While the new Spanish possession annexed to Cuba by virtue of the Treaty
of Paris, Louisiana, was passing through that painful state of
transition which always follows the transfer of a nation belonging to a
certain race speaking a certain language and cherishing customs deeply
rooted in the national consciousness, to the rule of another nation, of
a different race, speaking a different language and practising widely
different customs, Cuba was enjoying a period of peace, prosperity and
progress. When Buccarelli was appointed Viceroy of Mexico, D. Pascal
Jiminez de Cisneros once more exercised superior authority as
provisional governor of the island. But in November, 1771, the newly
appointed governor arrived from Spain, the Captain-General D. Felipe
Fons de Viela, Marquis de la Torre. He was a valiant soldier who in the
wars of Spain with Italy and Portugal had distinguished himself by his
conduct and his ability, and had risen to his high rank at the cost of
his blood. He was a native of Zaragoza, a Knight of the military order
of Santiago and Alderman in perpetuity, or prefect-governor of his
native city. He came to Cuba with the reputation of an exceptionally
worthy official and in the five years of his administration not only
justified but far surpassed the hopes that his arrival awakened in the
population of the colony. He entered upon his duties on the eighteenth
of November, 1771.
Marquis de la Torre was without doubt one of the most efficient and
successful governors that Cuba ever had. Havana was at that time
growing in population and extent, and entering upon a new era in her
economic development, due largely to the foresight of King Carlos III.,
who had granted her an exemption from certain taxes. The city had,
however, suffered so much in previous times, first from the perpetual
unrest arising from the fear of invasion by pirates, then from the
siege, and lastly from the hurricane of 1768, that it needed a man,
clear of purpose and strong of will, to inaugurate the many innovations
which he introduced, in order to make the place worthy of being the
metropolis of Spain's richest island-possession in America. While Ricla
and Buccarelli, entering upon their governorships immediately after the
occupation of Havana by the British, had of necessity devoted most of
their energy towards insuring the safety of the place from a repetition
of the events of 1762, and had therefore been primarily concerned with
the fortifications and the military reorganization of the place, la
Torre was able to direct his attention to improvements, which made for a
higher standard of public health, and paved the way for a culture, which
in spite of the wealth of the population, was still only in its
beginnings. Coming as he did from the Spain of Carlos III., who during
his long peaceful reign did so much for the cultural progress of his
country by introducing measures of sanitation and other improvements
unknown to his predecessors, it was the ambition of la Torre to make
Havana worthy of comparison with the large cities of the mother country.
[Illustration: IN OLD HAVANA
Havana is at once one of the oldest and of the newest of the great
cities of the western world, and the architecture of its streets
exhibits samples of the work of five centuries. This scene, showing the
side wall of the great Cathedral, is typical of the older portions of
the city, with comparatively narrow streets and characteristic Spanish
houses.]
It seems almost unbelievable that Havana had up to this time lacked
proper pavements; that it had no public promenade, such as every
European city far inferior in size and population possessed, that the
streets were disfigured by unsightly and unsanitary out-houses and that
even the government buildings had been put up with little regard
for appearance, not to mention beauty. Moreover it is almost incredible
that a city, the population of which belonged to the race that had
produced some of the greatest dramatists of the world, Calderon and Lope
de la Vega, had after an existence of some centuries not yet erected a
playhouse, providing wholesome entertainment for her residents there to
enjoy the works of their master poets and be for the time of the
performance lifted above the purely material pursuits of their daily
life. This was the state in which la Torre found Havana and he
immediately set to work to study the city's most urgent needs and to
raise it as rapidly as possible to the high standard he intended to
apply.
The first task that claimed his attention was the improvement of the
streets. When the plan to have them paved was about to be realized it
was found that there was not a sufficient quantity of cobblestones
available for that purpose. So the contractors had to employ timber
soaked in tar, which had proved to be extremely durable, little affected
by atmospheric conditions, and offered only the one disadvantage of
making a very slippery surface in the rainy season. The next step
towards raising Havana out of its village state to urban cleanliness and
dignity was the abolition of the ugly and unsanitary out-houses, a
measure which seemed so radical and revolutionary to the conservative
elements of the population that it met with no little opposition. Then
la Torre deliberated upon plans for public promenades, and those of
Paula and Almadea Nueva were laid out, followed by the Mall in the
interior of the city and the Nueva Prado outside of the city walls.
