MATANZAS, or San Carlos de Matanzas, a city and seaport on the north coast of Cuba, and the chief town of a province, lies 52 miles east of Havana, with which it is connected by rail. It is a well-built place of from 36,000 to 40,000 inhabitants, occupying a fine site at the head of the Bay of Matanzas, and separated from its suburbs Pueblo Nuevo and Versailles by the San Juan on the one hand and the Yamurri on the other. In the centre of the principal square is a statue of Ferdinand VIL, and along the east side runs the residence of the commandant. The new theatre is the handsomest building of its kind in Cuba, and the Empresa Academy has the repute of being one of the best educational institutions in the West Indies. As a commercial centre Matanzas ranks next to Havana, having risen rapidly after the removal of the old trade restrictions in 1809. The exports are mainly sugar and molasses. The harbour has been deteriorated by the mud brought down by the San Juan; but the bay is well sheltered from all winds except the north-east, which brings in a heavy sea. Matanzas was founded in 1693 by a number of immigrants from the Canary Islands, and in the same year Bishop Compostello laid the first stone of the cathedral. The city suffered severely from a conflagration in 1845. About 2⅛ miles to the east are the beautiful stalactite caves of Bellamar, about 3 miles in extent.