Produced by Chuck Greif, Broward County Library and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
The etext replicates the original book. Some obvious typographical
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[Illustration: FRANCISCO DE FRIAS
One of the foremost agricultural and economic scientists of his time,
Francisco de Frias y Jacott, Count of Pozos Dulces, was born in Havana
on September 24, 1809, and died in Paris, France, on October 24, 1877.
He studied in the United States and Europe, specializing in physics and
chemistry, and then sought to devote his genius to the economic welfare
of Cuba. He wrote notable works on Cattle Breeding, on Chemical
Research, and on Labor and Population. His patriotic spirit provoked
Captain-General Canedo to banish him for a time, but on his return as
editor of _El Siglo_ he conducted so powerful a campaign for social,
economic, political and administrative reforms that the Spanish
government was constrained to heed him and to plan new legislation for
Cuba. For this purpose it formed a Junta of Information, of which he was
a member representing Santa Clara. Upon the failure of that body he
wrote a memorable protest against the policy which had compelled that
result, and a year later removed to Paris.]
THE
HISTORY OF CUBA
BY
WILLIS FLETCHER JOHNSON
A.M., L.H.D.
Author of “A Century of Expansion,” “Four Centuries of
the Panama Canal,” “America’s Foreign Relations”
Honorary Professor of the History of American Foreign
Relations in New York University
_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_
VOLUME FIVE
[Illustration]
NEW YORK
B. F. BUCK & COMPANY, INC.
156 FIFTH AVENUE
1920
Copyright, 1920,
BY CENTURY HISTORY CO.
_All rights reserved_
ENTERED AT STATIONERS HALL
LONDON, ENGLAND.
PRINTED IN U. S. A.
REPUBLICA DE CUBA
SECRETARIA DE AGRICULTURA, COMERCIO Y TRABAJO
Habana, Cuba,
July 11, 1919.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
The information in this volume pertaining to Cuba and her natural
resources, climate, soil, mines, forests, fisheries, agricultural
products, lands, rivers, harbors, mountains, mineral zones, quarries,
foreign and domestic commerce, business opportunities, etc., has been
compiled under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture, Commerce
and Labor, and has been verified by the Bureau of Information.
It is intended to acquaint the world with the truth and actual facts in
regard to Cuba, and for the guidance of those who may be interested.
Respectfully,
[Illustration: signature]
SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
COMMERCE & LABOR.
PREFACE
Nature designed Cuba for greatness. That salient fact is written large
and clear upon every page of the island’s history. He must lack vision
who can not discern it even in the annals of political, military and
social development of the Cuban nation. Although one of the earliest
lands in the Western Hemisphere to be discovered and colonized, it was
actually the last of all to be erected into political independence and
thus to enter into an opportunity for improving fully the incomparable
opulence of its natural endowment. No land ever shows of what it is
capable until it is permitted to do so for its own sake and in its own
name.
During the long and tedious centuries of Spanish domination, therefore,
the resources of Cuba remained largely latent. That is to be said in
full view of the notorious fact that the island was openly declared to
be “the milch cow of Spain.” In those two facts appears perhaps the most
impressive of all possible testimonies to the surpassing richness of the
island. If while it was a mere colony, only partially developed and
indeed with its resources only in part explored and imperfectly
understood, and with the supreme incentive to enterprise denied it--if
in these unfavorable circumstances, we say, it could be a source of so
great revenue to Spain and in spite of thus being plundered and drained
could still accumulate so considerable a competence for its own people,
what must its material opulence prove to be under its own free rule,
with every advantage and every encouragement for its full development
according to the knowledge of Twentieth Century science?
We need not be fanciful or visionary if we believe that some important
purpose was subserved in such withholding of Cuba from complete
development until so late a date. Her neighbors went on ahead,
developing their resources, and passing through all the political and
social vicissitudes of which colonial and national experience is
capable, inevitably with a great proportion of sheer loss through
ill-directed experimentation. Cuba on the contrary remained held in
abeyance until in the fulness of time she could profit from the
experience and example of others and thus gain her development at a
minimum of effort and expense and with a maximum of net profit.
The beneficent design of nature, to which we have alluded, is to be
seen, moreover, in the inherent conditions of insular existence. No
other great island of the world is so fortunate in its geographical
placing, either strategically or climatically, nor is any other
comparable with it in topography and material arrangement and
composition. It lies midway between the two great continents of the
Western Hemisphere, within easy reach of both across landlocked seas,
where it receives the commerce of both and serves as a mart of exchange
between them. Similarly it lies between the Temperate Zone and the
Torrid Zone, so as to receive at its very doors the products of each and
of both, the products, that is to say, of all the world. Nor is it less
significant that it lies directly upon the line of commerce and travel
not only between North and South but equally between East and West, on
the line of passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific and between the
lands which border the one and those which occupy the shores of the
other. Such strategic position--the strategy of commerce--is unique and
incommensurable in value.