Great was the delight of the residents, who slowly began to wake up to
the benefits and the pleasures to be derived by these attempts at
improvement and embellishment of their town. Among the ordinances
insuring the health, the beauty and the safety of the city, was one
prohibiting the roofing of houses with guano, which had long been the
source of dangerous conflagrations, aside from its unsanitary features
and its being an eyesore. Modest as these demands may seem to twentieth
century readers, la Torre had no little difficulty in carrying them
through. But thanks to his energy, perseverance and executive power the
streets of Havana with their neat pavements, and the public promenades
with their gravel walks not only improved the appearance of the city,
but stimulated the dormant esthetic sense of the inhabitants to an
appreciation of civic beauty.
The next step undertaken by la Torre for the improvement of Havana was
the erection of more suitable public buildings, especially one for the
governor himself and for the Ayuntamento, which, strange enough, was to
be under the same roof as the public jail. Under his order were rebuilt
seven of the old barracks for the soldiers and a new one was erected for
the veterans. A great number of bridges was built, that of the Santa Fe
passage over the Cojimar river, that of las Vegas on the road of Santa
Maria del Rosario; the bridge of Arroyo Hondo, under the leeside of that
town; the Enriquez and the Carrillo, and others. All these bridges had
shields of arms and inscriptions on their pillars and with their many
arches presented a beautiful sight. The harbor was thoroughly dredged
with the aid of twelve pontoons and barges manned by a crew of
presidarios (criminals condemned to hard labor) and slaves. The wharves
of Carpineti, Cabana and Marimilena were constructed. Finally there was
erected the first theatre, which was in its way as important an addition
to the cultural life of the city as had been the foundation of the
university some time before. For the wealthy and intellectually
ambitious part of the population had keenly felt the lack of dignified
entertainment and not a few individuals had made an annual pilgrimage to
Madrid to enjoy a season in drama and music and keep in touch with the
progress of the arts. The value of all the public edifices and
reconstruction was appraised by D. Simon de Ayala as amounting to two
hundred and fourteen thousand eight hundred seventy-three and one half
reals; in the light of more recent days a very small amount in
proportion to the number and the importance of the buildings
constructed.
Nor were the efforts of la Torre by any means limited to the improvement
of the capital. Trinidad, Santiago and Puerto Principe benefited largely
from the earnest desire for improvement that actuated Governor la Torre
to undertake these many works. He was instrumental in the founding of
the towns of Jaruco and of Nueva Filipina, which was later called Pinar
del Rio. He inspired new life into all the towns that he visited during
his administration and turned the colony into one of the richest and
most beautiful, by applying to its improvement the most advanced ideas
in civic management that were known in his time. From the census which
la Torre ordered to be taken it appears that there were on the island
three hundred and thirty-nine corrales or well defined farms, seven
thousand eight hundred and fourteen farms for horse-breeding, estancias
for cattle pasture and vegas for tobacco culture and four hundred and
seventy-eight sugar plantations. There were twenty-nine thousand five
hundred and eighty casas (buildings, private or public), ninety churches
and fifty-two parochial chapels. The population of the island numbered
one hundred and seventy-two thousand inhabitants; of which ninety-six
thousand four hundred and thirty were whites, forty-five thousand six
hundred and thirty-three slaves; that of Havana seventy-five thousand;
Santiago nineteen thousand; Bayamo twelve thousand; Santa Clara eight
thousand two hundred; Sancti Spiritus eight thousand, Guanabacoa seven
thousand nine hundred; Trinidad five thousand six hundred, Matanzas
three thousand two hundred and San Juan de los Remedios three thousand.
