweet root being eaten as a vegetable, and the bitter converted into bread after its poisonous juice has been extracted. The sweet potato, and other farinaceous roots, are also common. Indian corn is indigenous, and rice is extensively cultivated; cocoa or chocolate is also grown.
The chief agricultural products of Cuba are, however, sugar, coffee, and tobacco. The “ingeniös” or sugar estates,...
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