Equally beneficent is the climatic situation of Cuba. Mathematically
lying just within the tropical zone, it in fact enjoys a temperance of
climate surpassing that of the temperate zone itself. It has all the
geniality of the regions which lie to the south of it, so that it can
produce all the fruits of the sultry tropics in profusion throughout a
year-round season of growth; yet it escapes the oppressive and
enervating heat which makes life in those lands burdensome to the
visitor and indolent to the native. It has the comfort and the tonic
properties of northern climes, yet without the trying and sometimes
disastrous fluctuations and extremes which too often there prevail. As a
result, Cuba can produce, if not always in fullest perfection yet with a
gratifying degree of success, practically all the vegetable life of the
world, from that which thrives close to the Arctic Circle to that which
luxuriates upon the Equator.
In coastal contour, and thus in profusion of fine harbors, Cuba enjoys
preeminence among the countries of the world. In varied contour of
mountain, valley and plain, in endowment with springs and rivers, she is
conspicuously fortunate. The often quoted tribute which her first
discoverer paid spontaneously to her magic beauty has been repeated and
confirmed uncounted times, with a deeper significance as it has been
found that the beauty of this island is not merely superficial but
intrinsic, and that Cuba is as hospitable to the interests and welfare
of the visitor and resident as she is fair to the passing eye.
It is a grateful task to dwell in these pages upon the varied and
opulent resources of the island, in all the natural conditions of the
mineral, the vegetable and the animal kingdoms. We shall see that the
hopes and dreams of the early conquerors, of rich mines of gold, have
been far more than realized in other ways which they knew not of. The
mines of what they regarded as base metals, and of metals unknown to
them, are richer far than they ever hoped deposits of the “precious”
metal to be, while the products of forests and plantations are
immeasurably richer still. Today Cuba stands before the world a
Treasure Island of incomparable worth even in her present estate, and of
an assured potentiality of future opulence which dazzles the
imagination.
We shall see, too, most grateful and inspiring of all, how at last the
people of Cuba have come into their own and are improving the vast
endowment with which nature has so bounteously provided them. It has
been only since they gained their independence that they could or would
do this; the result being that a score of years have seen more progress
than the twenty score preceding. Indeed we may say that the great bulk
of this progress has been achieved in the last six or seven years, the
earlier years of independence being unfortunately marred with untoward
circumstances of dissension and revolt which held in check the progress
which the island should have made. But with the final establishment of a
government capable of fulfilling all its appropriate functions, the
advance of Cuba has been and is to-day swift and unerring.
The taking advantage of natural conditions and resources through
scientific applications, the organization and administration of such
governmental institutions as best conduce to the security, the
prosperity and the happiness of a self-governing people, are agreeable
themes to contemplate and are profitable to study. We shall see how
agriculture, mining, manufactures and commerce have been promoted in
both extent and character. We shall see how all parts of the island
realm have been made accessible, for business or for pleasure, with
railroads and a marvellous system of highways for motor vehicles. We
shall learn of the sanitation of what was once a pestilence infested
land until it has become one of the three or four most healthful in the
world.
We shall see, too, the practical creation and universal development of a
scheme of free popular education which to-day gives to what was within
the memory of living men one of the most illiterate of countries such
school facilities as scarcely any other can surpass. If we were writing
in this volume of some long-established Commonwealth, with many
generations, perhaps centuries, of progress and culture behind it, we
should not be able to restrain our admiration of much that has been
accomplished. When we consider that we are writing of a land that
suffered nearly four centuries of repression and oppression, followed by
a dozen years of devastating strife, and less than twenty years ago
began to live the free life of a sovereign people, we are entranced with
amazement at the memory of what Cuba has been, with appreciation of what
she is, and with the assured promise of what she is to be.
It was a fascinating task to trace the story of her existence in its
many phases, largely of vicissitude, from the days of Diego Velasquez to
those of Mario Menocal. But that after all was a record of what has
been, of what has largely passed away. More welcome is it to contemplate
what Cuba actually is, in present realization and achievement, and to
scan with sane and discriminating vision the prospect of what she may be
and what, we may well believe with confidence, she will be. It is to
reveal the actual Cuba of to-day, and to suggest the surely promised
Cuba of to-morrow, that these pages are written. So far as they may seem
technical and statistical, their very dryness contains a potency of
suggestion surpassing the dreams of romance. So far as they may seem
touched with imagination, speculation, enthusiasm, they are still based
upon the practical and indubitable foundation of ascertained facts.
Their aim is to present to the world an accurate, comprehensive and
sympathetic living picture of the Twentieth Century Republic of Cuba,
and as such they are submitted to the reader with a cheerful confidence,
if not always in the adequacy of its treatment, at least in the
unfailing interest and merit of the theme.
January, 1920.
