PLACES OF HISTORICAL INTEREST
To the lover of romance or student of history, few spots in the western
hemisphere, perhaps, have greater charm and interest than Morro Castle,
high perched on the promontory that guards the eastern entrance of
Havana Harbor. Seen at early dawn from the open port of an entering
steamer, its great, rugged, picturesque bulk seems to assemble from the
spectral mists of a legendary past, while all those intensely dramatic
scenes of which El Morro has been the center, pass before one like the
dreamy reality of a moving picture play.
Resurrected from the tales of centuries, gone and almost forgotten, one
sees the lonely old watch tower that back in the early days of the 16th
century stood guard on the hill top of Morro, so that the pirates and
cruel rovers of the sea during those days of greed, lust and crime,
could not take the little community of Havana unawares. Then come the
later days, when the ever recurring wars of Europe cast their ugly
shadows over even remote points on the western shore of the Atlantic,
and corsairs of foreign nations were ever anxious to pounce on the Pearl
of the Antilles, and seize within the harbor some of the rich Spanish
galleons, laden with Aztec gold and loot.
Through this panorama of the past comes the picture of England’s fleet
of 200 ships manned by 32,000 men under Albemarle and Pococke, lying in
a semicircle off the entrance of the harbor, with old Morro now well
equipped for battle. Its thick walls, rugged embattlements, fighting
turrets, embrasures, emergency bridges, powder magazines, store rooms,
ammunition dumps, secret passages and dark dungeons, and bristling guns,
were Spain’s chief bulwark in the defense of Havana. Solid shot and
shell from a thousand guns crisscrossed between sea and land, and in the
center of the turmoil, defending the fort and the honor of Spain, stood
one courageous young officer, Commander Luis Velasco, surrounded by a
little group of volunteers, who had sworn to hold the fort or die in its
defense.
[Illustration: PABLO DESVERNINE.
Born in Havana in 1854, and educated at the University of Havana and at
Columbia University, New York, Pablo Desvernine y Galdos has long ranked
among the foremost members of the Cuban bar. During General Brooke’s
Military Governorship at the beginning of the first American
intervention he was Secretary of Finance; he was President of the
Agricultural Expositions of 1911 and 1912; was Minister to the United
States in 1913; and in 1914 was made by President Menocal Secretary of
State. Since 1900 he has been Professor of Civil Law in the University
of Havana. He is the author of several works on Civil and International
Law.]
Then, after a month of continuous fighting, came the note from the
British, stating that El Morro was undermined and an offer of 24 hours
in which to surrender, and Velasco’s reply, in which he informed his
enemy that the match might be applied and the walls blown up, but within
the breach he would be found still defending the castle.
The mine was exploded and the south wall torn asunder, while Velasco,
fighting to the last, received the wound that sent him over the Great
Divide and soon brought to an end Havana’s defense against the British.
Imagination easily recalls the salute of cannon on the following day,
announcing the death of one of Spain’s most courageous fighters, while
every shot of the defending guns was echoed by one of the British ships,
firing as a tribute to the courage of the young officer who had defied
their entire fleet for nearly a month.
Morro was begun in 1589 by the Italian engineer, J. Bautista Antonelli,
and completed in 1597. Little change has occurred during the last two
centuries, and its rugged old walls will probably continue to resist the
winter storms of the Gulf for centuries to come. Many of Cuba’s patriots
and heroic figures have been confined in the dungeons of Morro,
including the first President of the Republic, that kind hearted, genial
old gentleman of letters, Don Tomas Estrada Palma, who died the victim
of base ingratitude on the part of men for whose freedom and happiness
he had devoted all of the best years of his life.
El Morro is still occupied, as in the olden days, by the coast artillery
of Cuba, and is well worth a trip across the bay, where one may pass a
pleasant afternoon in interesting introspection, and enjoy at the same
time one of the most delightful views of land and sea from any point in
the West Indies.
Just within the entrance, and on the shore at the foot of Morro, are
located 12 huge, old-time muzzle loading cannon, known as the Twelve
Apostles, that sweep the opposite shore and were supposed to render
impossible the entrance of any hostile ship, or any effort to cut away
the heavy iron cable that in earlier days stretched across the entrance
to the harbor from El Morro to the fortress of La Punta on the other
side. These curious old iron guns, dedicated to the saints, were cast by
Don Juan Francisco de Guenes and installed by him in the form of a
crescent, that boded destruction to all invaders from the sea.
