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[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOR OF HAVANA.]
SIXTH THOUSAND.
HISTORY OF CUBA;
OR,
Notes of a Traveller in the Tropics.
BEING A
POLITICAL, HISTORICAL, AND STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE
ISLAND, FROM ITS FIRST DISCOVERY TO THE
PRESENT TIME.
BY
MATURIN M. BALLOU.
L'ILE DE CUBA SEULE POURRAIT VALOIR UN ROYAUME.
_L'Abbe Raynal._
ILLUSTRATED.
BOSTON:
PHILLIPS, SAMPSON AND COMPANY.
NEW YORK: J.C. DERBY.
PHILADELPHIA: LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & COMPANY.
1854.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by
PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO.,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of
Massachusetts.
Stereotyped by
HOBART & ROBBINS,
New England Type and Stereotype Foundery
BOSTON.
TO
His Friend,
FRANCIS A. DURIVAGE, ESQ.,
As a small Token of Regard for
HIS EXCELLENCE IN THOSE QUALITIES WHICH CONSTITUTE STERLING MANHOOD;
AS A TRUE AND WORTHY FRIEND; AS A RIPE SCHOLAR, AND A GRACEFUL AUTHOR,
This Volume
IS
CORDIALLY DEDICATED
BY
THE AUTHOR
PREFACE.
The remarkable degree of interest expressed on all sides, at the present
time, relative to the island of Cuba, has led the author of the
following pages to place together in this form a series of notes from
his journal, kept during a brief residence upon the island. To these he
has prefixed a historical glance at the political story of Cuba, that
may not be unworthy of preservation. The fact that the subject-matter
was penned in the hurry of observation upon the spot, and that it is
thus a simple record of what would be most likely to engage and interest
a stranger, is his excuse for the desultory character of the work. So
critically is the island now situated, in a political point of view,
that ere this book shall have passed through an edition, it may be no
longer a dependency of Spain, or may have become the theatre of scenes
to which its former convulsions shall bear no parallel.
In preparing the volume for the press, the author has felt the want of
books of reference, bearing a late date. Indeed, there are none; and the
only very modern records are those written in the desultory manner of
hurried travellers. To the admirable work of the learned Ramon de la
Sagra,--a monument of industry and intelligence,--the author of the
following pages has been indebted for historical suggestions and data.
For the privilege of consulting this, and other Spanish books and
pamphlets, relative to the interests and history of the island, the
author is indebted to the Hon. Edward Everett, who kindly placed them at
his disposal. Where statistics were concerned, the several authorities
have been carefully collated, and the most responsible given. The writer
has preferred to offer the fresh memories of a pleasant trip to the
tropics, to attempting a labored volume abounding in figures and
statistics; and trusts that this summer book of a summer clime may float
lightly upon the sea of public favor.
M.M.B.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
The Island of Cuba--Early colonists--Island aborigines--First
importation of slaves--Cortez and his followers--Aztecs--The law of
races--Mexican aborigines--Valley of Mexico--Pizarro--The end of
heroes--Retributive justice--Decadence of Spanish power--History of
Cuba--The rovers of the gulf--Havana fortified--The tyrant
Velasquez--Office of Captain-general--Loyalty of the Cubans--Power of
the captain-general--Cupidity of the government--The slave-trade--The
British take Havana--General Don Luis de las Casas--Don Francisco de
Arranjo--Improvement, moral and physical, of Cuba, 9
CHAPTER II.
The constitution of 1812--Revolution of La Granja--Political aspect of
the island--Discontent among the Cubans--The example before them--Simon
Bolivar, the Liberator--Revolutions of 1823 and 1826--General
Lorenzo and the constitution--The assumption of extraordinary power
by Tacon--Civil war threatened--Tacon sustained by royal
authority--Despair of the Cubans--Military rule--A foreign press
established--Programme of the liberal party--General O'Donnell--The
spoils--Influence of the climate, 25
CHAPTER III.
Armed intervention--Conspiracy of Cienfuegos and Trinidad--General
Narciso Lopez--The author's views on the subject--Inducements to
revolt--Enormous taxation--Scheme of the patriots--Lopez's first
landing, in 1850--Taking of Cardinas--Return of the invaders--Effect
upon the Cuban authorities--Roncali recalled--New
captain-general--Lopez's second expedition--Condition of the
Invaders--Vicissitudes--Col. Crittenden--Battle of Las
Pozas--Superiority of courage--Battle of Las Frias--Death of Gen.