WILLIS FLETCHER JOHNSON.
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I. THE PEOPLE OF CUBA.....1
The People of Cuba--Hospitality Their Characteristic--Love of
Children--Founders of the Cuban Nation from the Southern Provinces of
Spain--An Admixture of French Blood--Immigration from Northern
Spain--English, Irish, Italian and German Immigrants--Colonists from the
United States.
CHAPTER II. THE TOPOGRAPHY OF CUBA.....10
The Topography of Cuba--Five Distinct Zones--The Mountain
Ranges--Plateaus and Plains--The Highest Peak in Cuba--The Organ
Mountains--Beautiful Valleys and Fertile Plains--Action of the Water
Courses--Character of the Soil.
CHAPTER III. THE CLIMATE OF CUBA.....19
The Climate of Cuba--Freedom from Extremes of Temperature--Influence of
the Trade Winds--No Ice and Little Frost--The Rainy Season and the Dry
Season--Gloomy Days Practically Unknown.
CHAPTER IV. PROVINCE OF HAVANA.....21
The Province of Havana--The Pivotal Province of the Island--Visits by
Columbus and Velasquez--Topography of the Province--Soil and
Products--Agricultural Wealth--The Fruit Industry--Manufacturing--The
Harbor of Havana--Transportation Facilities--The Water Supply--The
Climate--The Seat of Government and Social Centre of the Island.
CHAPTER V. PROVINCE OF PINAR DEL RIO.....34
The Province of Pinar del Rio--A Picturesque Region--Interesting
Topography--The Organ Mountains--The Vinales Valley--A Rare Palm
Tree--Hard Wood Timber--Agriculture--Harbors and Fishing
Interests--Tobacco Lands of the Vuelta Abajo--Coffee
Plantations--Mineral Resources.
CHAPTER VI. PROVINCE OF MATANZAS.....49
The Province of Matanzas--Comparatively Unimportant in History--A Great
Drainage and Traffic Canal--Rivers and Mountains--The Coast and
Islands--The Henequen Industry--The City of Matanzas--The Caves of
Bellamar--Sugar Production--Mineral Resources.
CHAPTER VII. PROVINCE OF SANTA CLARA.....60
The Province of Santa Clara--A Land of Great Variety of Scenes--Ancient
Gold-Seeking--The Mountain Ranges--Rich Lands of the Parks and
Valleys--Rivers and Lakes--Harbors--Cities of the Province--The “Swamp
of the Shoe”--Forests, Sugar Plantations, Tobacco, and
Coffee--Opportunities for Stock Raising.
CHAPTER VIII. PROVINCE OF CAMAGUEY.....71
The Province of Camaguey--Where Columbus First Landed--In the Days of
Velasquez--Events of the Ten Years’ War--Topography of the
Province--Mountain Ranges--Rivers and Coastal Lagoons--Harbors--Lack of
Railroads--The Sugar Industry--Minerals--American Colonies--Some Noted
Men.
CHAPTER IX. PROVINCE OF ORIENTE.....83
The Province of Oriente--Area and Topography--Mountains and Rivers--Fine
Harbors--Great Sugar Mills--Scene of the First Spanish Settlement in
Cuba--The Bay of Guantanamo--Santiago de Cuba--Copper
Mines--Manzanillo--The Cauto Valley--Sugar Plantations and Stock
Ranches--Timber and Minerals--American Colonies.
CHAPTER X. THE ISLE OF PINES.....99
The Isle of Pines--An Integral Part of Cuba--American Settlements and
Claims--Character of the Island--Infertile and Storm Swept--Vast
Deposits of Muck--Marble Quarries--Efforts to Promote Agricultural
Interests.
CHAPTER XI. MINES AND MINING.....104
Mines and Mining--The Early Quest of Gold--First Working of Copper
Mines--The Wealth of El Cobre--Copper in All Parts of Cuba--Operations
in Pinar del Rio--Vast Iron Deposits in Oriente--Nickel and
Manganese--Exports of Ore--American Investigation of Chrome
Deposits--Many Beds of Great Richness--Manganese and Chrome for All the
World.
CHAPTER XII. ASPHALT AND PETROLEUM.....126
Asphalt and Petroleum--Ocampo’s Early Discovery at Puerto
Carenas--Humboldt’s Reports of Petroleum Wells--Prospecting for Oil in
Many Places--Some Promising Wells--Asphalt Deposits of Great
Value--Prospects for Important Petroleum Developments.
CHAPTER XIII. FORESTRY.....135
Forestry--Vast Resources of Fine Woods Recklessly Squandered in Early
Times--Houses Built of Mahogany--Hundreds of Varieties of Valuable
Timber Trees--A Catalogue of Sixty of the Most Useful--Need of
Transportation for the Lumber Trade--Forests Owned by the State.