Some 500 yards further east, along the coast, is installed a similar
group of cannon, 12 in number, that forms a battery known as La Pastora.
These guns were made by Francisco Cagigal de la Vega and were placed on
the lower shelf of the outside coast at a point not easily seen from the
sea where they were supposed to render a forced entrance to the bay
practically impossible.
A little further within the narrow entrance to the harbor of Havana, and
stretching for a half a mile along the eastern shore, lies the largest
and most impressive ancient fort of the western hemisphere. This
fortress is known as la Cabaña, owing to the fact that several cabins
once stood along this ridge, some 200 feet in height, overlooking the
City of Havana. La Cabaña is massive in its structure, built of stone
and earth on the crest of the ridge, with a steep descent to the water’s
edge. It is surrounded on all sides by a wide deep moat, across which no
enemy, even in modern times, could possibly pass. The destruction of the
fort with high explosives and long range guns would, of course, be
easily accomplished, but as an example of 18th century military
engineering and architecture, it has no rival in the western world. Some
50 acres are covered with the walls, patios, surface and underground
dungeons, prisons, buildings, moats and outer defenses of this
fortification.
The work was begun on November 4, 1763, shortly after the evacuation of
Havana by the British, and was concluded in 1774. The cost of the work
is said to have been $14,000,000, although much of it was probably done
by slaves, for whose services little or nothing was paid, nor could the
value of their labor be easily estimated. The same engineer Antonelli,
of Italian origin, who built El Morro, displayed his military genius in
the plans of La Cabaña.
The original approach of this fortress was over a cobbled path that
wound up a steep incline, from a little landing opposite the foot of
O’Reilly Street, terminating finally in the southern opening to the
moat. This path was known during the long years of the Ten Years’ War,
and the War of Independence, as “El Camino sin Esperanza” or the Road
without Hope, since those who climbed its winding way as prisoners
seldom descended to the plain below, unless in rude boxes on the way to
their last resting place. Even this privilege was denied to the great
majority of political prisoners who were executed under the laurels that
shade the first part of the moat.
This wide deep moat, varying in width from sixty to a hundred feet, with
a depth that will average fifty, extends from one end of the fortress to
the other, paralleling the harbor on which it fronts, and separating the
main body of the fortress from well planned and easily defended outer
works. Stone stairways were built at different places against the walls
of these outer ramparts to facilitate the movement of troops in defense
of the citadel, but with wide gaps crossed by wooden bridges that once
knocked away would render the stairways useless to the enemy.
A few hundred feet beyond the avenue of laurels, and close by an opening
of the wall into the main fortress, a bronze placque, some six feet by
twelve, marks one of the places where political prisoners were executed
throughout the latter half of the 19th century. The bronze was cast in
France and represents the execution of a group of insurgent soldiers. In
the left half of the placque is represented a squad of Spanish soldiers
in the act of firing. Above all floats the figure of an angel
endeavoring to shield the martyrs who are giving up their lives for the
cause of Cuban Liberty.
Passing through this great eastern wall of the citadel the visitor steps
into an interior, grass covered court, several hundred feet in length by
eighty or more in width. Along the southern end of the court may be seen
the remnant of a painted line at about the height of a man’s breast. On
this spot, it is said, over a thousand men were executed during the
period of the Ten Years’ War and the three years’ War of Independence.
Most of the old line has been dug away by knife points of visitors in
search of bullets that were imbedded in the wall during the many
executions that took place at its base. At the further, or northern end
of this tranquil plot of ground, heavily barred iron gates cover a
series of steps which formed an emergency entrance from the moat into
the main body of the fortress.
A quarter of a mile further north, along the main extension of the moat,
is a wide wooden bridge that connects the outer ramparts with the
citadel, the roadway passing through a massive and impressive gate or
portal, over which a carved inscription gives the dates in which the
work was begun and concluded, together with the name of its founders and
the Spanish officers in command at the time of its construction.
The grounds within are ample for military drill and instruction and are
well equipped for the care and maintenance of a defending force. When
Spain’s army retired from Cuba in the last days of 1899, both Cabañas
and Morro presented a very different appearance from that of today. Long
lines of cells had been built into the stone walls, in which hundreds,
if not thousands, of political prisoners had spent years of
confinement. Each of these dreary, cheerless abodes was about 30 feet in
width by 60 in length, with a low arched ceiling and massive barred
doors, facing the west.