Enna--The fearful finale of the expedition, 38
CHAPTER IV.
Present condition of Cuba--Secret treaty with France and
England--British plan for the Africanization of the island--Sale
of Cuba--Measures of General Pezuela--Registration of
slaves--Intermarriage of blacks and whites--Contradictory
proclamations--Spanish duplicity--A Creole's view of the crisis and
the prospect, 54
CHAPTER V.
Geographical position of the island--Its size--The climate--Advice to
invalids--Glance at the principal cities--Matanzas--Puerto
Principe--Santiago de Cuba--Trinidad--The writer's first view of
Havana--Importance of the capital--Its literary
institutions--Restriction on Cuban youths and education--Glance at the
city streets--Style of architecture--Domestic arrangements of town
houses--A word about Cuban ladies--Small feet--Grace of manners and
general characteristics, 66
CHAPTER VI.
Contrast between Protestant and Catholic communities--Catholic
churches--Sabbath scenes in Havana--Devotion of the common people--The
Plaza de Armas--City squares--The poor man's opera--Influence of
music--La Dominica--The Tacon Paseo--The Tacon Theatre--The
Cathedral--Tomb of Columbus over the altar--Story of the great Genoese
pilot--His death--Removal of remains--The former great wealth of the
church in Cuba--Influence of the priests, 80
CHAPTER VII.
Nudity of children and slaves--The street of the merchants--The
currency of Cuba--The Spanish army in the island--Enrolment of
blacks--Courage of Spanish troops--Treatment by the government--The
garrote--A military execution--The market-men and their wares--The
milk-man and his mode of supply--Glass windows--Curtains for
doors--The Campo Santo, or burial-place of Havana--Treatment of the
dead--The prison--The fish-market of the capital, 95
CHAPTER VIII.
The story of Marti, the smuggler, 108
CHAPTER IX.
The lottery at Havana--Hospitality of the Spaniards--Flattery--Cuban
ladies--Castilian, Parisian and American politeness--The bonnet in
Cuba--Ladies' dresses--The fan--Jewelry and its wear--Culture of
flowers--Reflections--A most peculiar narcotic--Cost of living on the
island--Guines--The cock-pit--Training of the birds--The garden of the
world--Birds of the tropics--Condition of agriculture--Night-time--The
Southern Cross--Natural resources of Cuba--Her wrongs and oppressions,
116
CHAPTER X.
The volante and its belongings--The ancient town of Regla--The arena
for the bull-fights at Havana--A bull-fight as witnessed by the author
at Regla--A national passion with the Spanish people--Compared with old
Roman sports--Famous bull-fighters--Personal description of Cuban
ladies--Description of the men--Romance and the tropics--The nobility
of Cuba--Sugar noblemen--The grades of society--The yeomanry of the
island--Their social position--What they might be--Love of gambling,
131
CHAPTER XI.
A sugar plantation--Americans employed--Slaves on the plantations--A
coffee plantation--Culture of coffee, sugar and tobacco--Statistics of
agriculture--The cucullos, or Cuban fire-fly--Novel ornaments worn by
the ladies--The Cuban mode of harnessing oxen--The montero and his
horse--Curious style of out-door painting--Petty annoyances to
travellers--Jealousy of the authorities--Japan-like
watchfulness--Questionable policy--Political condition of Cuba, 145
CHAPTER XII.
Tacon's summary mode of justice, 161
CHAPTER XIII.
Consumption of tobacco--The universal cigar--Lady smokers--The fruits
of Cuba--Flour a prohibited article--The royal palm--West Indian
trees--Snakes, animals, etc.--The Cuban blood-hound--Mode of training
him--Remarkable instinct--Importation of slaves--Their cost--Various
African tribes--Superstitious belief--Tattooing--Health of the
negroes--Slave laws of the island--Food of the negroes--Spanish law of
emancipation--General treatment of the slaves, 171
CHAPTER XIV.