CHAPTER XIV. AGRICULTURE.....144
Agriculture--The Chief Interest of Cuba--Fertility of Soil, Geniality of
Climate, and Variety of Products--The Rainfall--Many Farmers
Specialists--The Government’s Experimental Station--Opportunities for
Stock-Raising--Work of the Department of Agriculture--Its Various
Bureaus--Value of Experimental Work Begun by General Wood and Extended
by President Menocal--Improving Live Stock--Fruit Growing--Grains and
Grasses--Combating Insect Pests--Bureau of Plant Sanitation.
CHAPTER XV. SUGAR.....160
“King Cane”--Cuba’s Crop and the World’s Production--Natural Conditions
Favorable to Sugar Culture--Extent of Lands Still Available--The
“Savana” and “Cienaga” Lands--Assured Projects for Draining Great
Swamps--Potential Increase of Sugar Production in Cuba--Methods of
Planting, Culture and Harvesting--The Labor Problem--Improved
Machinery--Something About the Principal Sugar Producing Concerns in
Cuba and the Men Who Have Created Them and Are Directing Them--The
Largest Sugar Company in the World--Cuba’s Assured Rank as the World’s
Chief Sugar Plantation.
CHAPTER XVI. TOBACCO.....183
The Tobacco Industry--First European Acquaintance with the Plant--The
Famous Fields of the Vuelta Abajo--Immense Productivity--Methods of
Culture and Harvesting--Various Regions of Tobacco Culture--Insect
Pests--Wholesale Use of Cheesecloth Canopies--Monetary Importance of the
Industry.
CHAPTER XVII. HENEQUEN.....190
The Henequen Industry--The Source of Binding Twine for the Wheat
Fields--Cuban Plantations Now Surpassing Those of Yucatan--Methods of
Growth and Manufacture--Magnitude of the Industry and Possibilities of
Further Extension.
CHAPTER XVIII. COFFEE.....197
The Coffee Industry--Early Plantations Which Were Neglected and
Abandoned--An Attractive Industry--Methods of Culture--Harvesting and
Marketing the Crop--Government Encouragement Being Given for Extension
of the Industry.
Chapter XIX. The Mango.....203
The Mango--The King of Oriental Fruits--Two Distinct Types in Cuba--All
Varieties Prolific--The Trees and the Fruits--Some of the Favorite
Varieties--Marketing and Use.
CHAPTER XX. CITRUS FRUITS.....211
Citrus Fruits--American Introduction of the Commercial
Industry--Varieties of Oranges--Comparison with Florida and California
Fruit--Grape Fruit in the Isle of Pines--Limes and Wild Oranges.
CHAPTER XXI. BANANAS, PINEAPPLES AND OTHER FRUITS.....219
Antiquity and Universality of the Banana--Its Many Uses--Commercial
Cultivation in Cuba--Methods of Culture--Varieties--Pineapple Culture in
Cuba--One of the Staple Crops--Difficulty of Marketing--The Canning
Industry--The Fruit of the Anon--The Zapote or Sapodilla--The
Tamarind--The Mamey--The Guava--The Mamoncillo--Figs of All
Varieties--The Aguacate.
CHAPTER XXII. GRAPES, CACAO, AND VANILLA.....232
Grape Culture Discouraged by Spain--Recent Development of the
Industry--Much Wine Drinking but Little Drunkenness--Food and Drink in
the Cacao--The Chocolate Industry--Culture and Manufacture of Cacao--The
Vanilla Bean--Methods of Gathering and Preparing the Crop.
CHAPTER XXIII. VEGETABLE GROWING.....240
Vegetable Growing in Cuba--Regions Most Suitable for the Industry--Seed
Brought from the United States--Winter Crops of Potatoes--Green Peppers
a Profitable Crop--Cultivation of Tomatoes and Egg Plants--Okra--Lima
Beans and String Beans--Squashes and Pumpkins--Desirability of the
Canning Industry--Utility of Irrigation--Prospects of Profit in Truck
Farming.
CHAPTER XXIV. STANDARD GRAINS AND FORAGE.....248
Indian Corn Indigenous--Improvements in Culture Desirable--Millet or
Kaffir Corn--Neglect of Wheat Growing--Culture of Upland
Rice--Possibilities of Swamp Rice Culture--Profusion of Meadow and
Pasture Grasses--Experiments with Alfalfa--Cultivation of Cow Peas and
Beans--Peanut Plantations.
CHAPTER XXV. ANIMALS.....257
Paucity of Native Fauna--Deer, Caprimys and Ant Eaters--The Sand Hill
Crane--Guinea Fowls, Turkeys and Quails--Buzzards, Sparrow Hawks,
Mocking Birds and Wild Pigeons--Varieties of Parrots--The Oriole--The
Tody--The Lizard Cuckoo--The Trogon--Water Birds.