Each cell was supposed to accommodate fifty men, and some of them
contained long parallel wooden bars, between which prisoners might swing
hammocks if they were fortunate enough to possess them. Many men
prominent in Cuban political and military life have occupied these cells
of Cabañas and also those of its companion, El Morro. General Julio
Sanguily, among others, passed three years in cell No. 57, until,
through the urgent intercession of the American Government, he was
finally set at liberty and permitted to enter the United States, of
which he claimed citizenship.
Stretching along the western face of the fortress is a wide stone
parapet overlooking the bay and the City of Havana opposite. Planted on
its surface is a long line of interesting brass cannon, ornamented with
Spanish coats of arms and bearing inscriptions that tell of their making
in Seville, at various periods throughout the 18th century. These cannon
are used today for saluting purposes when foreign men of war enter the
harbor on friendly visits.
Near the center of the citadel stood a small stone chapel that would
accommodate 50 or 100 men. Near one end was built a round pagoda-like
altar before which the condemned could kneel in prayer during their last
night on earth, since those who entered its tragic portals well knew
that at sunrise the following morning they would face the firing squad
that would pass them on to eternity. This historically tragic apartment
has recently been converted into a moving picture hall for the benefit
of Cuban soldiers who are at present stationed in Cabañas.
Visitors at Cabañas during normal times of peace will find soldier
guides quite willing to carry one down into the subterranean depths of
the fortress and along the narrow dark passageways that were tunneled
into the earth, supposedly to detect possible mining operations of the
enemy from the outside. During the War of Independence, however,
extending from 1895 to 1899, these underground tunnels were occupied by
prisoners, most of whom dying in the dismal depths were given burials so
shallow by their companions, who must have dug the graves with their
fingers, that in passing along by lantern light, shortly after American
occupation, one frequently stumbled over skulls and bones that protruded
from the earthen floor below.
The aspect of Cabañas today, with its well cleaned, whitewashed walls,
with its comfortable officers’ quarters and shady grounds, is quite
cheerful, and one can hardly believe that less than a quarter of a
century ago Cabañas fortress was one of the modern horrors that cried
out to the civilized world for the abolition of Spanish control in
America.
Occupying the low rocky ledge immediately opposite Morro is the
picturesque little fort known as the Castillo de Punta, or Fortress on
the Point, begun in 1589, and intended to complete the protection to the
entrance of the harbor. The style of architecture is identical with that
of El Morro, but far less pretentious in size and plan. The fort is
protected from the sea by several outlying shelves of coral rock, and
was at one time surrounded by a moat as was La Fuerza, the first stone
fortress constructed in the Western Hemisphere. The walls are not over
20 feet in height and over the main entrance a tablet gives the name of
Governor-General Tejada, during whose period of office it was built,
together with the date of its construction.
La Punta afforded efficient aid to its companion El Morro, on the
opposite side of the bay, during the siege by the English in 1762, and
in one corner of the reception room may be seen the fragment of an iron
shell, fired from the British fleet during the siege of Havana.
La Punta is the headquarters of the Navy Department. Its presence at the
angle of the Prado and the Gulf Avenue, that extends west along the sea
shore, is a quiet but efficient reminder of the olden days when
fortresses of this type formed the only protection enjoyed by the people
who were then residents of the capital of Cuba.
Until the middle of the 19th century, Havana, like nearly all of the
capitals built by Spanish conquerors in the Western Hemisphere, was a
walled city. These walls were built of coral limestone quarried along
the sea front, which with exposure to the atmosphere becomes quite hard.
The same engineering ability demonstrated by the builders of El Morro,
Cabanas and La Punta, was evident in the 17th century wall, that had the
fortress of La Punta as its starting point and ran in practically a
straight line south until it reached the shores of the Bay near its
southwestern terminus.
These walls were about 12 feet through at the base and some 20 feet in
height. Throughout the entire line was a series of salients, bastions,
flanks and curtains that were dominant features in the military
architecture of those times. At the top were parapets on which the
garrison gathered for the defense of the City.
Work on the walls began with a body of 9,000 peons in 1633 and a
contribution of $20,000 in gold that was exacted by order of the Spanish
Crown from the rich treasuries of Mexico in order to hurry its
completion. Only two gates were constructed at first, one of these at La
Punta and the other at the head of Muralla Street, which latter formed
the main or principal entrance for commercial purposes. A third was
afterwards opened near the corner of the old Arsenal for the convenience
of people engaged in ship building at that point.