The reforms which la Torre inaugurated in the government itself were
also remarkable. In the proclamation published on the fourth of April,
1772, he repeated the ordinances issued by his predecessors to insure
order and quiet in the communities; but he added some important
innovations. He delivered the people from the exploitation they had
suffered at the hands of annually appointed visitadores de partido
(party judges), whose legal malpractices had been a source of great
grievance to the citizens, and he compelled the members of the inferior
courts of justice to reside in their respective districts. Commerce had
after its transient extension during the British dominion once more
begun to suffer from the restrictions imposed by the government of
Spain. But about the year 1771, it was revived, for the export duties on
sugar, honey, cane brandy, hides and wax were lowered and cotton could
be exported free of duty. In order to stimulate the wax industry, the
growth of which was remarkably rapid and added largely to the wealth of
the island, la Torre published in form of a decree measures for its
protection and promotion. Among them he prohibited the cutting of trees
on which there were hives. In the year 1770 there were exported to Vera
Cruz more than five arrobas of wax. At the end of the same year Cuba
exported to Spain and various points in America twelve thousand five
hundred and forty-six and in the following year twenty-one thousand one
hundred and eighty-seven arrobas. The Captain-General was authorized in
certain cases to import provisions from abroad. But contraband
prevailed and flourished as ever. Governor Torre engaged in an active
campaign against the smugglers and was the cause of their suffering
heavy losses; but he was unable to exterminate the evil. This was mainly
due to the arrogance and arbitrary attitude of Governor D. Antonio Ayanz
de Ureta, who favored the smugglers that carried on a lively trade in
the eastern part of the island with Jamaica and the foreign Antilles.
Much as General la Torre ingratiated himself with the citizens by his
gentle disposition as well as his sound judgment and impeccable honesty,
he was not to be spared disagreeable experiences with other officials.
One of these was with the commandant of the Apostadero or naval station,
D. Juan Bautista Bonel, to whom credit is due for having enriched the
shipyard by some magnificent structures. The dispute between them
concerned some civilians who were implicated in a case against
individuals belonging to the navy, and whom la Torre asked to be given
over to his jurisdiction. Another unpleasantness was caused by
conflicting orders given by la Torre and the commandant-general of the
army. The latter had opened the new gateway that ran as far as the
suburb of Jesus Maria in the neighborhood of the arsenal, and it was
said the governor ordered that of la Tenaza to be closed, because the
commandant opposed its running to that suburb and thus running through
the arsenal. But upon the complaints that were entered at Madrid by
Ureta as well as the other gentlemen, that caused these dissensions, his
Majesty always upheld the side of la Torre and dismissed the
accusations. Governor la Torre retired on the twelfth of June, 1776, and
died in Madrid as Lieutenant-General on the sixth of July, 1784. His
term of administration was the first during which the revenues exceeded
a million of pesos, which augured an era of prosperity for Cuba.
That Governor Torre left Havana a healthier and more beautiful city to
live in, than it had been before, is an achievement which gives his
administration a place of its own among those that were especially
concerned with the welfare of the population. Visitors to Cuba that had
marked the difference between the Havana of 1745 and that of 1762, would
have been even more impressed with the appearance of the city after
Torre had left upon it the seal of his improvements. The residents began
to take a pride in the capital of the island; a civic spirit arose and
began to weld the inhabitants more closely by the bond of interests,
which at last began to surpass those associated with their purely
material welfare. Visitors coming from the old centers of European
culture had formerly commented upon the absence in the colonies of
places where men and women could gather for social intercourse and
intelligent entertainment. The French visitor quoted in a previous
chapter, after his visit to Cuba and Santo Domingo, wrote rather
dejectedly:
"Life offers no attraction here for anybody who is not in commerce.
Dependent on one's self, there is no relaxation for anyone who has lived
in France and there played a certain rôle. One must not expect theaters,
nor cafés, nor public promenades, and still less societies. One does not
know how to spend the time and this is a real annoyance to a man of
leisure. The carnival, especially where there are French, offers the
only opportunity to banish in a degree the dryness of the entertainments
in these countries--and what entertainments! One would never dream of
seeking them, if one were not so far from Europe. The residents in
comfortable circumstances come to town, you play a game of cards in some
house, in others you drink abundantly, and in most you are bored. The
country has hardly more attraction for any one having no residence; but
besides the restraint which is banished there, you can at least enjoy a
morning and an evening walk; and if you are so lucky as to come across
some wealthy resident of the better class, you may in rare instances
find yourself in agreeable company. But there are parts of the country
where neighbors hardly visit one another once a year."