CHAPTER XXVI. STOCK RAISING.....263
Introduction of Horses and Cattle by the Spaniards--Improvement in the
Quality of Stock--A Favorable Land for Cattle Ranges--Importation of
Blooded Stock from the United States and Europe--Introduction of the
Zebu--Great Profits in Hog Raising--Forage, Nuts and Root Crops for
Stock Food--Sheep and Goat Raising for Wool, Meat and Hides--Value of
the Angora Goat.
CHAPTER XXVII. POULTRY: BEES: SPONGES.....278
Recent Scientific Development of the Poultry Industry--President
Menocal’s Importations of Choice Stock--Opportunities for
Agriculture--Wild and Domesticated Bees--Varieties of Honey Yielding
Flowers--Large Exportations of Wax and Honey--Valuable Sponge Fisheries
on the Cuban Coast.
CHAPTER XXVIII. PLACES OF HISTORICAL INTEREST.....284
Historic Interest of Havana Harbor--The Romance and Tragedy of El
Morro--“The Twelve Apostles”--The Vast Fortress of La Cabaña--The “Road
Without Hope”--A Scene of Slaughter--Cells of the Fortress Prison--The
Castillo de Punta--The Ancient City Walls--The Romance of La
Fuerza--Ancient Churches and Convents of Havana--The Cathedral and the
Tomb of Columbus--The San Francisco Convent--San Agustin--La
Merced--Santa Catalina--Santo Angel--Santa Clara--The Convent of
Belen--The Old Echarte Mansion--La Chorrera--Fort Cojimar--Some Ancient
Watch Towers and Fortresses--The Botanical Gardens.
CHAPTER XXIX. HAVANA.....303
The Charms of Havana--Early History of the City--Made the Capital of
Cuba--The Quarries from Which It Was Built--Something About Its
Principal Streets and Buildings--Various Sections of the City--On the
Road to the Almandares--Principe Hill--The University of Havana--The
Famous Prado--The National Theatre--The Central Park and Parque de
Colon--Colon Cemetery--Music in Havana--Favorite Drives and Resorts--The
Bathing Beach--Fishing--Jai Alai--Baseball--Horse
Racing--Golf--Buildings of the Various Government Departments--Memories
of the Old Presidential Palace--Some Fine New Buildings--The New
Presidential Palace--The New Capitol--The National Hospital.
CHAPTER XXX. A PARADISE OF PALM DRIVES.....326
A Paradise of Palm Drives--Splendor of the Flamboyans--The Road to
Guines--A Fine Drive to Matanzas--Roads from Havana to Guanajay,
Artemisa and the Ruby Hills--Old Military Roads Improved and
Extended--Fine Drives in Pinar del Rio--The Valley of Vinales--Some
Wonderful Landscapes and Seascapes--Roads Radiating from Matanzas--The
Roads of Santa Clara and Camaguey--Road Making Among the Mountains of
Oriente.
CHAPTER XXXI. BAYS AND HARBORS.....340
The Bays and Harbors of the Cuban Coasts--Bahia
Honda--Cabanas--Mariel--Havana--Matanzas--The Land-Locked Bay of
Cardenas--Santa Clara Bay--Sagua--Caibarien--The Bay of
Nuevitas--Manati--Puerto
Padre--Gibara--Banes--Nipe--Levisa--Baracoa--Guantanamo--Santiago--Manzanillo--Cienfuegos--Batabano--Santa
Cruz--Various Other Ports, Great and Small.
CHAPTER XXXII. RAILROAD SYSTEMS IN CUBA.....353
Origin of the Railroad Systems of Cuba--The United Railways of
Havana--The Matanzas Railway--Electric Lines Around Havana--The Great
Work of Sir William Van Horne--The Cuba Company’s Railroad System--The
Cuba Central Road--The North Shore Line--Other Lines and Branches
Existing or Projected.
CHAPTER XXXIII. MONEY AND BANKING.....361
Money and Banking in Cuba--The First Currency of the Island--The First
Monetary Crisis at Havana--Development of Modern Coinage and
Currency--Single Standard and Double Standard--Colonial Paper
Money--Stabilization of Currency Under American Rule--Statistics of
Shipments of Money--Coinage of Cuban Money Under the New
System--Financing the Foreign Commerce of the Island.
CHAPTER XXXIV. PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.....367
The Educational System of Cuba--Influences of Clericalism--Work of
General Wood and Mr. Frye--Cooperation of Harvard University--Dr.
Lincoln de Zayas--The Teaching of English--Progress Under President
Menocal--Scope of the System--Some Special Schools--Normal Schools--The
Institute of Havana--The National University--Cooperation with the
United States--The Free Public Library.
CHAPTER XXXV. OCEAN TRANSPORTATION.....376
Importance of Ocean Transportation to the Insular Republic--Development
of the United Fruit Company--The Ward Line and Its Fleet--A Network of
Communications with All Parts of the World--Service of the Munson
Line--The Peninsular and Occidental Company--The Railroad Ferry Service
from Key West to Cuba--The Pinillos Izquierdo Line from Spain--The
Morgan or Southern Pacific Line--The Great Fleet of the Compagnie
General Transatlantique--A New Line from Japan--Customs Regulations--The
Consular Service of Cuba.