Extending along the water front were gradually built continuations of
this wall with coral ledges forming a solid base. These eventually
closed the city on all sides. This stupendous work was not completed
until 1740, and even after this date occasional additions were made for
purposes of better defense. Although the Spanish treasury at that time
was being filled with gold from Mexico and Peru, it would seem that the
Crown was very loath to part with the money, and compelled the colonies
of the Western Hemisphere to build their own defenses and to make
whatever improvements they considered necessary, either from
contributions levied on commerce, or with the use of slaves whose
services their owners were compelled to furnish at their own expense.
Up to the departure of Spain’s army from Havana in 1899, sections of the
old wall, several blocks in length, extending through the heart of the
city, still remained intact. These, with their salients, bastions,
flanks, etc., formed an interesting landmark of the olden days, when
Spanish knights clad in hauberks and hose, donned their breastplates and
plumed helmets to fight against the British who besieged the city in
1763. Today only one short section remains, a picturesque remnant of the
past, with its little round, dome-covered watch tower still intact. This
is located just north of the Presidential palace on the crest of the
green lawn that slopes away towards La Punta, about a third of a mile
distant.
Near the landing place at the foot of O’Reilly Street, used by visiting
officials and officers of the Navy, stands La Fuerza. On this site was
built the first permanent or stone defense of the city in 1538. The
original walls and fortifications have seen many changes since that date
but one cannot look at them without recalling the pathetic figure of
Dona Isabel de Bobadilla, who in 1539, on the drawbridge of La Fuerza,
where she and her husband, Hernando de Soto, had lived, said “Adios,” as
with an army of 900 men and 350 horses, he set out for the conquest of
Florida “and all the territory that might lie beyond.”
Day after day, for more than two years, it is said, this faithful wife
walked the parapets of La Fuerza straining her eyes to see his flagship
arise above the horizon of the Gulf, and when at last a storm beaten
bark brought back a few survivors of the expedition, whose leader had
hoped to rival if not surpass the deeds of Cortez in Mexico, or Pizarro
in Peru, she learned that her lord and lover would return no more, that
even his body would never be recovered from the yellow waters of the
Mississippi. It was then that her soul, too, sank into the sea of
despair and soon joined its companion on the shore beyond.
The dark dungeons of La Fuerza have held hundreds of Cuban patriots
until death or deportation to Africa brought relief. The old stone steps
descending to the ground floor are worn into veritable pockets by the
tramp of feet during a continual occupancy of almost 400 years. Every
outer wall, parapet, alcove and dungeon, if able to speak, “could a tale
unfold.” Now all is silent save the sound of an occasional bugle, the
music of the artillery band, or the laughter of children playing on the
green lawn that separates it from the Senate Chamber.
The first church built on the Puerto de Carenas, as the Harbor of Havana
was called by the founders of the city, was of adobe, roofed with yagua
from the guana palm. This was destroyed in 1538 by the pirates. Owing to
the extreme poverty of the inhabitants, and to the fact that in spite of
the wealth controlled by the churches of the mother country its
representatives in the Western Hemisphere, especially in the City of
Havana, were left to shift for themselves, and very few contributions
for church building came across the seas to Cuba--it being assumed
evidently that the people of a community deserved no better church than
their financial means justified--it was not until well into the 17th
century that churches were constructed that would at all compare with
the beautiful ecclesiastical structures of Europe. Most of those of
Havana, that were built during the 17th and 18th centuries, resemble,
both in material and architecture, the rather heavy, ponderous and so
called Gothic style that prevailed throughout the Latin American world.
Immediately back of the old Presidential Palace, former headquarters of
the Captains General of Spain, stands the former convent and church of
Santo Domingo, whose erection was due to the liberality of the Conde de
Casa Bayamo, whose picture until recently hung in the sacristy. This
building occupied the block of ground between O’Reilly and Obispo and
Mercaderes and San Ignacio Streets. It was reconstructed in 1738 and
became the Royal University of Havana. When the University was
transferred to the beautiful site on the heights of Principe,
overlooking Havana from the west, this old relic of bygone ages, with
its ponderous walls and picturesque patio, became the Institute of
Havana, where students still receive that which in English would be
equivalent to a high school education. One portion of the square is
today used as a police station, while the church itself, with its crude
stone figures of saints standing in relief from the outer walls, is
practically abandoned and will probably soon be removed, for the modest
type of sky-scraper or office building that is becoming quite common
throughout the city.
