The principal defences of Havana are the Castillo de la Punta, to the west of the harbour entrance, the Castillo del Morro and San Carlos de la Cabana to the east, the Santo Domingo de Atares, which lies at the head of the western arm of the bay and commands both the city and the neighbourhood, and the Castillo del Principe, situated on an eminence to the west, and forming the terminus of the great Paseo Militär. El Morro, as it is popularly called, was first erected in 1589, but additions have been frequently made. La Punta, a much smaller fort, is of the same period. The castle of Atares dates from about 1763, when the Con le de Ricla was governor of the island. Cabana, which alone has accommodation for 4000 men, fronts the bay for a distance of 800 yards, and is defended on the land side by three bastions. To the east there lies a smaller fort, No. 4, or San Diego, on a hill about 100 feet high.

Of the churches in the city, which number more than a score, the most noteworthy is the cathedral erected in 1724 by the Jesuits. Externally it is plain though symmetrical; but within it has richly frescoed walls, a floor of variegated marble, and costly altars. In the wall of the chancel, a second-rate medallion and a sorrier inscription distinguish the tomb of Columbus, whose remains were removed thither in 1796. It is enough to mention the churches of San Juan de Dios, dating from 1573, Santa Catalina (1658), San Agostino (1608), and San Felipe, which possesses a large library. Of monasteries and nunneries there is of course no lack; and the same may be said of charitable institutions. The most important of the seven hospitals is the Real Casa de Beneficencia, founded about 1790, and containing an orphan asylum, a home for vagrants, a lunatic asylum, and an infirmary.

Besides the university established in 1728, the city possesses a theological seminary, a military school, and a school of art. The governor and the bishop have their respective palaces, the former a large yellow stone building in the Plaza de Armas; a large prison, erected in 1771, capable of receiving 500 inmates, and with barracks for a regiment, forms a striking object in the general view of the city; and among the other public buildings are the exchange (El Muelle), the custom-house (formerly the church of San Francisco), and the maestranza or headquarters of the artillery. Of the theatres, which have s’ill to compete with the bull-ring and the cock-pit, the most important is the Tacon, erected in 1838, and capable of accommodating about 3000 persons. The promenades, drives, and public gardens form a notable feature of Havana: it is sufficient to mention the Plaza de Armas, with a statue of Ferdinand VII.; the Prado or Paseo Isabel, a long and handsome boulevard laid out in the 18th century; the Campo del Marte or drill-park; the Parque Isabel, the Paseo Tacon, the botanical gardens, and the gardens of Los Molinos, the suburban residence of the captain-general. The palm-tree avenues of Los Molinos are unusually fine. Along the borders of the bay there are several fine embankments, of which the best is perhaps that called either the Salon O’Donnell or the Alamada de Paula. In the coral rock of the coast sea-baths have been excavated, so that the bathers may run no risk from the sharks; each apartment is about 12 feet square and 6 or 8 feet deep, and the water enters by two port-holes. The city is supplied with water from the river Chorrera by an aqueduct (Canal Isabel II.) constructed by Antonelli under Philip II., and the number of fountains is considerable. The markets—-of which the most noteworthy are the Mercado de Cristina, erected in 1836, and the Mercado de Tacon or Plaza de Vapor—are abundantly stocked with fruits and vegetables. Several of the suburban villages (e.y., Chorrera, Guanaba-conda) are attractive places of resort.

The bay of Havana makes one of the finest harbours in the world, easy of access, spacious enough to contain about 1000 large vessels, deep enough to allow them to come close up to the wharves, and, except in the case of a hurricane, well protected on all sides. The entrance, encumbered by neither bar nor rock, is 980 feet wide and 4200 feet long. Within, the bay breaks up into three distinct arms, named respectively Marimalena or Regia Bay, Guasabacoa Bay, and El Fondo or Bay of Atares. The wharves are well built, and a good floating dock is maintained by a private company. On the left hand of the entrance stands a lofty lighthouse tower.

In 1865 1950 vessels entered with a burthen of 686,644 tons; in 1873 2194 vessels with a burthen of 921,632 tons; and in the first six months of 1878 741 vessels with a burthen of 449,785 tons. The average number of vessels annually in the ten years from 1864 to 1873 was 1981 (771,196 tons), and of this average 647 (324,373 tons) were American, 689 (190,231 tons) Spanish, 384 (131,216 tons) British, 55 (45,218 tons) French, 55 (18,200 tons) Norwegian, and 32 (31,693 tons) German.