CHAPTER XXXVI. AMERICAN COLONIES IN CUBA.....390
American Colonies in Cuba--Founded After the War of
Independence--Pernicious Activities of Unscrupulous American
Speculators--Heroic Efforts of Illfounded Colonies--The Story of La
Gloria and Its Neighbors--Colonization of the Isle of Pines--The Colony
of Herradura--Various Colonies in Oriente--Inducements to Further
Colonization.
ILLUSTRATIONS
FULL PAGE PLATES
Francisco de Fri _Frontispiece_
FACING
PAGE
The Vinales Valley 36
San Juan River, Matanzas 54
On the Cauto River 92
National Theatre, Central Park, Havana 144
The Gomez Building 190
Pablo Desvernine 284
In New Havana 296
Colon Park 306
An Avenue of Palms 326
Grand Central Railway Station, Havana 354
Leopoldo Cancio 362
The Chamber of Commerce, Havana 376
TEXT EMBELLISHMENTS
City Hall and Plaza, Cardenas Page 56
A Mountain Road, Oriente “ 84
Cuban Rural Home “ 145
Fruit Vender, Havana “ 209
THE HISTORY OF CUBA
CHAPTER I
THE PEOPLE OF CUBA
In the last analysis, of course, the people of a country have much to do
in making it what it is, or what it may be. From them must come the
life, energy, character and development. They will regulate its social
standing and fulfill the promise of its future. Society in Cuba, as in
nearly all long settled countries, is many sided, and while resembling,
more or less, that of all civilized communities, certain racial traits
stand out prominently in the Island Republic.
If asked to name the most prominent or salient characteristics
dominating the Cuban race, we should probably be justified in saying:
unfailing hospitality, exceptional courtesy, and unmeasurable love of
children.
Hospitality in Cuba is not a pose, but on the contrary is perfectly
natural, having descended from a long line of ancestors, as have the
beauty of eyes and teeth and color of hair. Hospitality among those of
higher education, like courtesy, is tempered with good form that
breeding has rendered an essential characteristic of the individual.
Journeying through the rural or remote sections, it is so manifestly
genuine that unless held back or retarded through diffidence or
suspicion, no one can avoid being deeply impressed with the extent to
which hospitality has pervaded every corner of the country.
John B. Henderson, the naturalist, in his “Cruise of the Barrera,”
refers to an occasion when, after serving coffee in the house of a
native family living far from contact with the outside world, a dollar
had been surreptitiously given to a child; and when the guests, whom he
had never seen before, were quite a mile away, the father came running
breathlessly down the mountain path to return the money, which he said
he could not possibly accept under any circumstances.
True courtesy, also, has kept hospitality close company in all grades of
society. Among the higher ranks of scholars, statesmen and Government
officials, the visitor who by chance has occasion to call on the Chief
of any Department, if said individual belongs to the old type of genuine
nobility, from the moment he crosses the threshold will note certain
polite forms that, while never obtrusive, are always in evidence.
No word, gesture or deed will come from the host that can possibly jar
the sensibilities of the visitor, no matter what his errand may be.
During his stay, courtesy will seem to pervade the atmosphere, and the
caller cannot help feeling absolutely at home. Upon leaving, he will be
made to feel that he has been more than welcome, and even if the topic
discussed or the nature of the errand has been delicate, he will realize
that he has been given all the consideration that one gentleman could
expect of another.
The educated Cuban is by birth, by nature and by training, a polished
gentleman and a diplomat; a man who will be at ease in any position, no
matter how difficult, and whose superior, socially or intellectually, is
seldom found in any court, committee or congregation of men. This all
prevailing trait of courtesy is also surprisingly manifest among those
who have had no advantages of education, and who have been denied the
wonderfully civilizing influence of travel and contact with the outside
world. Nor is this trait of courtesy and self possession confined by any
means to the man.
Love of children, and willingness to make any sacrifice for their
happiness, are perhaps exaggerated developments of the motherly
instinct. A man will be polite to you in Cuba even if he intends to sign
your death warrant the next moment. A Cuban mother will yield to any
caprice of her children, even although she may realize that in so doing
she endangers their future. As a result, Cuban children, although
lovable and affectionate, are not always well behaved or gentle
mannered. Still this depends largely, as it would in any country, on the
temperament and education of the mother, who in Cuba has all to do
towards forming the character of the child, especially the daughter, in
whose “bringing up” the father is supposed to take no immediate interest
or part.