The cathedral, one of the largest and most imposing of the churches of
Havana, was built by the Jesuits, on the north edge of the old basin or
arm of the Bay that extended from the present shore along the line of
the street now known as Empedrado, as far west as the little San Juan de
Dios Park. This church is built of the tough coral limestone used in
nearly all of the important buildings that stood within the walls of old
Havana. The church, together with the convent and offices in the rear,
is in the form of an irregular quadrangle, covering about a block of
ground, the rear facing the bay itself. The architecture is of the
so-called Gothic that prevails in all of the old-time churches and
convents of the Island. Owing to the fact that, up to 1899, it contained
the bones of Christopher Columbus, this building has always been one of
the prominent places of interest in the city. A tablet in marble, over
the entrance on San Ignacio Street, states that it was consecrated by
his Excellency, Pedro Agustin Morel de Santa Cruz, Bishop of Havana, on
September 8, 1755. This church was declared the Cathedral of Havana in
1789.
The former tomb of Columbus was located in a niche built for the purpose
on the west side of the altar. When the Spanish forces departed from the
Island in 1899, at the request of the Pope the remains of Columbus were
removed from their long resting place in the Cathedral and carried to
Seville, Spain, where they are at present interred. The interior of the
edifice, although not as elaborately decorated as are some of the other
churches, is nevertheless imposing and well worth a few moments pause to
the passing visitor.
The San Francisco Convent, one of the oldest churches of Havana, was
completed by Order of the Franciscans in 1591. A part of the hard coral
shore that formed the western edge of the bay, a few blocks south of the
Plaza de Armas, formed a solid foundation for the original building
which, owing to faulty material and construction, lapsed into ruins in
1719. In 1738 the structure which now occupies the spot was built under
the direction of Bishop Juan Lazo. The tower of the Church proper is
considered one of the best samples of ecclesiastic architecture in
Havana. This building fronts on Oficios Street and extends from the
Plaza of San Francisco south for more than a block, parallel with the
Bay front. The old San Francisco convent is the most massive structure
of its kind in Havana. Its long lofty arched passages were well built
and give promise of remaining intact through centuries yet to come. The
large patio in the center is today filled with flowers and admits light
to the many offices, once occupied by the palefaced, sad-eyed inmates of
the convent, now resounding with the click of typewriters and the tread
of feet bent on the ordinary affairs of life. In 1856 this building
became the depository, or general archive, of the Spanish administration
of affairs in the Island. The first American Government of Intervention
used it as a Custom House, where Major General Bliss had his
headquarters. Shortly after the inauguration of the Republic of Cuba
this property together with that of the square now used by the
Institute, was purchased from the Church and continued to be used as the
custom house. In 1916 the old convent, thoroughly renovated, became the
permanent headquarters for the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, for
which it is well adapted. The custom house was transferred to the San
Francisco Wharf, a handsome structure that also shelters the
administration of Trisconia. From 1608 the San Francisco Church was used
as the starting point of the religious processions which annually passed
the “Via de Cruces” or Way of the Cross, along Amargua Street
terminating at the Church of El Cristo at the corner of Aguacate Street,
which was built in 1640.
The San Agustin Convent was built by the order of San Agustin on
Amergura Street at the corner of Aguiar Street. A tablet on the church
itself states that it was completed in the year 1659. There is nothing
of special interest connected with this church other than its antiquity
and its general air of isolated depression.
La Merced, located at the corner of Cuba and Merced Streets, was the
culmination of an effort to establish a Merced Convent for that part of
the City of Havana. It was begun in 1746 but not completed until 1792.
La Merced is today considered the most fashionable church in the Island
of Cuba, and during times of religious festivals the decorations of
flowers and illumination of candles are very imposing. This church, and
the National Theatre, during the opera season, furnish perhaps the two
most interesting places in which to study Havana’s élite society.
[Illustration: IN NEW HAVANA
While many streets in Havana appear to belong to some Spanish city of
centuries ago, many others vie with those of New York and Washington in
their up-to-date Twentieth Century aspect. There are in both public and
private edifices many examples of the finest modern architecture and
construction, some rising many stories above the two-and three-storied
buildings characteristic of former years.]