Pecuniary value of the slave-trade to Havana--The slave clippers--First
introduction of slaves into Cuba--Monopoly of the traffic by
England--Spain's disregard of treaty stipulations--Spanish
perfidy--Present condition of Spain--Her decadence--Influence upon her
American possessions--Slaves upon the plantations--The soil of
Cuba--Mineral wealth of the island--The present condition of the
people--The influences of American progress--What Cuba might be, 186
CHAPTER XV.
Area of Cuba--Extent of cultivated and uncultivated
lands--Population--Proportion between the sexes--Ratio of
legitimate to illegitimate births--Ratio between births and
deaths--Agricultural statistics--Commerce and commercial
regulations--Custom-house and port charges--Exports and imports--Trade
with the United States--Universities and schools--Education--Charitable
institutions--Railroads--Temperature,
201
CHAPTER XVI.
Retrospective thoughts--The bright side and dark side of the
picture--Cuban institutions contrasted with our own--Political
sentiments of the Creoles--War footing--Loyalty of the colony--Native
men of genius--The Cubans not willing slaves--Our own
revolution--Apostles of rebellion--Moral of the Lopez
expedition--Jealousy of Spain--Honorable position of our
government--Spanish aggressions on our flag--Purchase of the
island--Distinguished conservative opinion--The end. 214
THE HISTORY OF CUBA.
CHAPTER I.
The Island of Cuba--Early colonists--Island aborigines--First
importation of slaves--Cortez and his followers--Aztecs--The law of
races--Mexican aborigines--Valley of Mexico--Pizarro--The end of
heroes--Retributive justice--Decadence of Spanish power--History of
Cuba--The rovers of the Gulf--Havana fortified--The tyrant
Velasquez--Office of captain-general--Loyalty of the Cubans--Power
of the captain-general--Cupidity of the government--The
slave-trade--The British take Havana--General Don Luis de las
Casas--Don Francisco de Arranjo--Improvement, moral and physical, of
Cuba.
The island of Cuba, one of the earliest discoveries of the great
admiral, has been known to Europe since 1492, and has borne,
successively, the names of Juana,[1] Fernandina, Santiago and Ave Maria,
having found refuge at last in the aboriginal appellation. Soon after
its discovery by Columbus, it was colonized by Spaniards from St.
Domingo, but was considered mainly in the light of a military depot, by
the home government, in its famous operations at that period in Mexico.
The fact that it was destined to prove the richest jewel in the
Castilian crown, and a mine of wealth to the Spanish treasury, was not
dreamed of at this stage of its history. Even the enthusiastic followers
of Cortez, who sought that fabulous El Dorado of the New World, had no
golden promise to hold forth for this gem of the Caribbean Sea.
The Spanish colonists from St. Domingo found the island inhabited by a
most peculiar native race, hospitable, inoffensive, timid, fond of the
dance and the rude music of their own people, yet naturally indolent and
lazy, from the character of the climate they inhabited. They had some
definite idea of God and heaven; and were governed by patriarchs, or
kings, whose word was law, and whose age gave them precedence. They had
few weapons of offence or defence, and knew not the use of the bow and
arrow. Of course, they were at once subjected by the new comers, who
reduced them to a state of slavery; and, proving hard taskmasters, the
poor, over-worked natives died in scores, until they had nearly
disappeared, when the home government granted permission to import a
cargo of negroes from the coast of Africa to labor upon the ground, and
to seek for gold, which was thought to exist in the river-courses.[2]
Thus early commenced the slave-trade of Cuba, a subject to which we
shall have occasion more fully to refer.
Cuba became the head-quarters of the Spanish power in the west, forming
the point of departure for those military expeditions which, though
inconsiderable in numbers, were so formidable in the energy of the
leaders, and in the arms, discipline, courage, ferocity, fanaticism and
avarice, of their followers, that they were amply adequate to carry out
the vast schemes of conquest for which they were designed. It was hence
that Cortez marched to the conquest of Mexico,--a gigantic
undertaking--one a slight glance at which will recall to the reader the
period of history to which we would direct his attention. Landing upon
the continent, with a little band, scarcely more than half the
complement of a modern regiment, he prepared to traverse an unknown
country, thronged by savage tribes, with whose character, habits and
means of defence, he was wholly unacquainted. This romantic adventure,
worthy of the palmiest days of chivalry, was crowned with success,
though checkered with various fortune, and stained with bloody episodes,
that prove how the threads of courage and ferocity are inseparably
blended in the woof and warp of Spanish character. It must be
remembered, however, that the spirit of the age was harsh, relentless
and intolerant; and, that if the Aztecs, idolaters and sacrificers of
human victims, found no mercy at the hands of the fierce Catholics whom
Cortez commanded, neither did the Indians of our own section of the
continent fare much better at the hands of men professing a purer faith,
and coming to these shores, not as warriors, with the avowed purpose of
conquest, but themselves persecuted fugitives.