The love which parents, rich or poor, educated or ignorant, bestow on
their children, no matter how many little ones may compose the family,
or how small the purse which feeds them, is proverbial. No child, even
of a far removed relative, is ever permitted to enter an institution of
charity if it can be avoided, but will find instead an immediate and
hearty welcome in the family of a man who may not know at times where to
look for money for the next day’s meal.
The original stock from which sprang the natives of Cuba, and from which
many of their traits undoubtedly came, reverts back to the followers of
Columbus, and to the old time conquerors of Mexico and the New World.
These gentlemanly adventurers were mostly from the southern provinces of
the Iberian Peninsula, whose blood was more or less mixed with that of
the Moor, and whose chief physical characteristics were regularity of
features, beauty of eyes, teeth and hair, and whose mental attributes
were dominated by pride, ambition, love of pomp and ceremony, with great
powers of endurance, a strong aversion to ordinary forms of labor,
exceptional courtesy, and an intelligence frequently marred with almost
unbelievable cruelty.
These original pioneers or soldiers of fortune in Cuba found the climate
exceedingly to their liking and, after love of conquest and adventure
had been tempered by increasing years, and the possible accumulation of
modest means, they settled down to quiet and fairly industrious lives
in the Pearl of the Antilles. From them sprang the true Cuban race, in
which still remain many of the physical, moral, and intellectual traits
of their ancestors.
Some of these early settlers made wives of comely Indian women, whose
beauty had captured their fancy, and while the influence of the kindly,
pleasure-loving “Cubenos” has not made any deep or striking impression
on the race, it may account for the quite common fondness of display and
love of gaiety found in the Cuban of today.
Next to the pioneers of Andalusia and southern Spain, it is probable
that the introduction of French blood has influenced the Cuban type and
life more than any other race foreign to the Island. Back in the
seventeenth century French traders and privateers made frequent visits
to Cuba, and some of them found Cuban wives, whose descendants afterward
became citizens of the country. Then again, in the very first years of
the nineteenth century, a large influx of French settlers, forced by
revolution from Santo Domingo, fled as refugees to Cuba and made for
themselves homes in Santiago and Santa Clara, whence with the increase
of Havana’s distinction as the capital, many of them transferred their
abiding place to that province and to Pinar del Rio, bringing with them
their experience as coffee growers; this in the early part of the
nineteenth century, becoming one of the most important industries of the
Island.
In the province of Havana, social life and the Cuban race itself, to a
certain extent, were influenced by the various officials and army
officers sent there from the mother country, many of whom found wives
and made homes in Havana, bringing with them the predominating traits
and customs of Madrid and other cities of Central Spain, which had given
them birth.
In later years, when Cuba began to obtain some prominence in the
industrial and commercial world, immigrants from the mother country came
to Havana in steadily increasing numbers. These were mostly from Galicia
and other northern coast provinces of Spain. They were a plodding,
frugal and industrious people, who, leaving a country that offered
little compensation for the hardest forms of labor, found easier work
and higher pay in Spain’s favorite colony.
The Gallego in Cuba, however, prefers the life of the city, in which he
plays quite an important part, since beginning at the very bottom of the
ladder, through patient thrift and industry, maintained throughout a
comparatively few years, he often succeeds in becoming the proprietor of
a bodega, the ubiquitous barber shop, the corner café, or the sumptuous
hotel on the Prado.
In the commercial life of the Island, he has a serious rival in the
Catalan, who, while possessed of many of the traits of the hard working
son of Galicia, is perhaps his superior in establishing successful
enterprises of larger scope. The Catalan seldom if ever fails in
business, and in energy, persistence and keen foresight, is quite the
equal of those most famous of all traders and men of commerce, the sons
of Israel.
Since the capture of Havana in 1763, when some of the members of the
English army, captivated by the climate, concluded to remain there
permanently, a small influx of English immigrants may be traced along
through the past century, but never in sufficient numbers to play a very
important part in the social or economical life of the country.
Nevertheless, those who came and remained as permanent residents of
Cuba, brought with them the elements of courage, thrift and integrity
which characterize the English colonist in all parts of the world.
Strange to relate, the general rule in regard to the unconformity of the
English, when living in foreign climes, does not seem to apply in Cuba.
The immigrant from Great Britain, who settled in Cuba, while leaving the
imprint of his character on his descendants, has nevertheless, sooner or
later, become in many respects a typical native of the country, adopting
even the language, and using it as his own, while his children, bright
blue eyed and keenly intelligent, are often permitted to remain
ignorant of their paternal tongue. Hence it is that we frequently meet
with Robert Smith, Henry Brown, Herbert Clews, Frank Godoy, Tom
Armstrong and Billy Patterson, sons or grandsons of former British
subjects, who would look at you in doubt and fail to comprehend if
saluted with such a common phrase as “a fine day” in English. Cuba has
appreciated the sterling value of the small English immigration that has
come to her shores, and only regrets that there is not more of it.