In 1689 the convent of Santa Catalina was built on the square facing
O’Reilly Street, between Compostela and Aguacate Streets, the dedication
of the church taking place in 1700. This convent has been famous for two
centuries for its wealth, devotees vying with each other in the
amount of money or property which they could contribute to the coffers
of the church. It is said that $15,000 was the smallest contribution
that could be accepted from any woman who chose to devote her life and
fortune to the promotion of the Catholic faith and the prosperity of the
Church. No limit was fixed to the amount of the individual contributions
from novitiate nuns, and many of the wealthiest women of Havana society
have disappeared from the social world, within its walls. The property
was sold in 1917 for a million dollars and the inmates were removed to
the new quarters located on the plateau in Vedado.
The picturesque church that stands on the crest of the hill in the
district of Jesus del Monte was built in 1689. The view from the front
of this church, looking over the city and bay beyond, is very pleasing.
An attractive church from the viewpoint of its minarets and
architecture, known as Santo Angel, is located on a small hill of that
name near the junction of Cuarteles with Monserrate Street, overlooking
the long stretch of green sward that extends from the new Presidential
Palace to the Park of Luz Caballero. This church, in spite of its name,
seems to have been selected by fate to suffer a number of serious
reverses. In 1828 a stroke of lightning toppled over the tall spire on
its eastern front, and again in 1846 a hurricane that did but little
damage to the city tore down the cupola and brought with it the entire
end of the building. In spite of this however the church has recently
entered into a period of prosperity and is today the center of
fashionable congregations who usually assemble there for twelve o’clock
late mass.
Santa Teresa was founded in 1701 and is located at Compestela and
Teniente Rey Streets.
The convent of Santa Clara was built in 1664 and began with a fund of
$550. It extends from Cuba to Havana Streets and from Sol to Luz
Streets, covering two solid blocks of ground, and is the largest convent
in the Island of Cuba. Owing to the recent increase in the price of
city property, the space covered by this convent is valued at
$1,500,000.
In 1704 the convent of Belen was founded at the corner of Compostela and
Luz Streets, covering an entire block of ground that had served
previously as a recreation park for the Bishop of Compostela. Within
this convent the Jesuit Order established what was known as the “Royal
College of Havana,” whence were graduated some of the city’s famous
lawyers and scholars. This order maintains an Observatory and weather
bureau, whence reports in regard to storms in the Caribbean are
contributed to the daily papers. Belen, among the devout Catholics of
Cuba, is undoubtedly one of the most popular institutions of the West
Indies.
Shortly after the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson as President of the
United States, Mr. William E. Gonzalez was appointed Minister
Plenipotentiary from that country to the Republic of Cuba, and took up
his residence in the old colonial mansion built by the Echarte family,
located on the corner of Santa Catalina and Dominguez Streets. This
beautiful quinta occupies a block of ground in the old aristocratic
residence district of Cerro, some three miles distant from Central Park.
The building, although only one story in height, is quite imposing,
built of stone with white marble floors throughout, inclosing a
beautiful patio that forms one of the unique and charming attractions of
old-time residences in Havana. A wide marble flagged gallery runs all
around this patio from which a soft subdued light enters the many rooms
facing upon it. A broad porch, whose heavy flat roof is supported by
long rows of stone columns, faces the south, and above it flies the
Stars and Stripes from sunrise to sunset. The garden or grounds
occupying the eastern half of the block are filled with beautiful shade
trees and sweet scented flowers that have been brought from many parts
of the world, while in front a row of stately royal palms reach up some
80 feet or more toward the blue sky.
La Chorrera, the Fort of Almandares, is a picturesque little old fort,
some fifty feet square and two stories in height, built of coral rock in
the year 1646, which rests upon a little islet not much bigger than the
fort itself, at the eastern entrance of the Rio Almandares. Slave labor
undoubtedly entered into the construction of this fort, although it is
said to have cost 20,000 ducats. A flight of stone steps has been built
up to the second floor that communicates with the entrance to the fort.
Over this is a tablet giving the date of construction and the name of
its builders.
During the siege of Havana by the British in 1762, Lord Albemarle
determined to land troops west of the City in order to take advantage of
Principe Heights, overlooking the capital from the west. On June 10 a
portion of the British fleet began bombarding La Chorrera. Its
commanders, Captain Luis de Aguiar and Rafael de Cardenas, made a very
stubborn resistance, yielding only when their ammunition had been
completely exhausted. This fort is easily reached by the Vedado car
line, from which a short walk of two blocks brings one to the mouth of
the Almandares, on which the fort is located.