This is a true glimpse of life in the colonies before the British
occupation. Had the distinguished foreigner who made these observations
come to Cuba after the administration of la Torre, he would have found
the theatre and the promenades, and perhaps even the cafés he had
previously missed. For the prosperity which set in for the island after
King Carlos III. began to relax the unreasonable restrictions upon her
trade and navigation, brought with it to the wealthier classes that
leisure which calls for higher forms of social life and leads to the
appreciation of such entertainment as the arts of music and drama offer.
The theatre of Havana became the meeting place of Cuba's intellectuals
and the center from which began to radiate the modest beginnings of a
Cuban culture, which a century later was to produce poets that took
their place beside those of the mother country. With closer commercial
relations and increasing facilities of travel even the inhabitants of
the country living on their haciendas a beautiful domestic life, but one
making for a certain clannishness, gradually came out of their
isolation, and benefiting by the progress of their urban neighbors, were
stimulated to participate in enterprises which a few decades before they
would have spurned. The constantly growing intercourse with the Old
World, bringing them into touch with contemporary thought, was another
leaven that began to work in the minds of the Cubans, and to encourage
activities and interests held as being entirely without the range of a
people whose chief pursuits for some centuries had been agriculture.
Thus Cuba entered upon her first period of progress.
This was due in no little measure to the peace and prosperity of Spain
during the long reign of King Carlos III. For the overseas colonies of
the European powers were so closely associated with and dependent upon
the mother countries, that their healthy progress as a rule indicated
healthy political and economic conditions of the latter. If there was at
this time any unrest and anxiety at the courts and in the diplomatic
circles of Europe this was due to events that were happening in North
America and were beginning to shake the foundations of the old order. On
the nineteenth of April, 1775, there had been fired the first shot in
the struggle upon which the thirteen British colonies had entered in
order to secure their freedom from the unbearable restrictions which
Britain had imposed upon them. That shot sounded an alarm which was
heard all over the world and sent a thrill through millions of hearts.
The spirit that had dictated the works of the French encyclopedists and
had worked like a leaven of liberty in millions of minds, had become
incarnate in the British colonists and was clamoring for consummation of
its ultimate aims. Monarchs and ministers convened in solemn conferences
and deliberated seriously upon the possible effects of the action taken
by the rebels against British overrule.
Spain and France, sharing with Britain colonial possessions in America,
were profoundly disturbed. They had been allies in the recent war
against Britain, and they still depended upon each other for mutual
counsel and consolation. The king of France, Louis XVI., an autocrat if
ever there was, had an excellent minister of finance in Turgot, a man of
extraordinary foresight, of liberal judgment and of rare administrative
ability. After Vergennes, the minister of foreign affairs, who favored
the emancipation of America, had forwarded to the king a cautiously
worded report upon the situation, Turgot was asked to give his opinion,
and did so in a memorial which very succinctly stated the position of
both France and Spain, and contained the following significant passages:
"The yearly cost of colonies in peace, the enormous expenditures for
their defence in war, lead to the conclusion that it is more
advantageous for us to grant them entire independence, without waiting
for the moment when events will compel us to give them up. This view
would, not long since, have been scorned as a paradox, and rejected with
indignation. At present we may be the less revolted at it, and perhaps
it may not be without utility to prepare consolation for inevitable
events. Wise and happy will be that nation which shall first know how to
bend to the new circumstances, and consent to see in its colonies,
allies and not subjects. When the total separation of America shall have
healed the European nations of jealousy of commerce, there will exist
among men one great cause of war the less, and it is very difficult not
to desire an event which is to accomplish this good for the human race.
In our colonies we shall save many millions, and, if we acquire the
liberty of commerce and navigation with all the northern continent, we
shall be amply compensated.
"The position of Spain with regard to its American possessions will be
more embarassing. Unhappily she has less facility than any other power
to quit the route she has followed for two centuries, and conform to a
new order of things. Thus far she has directed her policy to
maintaining the multiplied prohibitions with which she has embarrassed
her commerce. She has made no preparations to substitute for empire over
her American provinces a fraternal connection founded on identity of
origin, language, and manners, without the opposition of interests; to
offer them liberty as a gift, instead of yielding it to force. Nothing
is more worthy of the wisdom of the king of Spain and his council, than
from this present time to fix their attention on the possibility of this
forced separation, and on the measures to be taken to prepare for it."