As the first words that greeted the ears of the Plymouth colonists were
"Welcome, Englishmen!" uttered by a poor native, who had learned them
from the fishermen off the northern coast, so were the Spaniards at
first kindly welcomed by the aborigines they encountered in the New
World. Yet, in the north-east and south-west the result was the same: it
mattered little whether the stranger was Roman Catholic or Protestant;
whether he came clad in steel, or robed in the garments of peace;
whether he spoke the harsh English, the soft French, or the rich
Castilian tongue. The inexorable laws which govern races were rigidly
enforced; the same drama was everywhere enacted, the white race enjoying
a speedy triumph. There were episodical struggles, fierce and furious,
but unavailing; here Guatimozin, there Philip of Pokanoket--here a
battle, there a massacre.
The Spanish general encountered a people who had attained a far higher
point of art and civilization than their red brethren of the north-east
part of the continent. Vast pyramids, imposing sculptures, curious arms,
fanciful garments, various kinds of manufactures, the relics of which
still strangely interest the student of the past, filled the invaders
with surprise. There was much that was curious and startling in their
mythology, and the capital of the Mexican empire presented a singular
and fascinating spectacle to the eyes of Cortez. The rocky amphitheatre
in the midst of which it was built still remains unchanged, but the vast
lake which surrounded it, traversed by causeways, and covered with
floating gardens, laden with flowers and perfume, is gone. The star of
the Aztec dynasty set in blood. In vain did the inhabitants of the
conquered city, roused to madness by the cruelty and extortion of the
victors, expel them from their midst. Cortez refused to flee further
than the shore; the light of his burning galleys rekindled the desperate
valor of his followers, and Mexico fell, as a few years after did Peru
under the perfidy and sword of Pizarro, thus completing the scheme of
conquest, and giving Spain a colonial empire more splendid than that of
any other power in Christendom.
Of the agents in this vast scheme of territorial aggrandizement, we see
Cortez dying in obscurity, and Pizarro assassinated in his palace, while
retributive justice has overtaken the monarchy at whose behests the
richest portions of the western continent were violently wrested from
their native possessors. If "the wild and warlike, the indolent and the
semi-civilized, the bloody Aztec, the inoffensive Peruvian, the fierce
Araucanian, all fared alike" at the hands of Spain, it must be confessed
that their wrongs have been signally avenged. "The horrid atrocities
practised at home and abroad," says Edward Everett, "not only in the
Netherlands, but in every city of the northern country, cried to Heaven
for vengeance upon Spain; nor could she escape it. She intrenched
herself behind the eternal Cordilleras; she took to herself the wings of
the morning, and dwelt in the uttermost parts of the sea; but even there
the arm of retribution laid hold of her, and the wrongs of both
hemispheres were avenged by her degeneracy and fall."
So rapid a fall is almost without a parallel in the history of the
world. Less than three centuries from the time when she stood without a
rival in the extent and wealth of her colonial possessions, she beheld
herself stripped, one by one, of the rich exotic jewels of her crown.
Her vice-regal coronet was torn from her grasp. Mexico revolted; the
South American provinces threw off her yoke; and now, though she still
clutches with febrile grasp the brightest gem of her transatlantic
possessions, the island of Cuba, yet it is evident that she cannot long
retain its ownership. The "ever-faithful" island has exhibited
unmistakable symptoms of infidelity, its demonstrations of loyalty being
confined to the government officials and the hireling soldiery. The time
will surely come when the last act of the great drama of historical
retribution will be consummated, and when, in spite of the threatening
batteries of the Moro and the Punta, and the bayonets of Spanish
legions, _siempre fiel_ will no longer be the motto of the Queen of the
Antilles.