Quite a large sprinkling from the Emerald Isle have become permanent
residents of Cuba, and aside, perhaps, from a little trace of the
original brogue, it would be hard to distinguish them from the wide
awake Gallegos. The men of no race will so quickly adjust themselves to
circumstances, and become, as it were, members of the family, no matter
whether they settle in France, Italy, Spain, Cuba or the United States,
as will the immigrants from Ireland. The Irishman brings with him, and
always retains, his light-hearted, go-as-you-please and
take-it-as-it-comes characteristics, no matter where he settles. More
than all, the Irishman seldom makes trouble in any country but his own,
and seems not only content, but quite willing, to accept the customs of
his adopted country, even to the point of “running it” if opportunity
offers.
Why more Italians have not settled in Cuba, a country that in many
respects resembles some sections of southern Italy, is not easy to
determine, although it is probably due to a lack of propaganda on the
part of the Republic itself. Occasional commercial houses are found,
owned by Italians who have been residents there for many years, and a
few of the laboring class, seeking higher wages within the last few
years, have made their homes in Havana. Marvellous opportunities in the
various fields of agriculture wait the keen witted thrifty Italian in
Cuba. The certainty of a competence, if not a fortune, in small stock
raising and grape growing, evidently has not been brought to his
attention, otherwise more would have come and settled permanently in a
country with whose people, in their fondness for music, their religious
and social customs, they have much in common.
Of the Germans, of whom quite a number came to Cuba within the last
thirty years, a different tale is told. The Teuton who roams abroad
seems to come always with a definite purpose. He is diplomatic,
courteous, observing, hard working, but essentially selfish in his
motives, and makes no move the object of which is not to impress on the
land he visits, or in which he may become a permanent resident, every
custom, tradition and practice of the Fatherland that can possibly be
implanted in the country that has given him shelter or social
recognition. His club, his habits, his beer, his songs, his language and
his precepts of “Deutscher Ueber Alles,” are spread to the utmost of his
ability. But the German has been efficient and has catered in all his
commercial dealings to the customs, caprices and even to the vices or
weaknesses of the people with whom he trades and comes in contact. Hence
it is that, up to the outbreak of the war of 1914, Germany certainly had
the advantage over every competitor for trade from the Rio Grande to
Patagonia.
Strange as it may seem, although Cuba is no farther from American
territory in Florida than is Philadelphia from the City of New York,
there was very little immigration from the United States and almost no
citizens of that country, in spite of the attractions of the Pearl of
the Antilles, had apparently ever thought of making a home in Cuba,
until the Spanish-American War brought an army of occupation to the City
of Havana in the fall of 1898.
Following this army, as a result perhaps of favorable reports that came
from the lips of returning soldiers, quite an influx of Americans,
actuated by curiosity or motives of trade, came to Cuba and remained
here permanently, many marrying into Cuban families, purchasing farms,
or establishing branch houses and independent industries in the Island
Republic. Most of these have succeeded socially and financially.
The larger part of the American settlers of 1900 came from Florida, and
the Gulf States, although scattered throughout the various colonies of
the Island are found people from almost every State of the Union. While
the greater part of them, owing to the attractiveness and to better
transportation facilities have remained in or near Havana, quite a
number have settled in the Province of Camaguey, most of whom have
prospered there as stock raisers and followers of agricultural
industries.
The American as a rule, although of little experience as a colonizer,
has nevertheless readily adapted himself to circumstances, and had made
fast friends in his new surroundings. Many broad and excellent changes
have been brought about by this influx of citizens from the sister
Republic of the North. Most important of all was the introduction of an
excellent system of modern sanitation which the Cuban has appreciated
and followed with zeal. The absolute elimination of yellow fever and
every other disease common to the tropics, can be placed to the credit
of the country that became sponsor for Cuban Independence.
To this immigration may be attributed, also, many changes in Cuban
social life, especially the gradually broadening sphere of activity
among Cuban women, and the removal of some of the social barriers which
from the immemorial had placed her in the position of a treasured toy,
rather than that of an independent partner, and a responsible unit in
the game of life.
The impress of American influence on education, too, has been very
great, since almost the first move of the military forces that took
charge of the Island’s affairs with the exit of Spanish authority was to
establish in Cuba a public school system, and modern ideas of education.
To the American farmer and fruit grower of Florida was due also the
introduction of the citrus fruit industry, and the growing of
vegetables on a large scale for the northern market, and while these
enterprises are still, to a certain extent, in their infancy, many
millions of dollars have been added thus to the wealth of the Island. In
spite of what has been done, truth compels the statement, however, that
in the United States really little is known of Cuba and her
opportunities, although from the beginning of that country as a nation,
aside from Mexico, geographically Cuba has been her closest neighbor.
There are great possibilities for American enterprise in the Island
Republic, in agriculture, in stock raising, mining and other industries
that American genius in the near future will undoubtedly discover and
develop.