On the western point, guarding the entrance of the little ensenada or
inlet of Cojimo, four miles east of El Morro is Fort Cojimar, almost the
duplicate of La Chorrera, which was constructed at the same time. These
quaint monuments of the past add considerable historic and picturesque
beauty to the northern coast of Cuba. All of them may be reached by
beautiful automobile drives and are well worth a few moments in passing.
The Torreon de la Playa, a small round watch tower, was erected on the
eastern shores of La Playa, some three miles west of the Almandares
River, where watchmen were kept both day and night to advise the
authorities and inhabitants of the struggling young colony of the
approach of pirates from the west, or any suspicious sails that might
hove in sight. This structure was built by order of the Town Council,
the “Cabilda,” on order issued on March 8, 1553, naming each individual
who was to contribute either in money or men towards the work. The money
contributed was exacted only from some half dozen of the inhabitants and
amounted to a “real” or ten cents a day. The well-to-do inhabitants were
called on each to furnish one negro with his tools, or lacking tools, a
“batey” or boat in which to convey material.
A similar tower known as the Torreon de San Lazaro was built in 1556
upon the western edge of the little inlet, which until the inauguration
of the Republic in 1902 occupied the space where the beautiful
equestrian statue of General Antonio Maceo now stands.
The picturesque fort known as Atares, located on the hill that commands
the extreme southwestern end of the bay, was begun in 1763, immediately
after the departure of the British, and completed in 1767. It is
occupied at the present time by a small detachment of Cuban artillery,
and is sacred in the eyes of all Americans owing to the fact that
General Crittenden of Kentucky, and his 50 companions who had joined the
unfortunate band of Cuban liberators under the command of Narciso Lopez,
were executed on the western slope of the hill in August, 1851. Atares
is easily reached by the Jesus del Monte cars, and the view from the top
of the hill is worth the climb.
The Castillo del Principe, the last fortification of the 18th century,
was placed on the western edge of the Principe plateau, on the same spot
where Lord Albemarle with his British troops looked down on the City of
Havana during the siege of 1762. Fort Principe was begun in 1774 and
completed in 1794. The general style of architecture is similar to that
of all the military structures of this period, although Principe is
larger and more commodious than Atares. A deep moat surrounds the
fortification and an old style drawbridge connects the outer edge with
the entrance to the citadel itself. Since the beginning of the Cuban
Republic the fort has been used as a state penitentiary, and is a model
of ideas and methods in the treatment of its convicts. The inmates are
not only taught to read and write, but learn useful trades as well.
Those of musical bent have formed a brass band, in which they have been
encouraged under the intelligent direction of General Demetrio Castillo,
who has had charge of the prisoners in Cuba almost since the beginning
of the Republic.
The view from the top of the hill is one of the most attractive in the
Province of Havana, and may be reached either by the Principe car line,
which terminates at its base, or by an automobile drive which leads
through a winding way up the hillside to the very entrance of the
fortress.
The Botanical Gardens, Quinto de Molinos, are a beautiful property
fronting on Carlos Tercero Street and extending along the north side of
the drive from Infanta Street to the foot of Principe Hill. They belong
to the Government. On the corner of Infanta Street is located the new
City Hospital, the largest and most complete institute of its kind in
the West Indies. Just beyond are the ground of the Botanical Gardens and
the Quinto de Molinos, forming a long, beautiful well laid out, shaded
park. Its graveled walks lined with many varieties of stately palms and
tropical plants some indigenous and some brought from other parts of the
world, render the ground a charming and interesting retreat, not far
from the center of the City. The estate covers some 40 acres, and within
its limits are held Agricultural and Live Stock fairs, that under normal
conditions take place annually. These grounds, during Spanish colonial
times, were used as a summer residence by the Captains-General of Cuba,
and for that reason have a certain degree of historical interest, since
here Generals Martinez Campos, Weyler and Blanco, with many of their
predecessors, passed much of their time during the summer season.
Several picturesque kiosks and artistic structures with seats have been
built for the benefit of the public, and usually during the winter
season open air concerts are given within the grounds once or twice a
week by the Municipal Band. The Quinto is easily reached either by
street car or automobile and there is probably no place within the city
limits where one can pass a more restful and profitable hour, than
within the shade of the Botanical Gardens of Havana.