The history of Cuba is deficient in events of a stirring character, and
yet not devoid of interest. Columbus found it inhabited, as we have
already remarked, by a race whose manners and character assimilated with
the mild climate of this terrestrial paradise. Although the Spanish
conquerors have left us but few details respecting these aborigines, yet
we know with certainty, from the narratives of the great discoverer and
his followers, that they were docile and generous, but, at the same
time, inclined to ease; that they were well-formed, grave, and far from
possessing the vivacity of the natives of the south of Europe. They
expressed themselves with a certain modesty and respect, and were
hospitable to the last degree. Their labor was limited to the light work
necessary to provide for the wants of life, while the bounteous climate
of the tropics spared the necessity of clothing. They preferred hunting
and fishing to agriculture; and beans and maize, with the fruits that
nature gave them in abundance, rendered their diet at once simple and
nutritious. They possessed no quadrupeds of any description, except a
race of voiceless dogs, of whose existence we have no proof but the
assertion of the discoverers.
The island was politically divided into nine provinces, namely, Baracoa,
Bayaguitizi, Macaca, Bayamo, Camaguey, Jagua, Cueyba, Habana and
Haniguanica. At the head of each was a governor, or king, of whose laws
we have no record, or even tradition. An unbroken peace reigned among
them, nor did they turn their hands against any other people. Their
priests, called _Behiques_, were fanatics, superstitious to the last
degree, and kept the people in fear by gross extravagances. They were
not cannibals, nor did they employ human sacrifices, and are represented
as distinguished by a readiness to receive the Gospel.
The capital of the island was Baracoa,[3] erected into a city and
bishopric in 1518, but both were transferred to Santiago de Cuba in
1522. In the year 1538, the city of Havana was surprised by a French
corsair and reduced to ashes. The French and English buccaneers of the
West Indies, whose hatred the Spaniards early incurred, were for a long
time their terror and their scourge. Enamored of the wild life they led,
unshackled by any laws but the rude regulations they themselves adopted,
unrefined by intercourse with the gentler sex, consumed by a thirst for
adventure, and brave to ferocity, these fierce rovers, for many years,
were the actual masters of the gulf. They feared no enemy, and spared
none; their vessels, constantly on the watch for booty, were ever ready,
on the appearance of a galleon, to swoop down like an eagle on its prey.
The romance of the sea owes some of its most thrilling chapters to the
fearful exploits of these buccaneers. Their _coup de main_ on Havana
attracted the attention of De Soto, the governor of the island, to the
position and advantages of the port at which the Spanish vessels bound
for the peninsula with the riches of New Mexico were accustomed to
touch, and he accordingly commenced to fortify it. It increased in
population by degrees, and became the habitual gubernatorial residence,
until the home government made it the capital of the island in 1589, on
the appointment of the first Captain-general, Juan de Tejada.
The native population soon dwindled away under the severe sway of the
Spaniards, who imposed upon them tasks repugnant to their habits, and
too great for their strength.
Velasquez, one of the earliest governors of the island, appears to have
been an energetic and efficient magistrate, and to have administered
affairs with vigor and intelligence; but his harsh treatment of the
aborigines will ever remain a stain upon his memory. A native chief,
whose only crime was that of taking up arms in defence of the integrity
of his little territory, fell into the hands of Velasquez, and was
burned alive, as a punishment for his patriotism.[4] It is no wonder
that under such treatment the native population disappeared so rapidly
that the Spaniards were forced to supply their places by laborers of
hardier character.
We have seen that the office of captain-general was established in 1589,
and, with a succession of incumbents, the office has been maintained
until the present day, retaining the same functions and the same
extraordinary powers. The object of the Spanish government is, and ever
has been, to derive as much revenue as possible from the island; and the
exactions imposed upon the inhabitants have increased in proportion as
other colonies of Spain, in the western world, have revolted and
obtained their independence. The imposition of heavier burthens than
those imposed upon any other people in the world has been the reward of
the proverbial loyalty of the Cubans; while the epithet of
"ever-faithful," bestowed by the crown, has been their only recompense
for their steady devotion to the throne. But for many years this lauded
loyalty has existed only in appearance, while discontent has been
fermenting deeply beneath the surface.