In spite of high tariffs and civil wars, and the competition of Matanzas, Cardenas, Cienfuego, and other Cuban ports opened to foreign trade in modern times, the commerce of Havana continues to increase. As indicated by the statistics just quoted, the chief foreign customers are Britain and the United States; but, while the latter are gradually taking a greater proportion of the trade, the British interest is gradually diminishing. The two staple articles of export are sugar and tobacco-wares. While the average export of sugar for the first ten years of the century was only 177,998 boxes (61,199,200 lb), by 1855 it had reached 965,677 boxes (386,270,800 lb), and by 1878 145,601 boxes, 102,786 hogsheads, and 91,974 tons, or a grand total of nearly 408 millions of lb. In 1867 there were exported 7,716,802 lb of tobacco and 199,027 millions of cigars, and the corresponding numbers for 1878 were 13,864,800 lb and 174,638 millions. Other exports of importance are rum, wax, and honey. The nature and quantities of the imports on an average of the ten years 1868 to 1877 are 295,202 quintals (100 lb each) of jerked beef, 134,203 quintals of cod-fish (61,576 from Europe, and 41,019 from United States), 359,925 barrels of flour, 627,786 quintals of rice (mainly from the East Indies), 143,035 quintals of lard (from the United States), 85,503 pipes of wine, 145,539 tons of coal, 344,095 jars of olive oil, and 92,857 quintals of coal-oil.

The staple manufacturing industry of Havana is that of tobacco. Of the cigar factories, more than a hundred may be reckoned as of the first class. The Royal and Imperial Factory of La Honradez, which occupies a whole square, and is considered one of the great sights of the city, produces daily 2,532,000 cigarettes. Besides the making of boxes and barrels, and other articles necessarily involved in its sugar and tobacco trade, Havana also prosecutes to some extent the building of carriages and ships, and the manufacture of iron and machinery; but the weight of taxation is too great to allow the development of any business requiring great capital. There were six banks in the city in 1877, the most important being the Spanish Bank, through which all the Government paper is issued.

Havana has steam communication several times a week with New York; once a week with Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New Orleans; and about as frequently with several ports in England, Spain, and France. It is the terminus of a railway system which reaches Cardenas, Cienfuego, Matanzas, Batabano, &c.; and short lines run out to the Bay of Havana and Marianas. Telegraphs radiate to all parts of the island; and a submarine cable to Key West forms part of the line of communication between Aspinwall and New York.

The population of Havana and its suburbs was stated at 139,996 in 1817, at 196,994 in 1841, at 203,676 in 1863, and at 169,184 in 1871. Of this last number 108,754 were whites, 27,623 free negroes, mulattos, &c., and 22,807 slaves. By 1873 the total had reached, it is said, 230,000. None of these statistics can be received with much confidence as to their accuracy. Among the white population the proportion of males to females is extraordinarily high: according to the. official returns, there die annually 3682 white males to 1204 white females. .The average rate of mortality is 27 per thousand annually. Foreigners are subject to yellow fever, especially from J une to September.

Havana, originally founded by Diego Velasquez in 1515 on an unhealthy site near the present harbour of Baracon on the south coast, was removed to its actual position about 1519, and soon began to be considered one of the most important places in the New World. In 1528 the buccaneers laid the settlement in ashes, but it was soon after restored by Da Soto, who built the fortress of La Fuerza. The residence of the captain-general was transferred to Havana from Santiago de Cuba in 1551; and in 1589, to protect the city, which had been plundered by the pirate Jacob Sores in 1555 and threatened by Drake in 1585, Philip II. of Spain ordered the erection of the Bateria de la Punta and the castle of El Mono or Los Très Reyes. In the course of the 17th century the port became the great rendezvous for the gold-ships of Spain, and the commercial centre of the Spanish possessions in America. The English under Admiral Pocock and the duke of Albemarle captured Havana in 1762, but it was restored to the Spaniards on 10th Feb. 1763, in exchange for the Floridas. The Gaccta de la Habana, the first paper published in Cuba, appeared in 1782. In 1771 the port, which had formerly been, like the rest of Cuba, monopolized by Seville and Cadiz, was declared open to all nations in regard to certain articles of trade; and this liberty was extended in 1818 to all goods whatsoever. During the despotico-paternal administration of Tacon many improvements were introduced at Havana: the railway from Havana to Guines was commenced in 1835; a ferry between the city and the suburb of Regia was set on foot in 1837; and night watchmen, a police-force, and a fire-brigade were established. The first line of steamships from Cadiz to Havana dates from 1850. Like the rest of Cuba the city has frequently suffered severely from hurricanes, the most violent being those of 1768 (St Theresa’s), 1810, and 1846.

See the works referred to under Cuba.