The Cubans owe all the blessings they enjoy to Providence alone (so to
speak), while the evils which they suffer are directly referable to the
oppression of the home government. Nothing short of a military despotism
could maintain the connection of such an island with a mother country
more than three thousand miles distant; and accordingly we find the
captain-general of Cuba invested with unlimited power. He is, in fact, a
viceroy appointed by the crown of Spain, and accountable only to the
reigning sovereign for his administration of the colony. His rule is
absolute; he has the power of life and death and liberty in his hands.
He can, by his arbitrary will, send into exile any person whatever, be
his name or rank what it may, whose residence in the island he considers
prejudicial to the royal interest, even if he has committed no overt
act. He can suspend the operation of the laws and ordinances, if he sees
fit to do so; can destroy or confiscate property; and, in short, the
island may be said to be perpetually in a state of siege.
Such is the infirmity of human nature that few individuals can be
trusted with despotic power without abusing it; and accordingly we find
very few captain-generals whose administration will bear the test of
rigid examination. Few men who have governed Cuba have consulted the
true interests of the Creoles; in fact, they are not appointed for that
purpose, but merely to look after the crown revenue. An office of such
magnitude is, of course, a brilliant prize, for which the grandees of
Spain are constantly struggling; and the means by which an aspirant is
most likely to secure the appointment presupposes a character of an
inferior order. The captain-general knows that he cannot reckon on a
long term of office, and hence he takes no pains to study the interests
or gain the good-will of the Cubans. He has a two-fold object in
view,--to keep the revenue well up to the mark, and to enrich himself as
speedily as possible. Hence, the solemn obligations entered into by
Spain with the other powers for the suppression of the African
slave-trade are a dead letter; for, with very few exceptions, the
captains-general of Cuba have connived at the illegal importation of
slaves, receiving for their complaisance a large percentage on the
value of each one landed on the island; for, though the slavers do not
discharge their living freights at the more frequented ports, still
their arrival is a matter of public notoriety, and it is impossible
that, with the present system of espionage, the authorities can be
ignorant of such an event. Nor can we imagine that the home government
is less well-informed upon the subject, though they assume a politic
ignorance of the violation of the law. Believing that the importation of
slaves is essential to the maintenance of the present high revenue,
Spain illustrates the rule that there are none so blind as those who do
not wish to see. It is only the cheapness of labor, resulting from the
importation of slaves, that enables the planters to pour into the
government treasury from twenty to twenty-four millions of dollars
annually. Of this we may speak more fully hereafter.
In 1760, the invasion and conquest of the island by the British forms
one of the most remarkable epochs in its history. This event excited the
fears of Spain, and directed the attention of the government to its
importance in a political point of view. On its restoration, at the
treaty of peace concluded between the two governments in the following
year, Spain seriously commenced the work of fortifying the Havana, and
defending and garrisoning the island generally.
The elements of prosperity contained within the limits of this peerless
island required only a patriotic and enlightened administration for
their development; and the germ of its civilization was stimulated by
the appointment of General Don Luis de las Casas to the post of
captain-general. During the administration of this celebrated man, whose
memory is cherished with fond respect by the Cubans, The Patriotic
Society of Havana was formed, with the noble idea of diffusing education
throughout the island, and introducing a taste for classical literature,
through his instrumentality, while the press was also established in the
capital, by the publication of the _Papel Periodico_.
In the first third of the present century, the _intendente_, Don
Alejandro Ramirez, labored to regulate the revenues and economical
condition of the country, and called the attention of the government to
the improvement of the white population. But the most important
concession obtained of the metropolitan government, the freedom of
commerce, was due to the patriotic exertions of Don Francisco de
Arranjo, the most illustrious name in Cuban annals, "one," says the
Countess Merlin, "who may be quoted as a model of the humane and
peaceful virtues," and "who was," says Las Casas, "a jewel of priceless
value to the glory of the nation, a protector for Cuba, and an
accomplished statesman for the monarchy." Even the briefest historical
sketch (and this record pretends to no more) would be incomplete without
particular mention of this excellent man.
He was born at Havana, May 22d, 1765. Left an orphan at a very early
age, he managed the family estate, while a mere boy, with a discretion
and judgment which would have done honor to a man of mature age.
Turning his attention to the study of the law, he was admitted to
practice in the mother country, where for a considerable period he acted
as the agent for the municipality of Havana, and, being thoroughly
acquainted with the capabilities of the island, and the condition and
wants of his countrymen, he succeeded in procuring the amelioration of
some of the most flagrant abuses of the colonial system. By his
exertions, the staple productions of the island were so much increased
that the revenue, in place of falling short of the expenses of the
government, as his enemies had predicted, soon yielded a large surplus.
He early raised his voice against the iniquitous slave-trade, and
suggested the introduction of white laborers, though he perceived that
the abolition of slavery was impracticable. It was owing to his
exertions that the duty on coffee, spirits and cotton, was remitted for
a period of ten years, and that machinery was allowed to be imported
free of duty to the island.
The _Junta de Fomento_ (society for improvement) and the Chamber of
Commerce were the fruits of his indefatigable efforts. Of the latter
institution he was for a long time the Syndic, refusing to receive the
perquisites attached to the office, as he did the salaries of the same
and other offices that he filled during his useful life. While secretary
of the Chamber, he distinguished himself by his bold opposition to the
schemes of the infamous Godoy (the Prince of Peace), the minion of the
Queen of Spain, who, claiming to be protector of the Chamber of
Commerce, demanded the receipts of the custom-house at Havana. He not
only defeated the plans of Godoy, but procured the relinquishment of the
royal monopoly of tobacco. His patriotic services were appreciated by
the court at Madrid, although at times he was the inflexible opponent of
its schemes. The cross of the order of Charles III. showed the esteem in
which he was held by that monarch. Yet, with a modesty which did him
honor, he declined to accept a title of nobility which was afterwards
offered to him. In 1813, when, by the adoption of the constitution of
1812, Cuba became entitled to representation in the general Cortes, he
visited Madrid as a deputy, and there achieved the crowning glory of his
useful life,--the opening of the ports of Cuba to foreign trade. In 1817
he returned to his native island with the rank of Counsellor of State,
Financial Intendente of Cuba, and wearing the grand cross of the order
of Isabella. He died in 1837, at the age of seventy-two, after a long
and eminently useful life, bequeathing large sums for various public
purposes and charitable objects in the island. Such a man is an honor to
any age or nation, and the Cubans do well to cherish his memory, which,
indeed, they seem resolved, by frequent and kindly mention, to keep ever
green.
Fostered by such men, the resources of Cuba, both physical and
intellectual, received an ample and rapid development. The youth of the
island profited by the means of instruction now liberally placed at
their disposal; the sciences and belles-lettres were assiduously
cultivated; agriculture and internal industry were materially improved,
and an ambitious spirit evoked, which subsequent periods of tyranny and
misrule have not been able, with all their baneful influences, entirely
to erase.
The visitor from abroad is sure to hear the people refer to this "golden
period," as they call it, of their history, the influence of which, so
far from passing away, appears to grow and daily increase with them. It
raised in their bosoms one spirit and trust which they sadly
needed,--that of self-reliance,--and showed them of what they were
capable, under liberal laws and judicious government.
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE IMPERIAL DEL PASEO.]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In honor of Prince John, son of Ferdinand and Isabella. Changed to
Fernandina on the death of Ferdinand; afterwards called Ave Maria, in
honor of the Holy Virgin. Cuba is the Indian name.
[2] "Thus," exclaims the pious Arrati, "began that gathering of an
infinite number of gentiles to the bosom of our holy religion, who would
otherwise have perished in the darkness of paganism." Spain _has_
liberal laws relative to the religious instruction of the slaves; but
they are no better than a dead letter.
[3] Here Leo X. erected the first cathedral in Cuba. Baracoa is situated
on the north coast, at the eastern extremity of the island, and contains
some three thousand inhabitants, mixed population.
[4] The words of this unfortunate chief (Hatucy), extorted by the
torments he suffered, were, "_Prefiero el infierno al cielo si en cielo
ha Espanoles_." (I prefer hell to heaven, if there are Spaniards in
heaven.)