Alas! the warning of Turgot was not heeded by the government of Spain
and a whole century had to elapse and many lives had to be sacrificed
before the Spanish colonies in America were to gain their independence!
Both the French and the Spanish king were opposed to taking sides in the
war which Britain was waging with her colonies; but they were quite
ready secretly to help those colonies, knowing that their success meant
the weakening of British power! Bancroft reports in his "History of the
United States" (Vol. V., p. 321):
"After a year's hesitation and resistance, the king of France, early in
May, informed the king of Spain that he had resolved, under the name of
a commercial house, to advance a million of French livres, about two
hundred thousand dollars, towards the supply of the wants of the
Americans."
His example was followed by the king of Spain, who, a few weeks later,
without the knowledge of any of his advisers except Grimaldi, sent a
draft for a million livres more, as his contribution!
Such had been the effect of the first shot fired in the struggle for
American independence. When the news of the official declaration of this
independence on July fourth, 1776, reached Paris and Madrid, the worst
fears of the upholders of the old régime and the most exalted dreams of
the champions of the new political ideal were realized. But neither
France nor Spain dared openly to take sides against Britain, both having
ample reason to avoid being involved in new wars. As Turgot intimated in
his message, Spain was far more directly interested in the step taken by
the British colonies and the possible effects it might have upon her own
possessions. Hence France decided to do nothing without the agreement of
Spain. Again it is Bancroft who gives the clearest statement of the
economic position of Spain and her reasons for avoiding a break with
Britain. He writes in his "History of the United States" (Vol. V., p.
535):
"Equal to Great Britain in the number of her inhabitants, greatly
surpassing that island in the extent of her home territory and her
colonies, she did not love to confess or to perceive her inferiority in
wealth and power. Her colonies brought her no opulence, for their
commerce, which was soon to be extended to seven ports, then to twelve,
and then to nearly all, was still confined to Cadiz; the annual exports
to Spanish America had thus far fallen short of four millions of dollars
in value, and the imports were less than the exports. Campomanes was
urging through the press the abolition of restriction on trade; but for
the time the delusion of mercantile monopoly held the ministers fast
bound. The serious strife with Portugal had for its purpose the
occupation of both banks of the river La Plata, that so the mighty
stream might be sealed up against all the world but Cadiz. As a
necessary consequence, Spanish shipping received no development; and,
though the king constructed ships of the line and frigates, he could
have no efficient navy, for want of proper nurseries of seamen. The war
department was in the hands of an indolent chief, so that its business
devolved on O'Reilly, whose character is known to us from his career in
Louisiana, and whose arrogance and harshness were revolting to the
Spanish nation. The revenue of the kingdom fell short of twenty-one
millions of dollars, and there was a notorious want of probity in the
management of the finances. In such a state of its navy, army, and
treasury, how could it make war on England?"
Nobody realized these facts better than King Carlos III. His new
ministers, D. Jose Monino, Count de Florida Blanca, who had succeeded
Grimaldi, and Galvez, the minister for the Indies, agreed with the
sovereign; and when Arthur Lee, emissary of the new republic, appeared
in Europe and sought an audience with the authorities in Madrid, he was
detained at Burgos to confer with Grimaldi, who was then on his way to
his native Italy. Lee found little encouragement and satisfaction in
this interview; he was told that the Americans would find at New Orleans
three thousand barrels of powder and some store of clothing, and that
Spain would perhaps send them a cargo of goods from Bilbao, but he was
urged to hurry back to Paris. Florida Blanca, too, very decidedly
expressed his aversion to the new republic and was reported to have said
"that the independence of America would be the worst example to other
colonies, and would make the Americans in every respect the worst
neighbors that the Spanish colonies could have." Thus the constant fear
that the close proximity of an independent state might rouse the spirit
of independence in her own colonies, determined the policy of Spain
toward the War of American Independence.
Yet her colonies in America gave Spain little trouble at that time,
being contented with their lot and working out the problem of their
existence as well as their loyalty to Spanish institutions would
permit. Cuba, especially, was at that time absorbed in living up to the
high standards set her by the three excellent governors that had
followed the British domination: Ricla, Buccarelli and la Torre. Their
successor was the Field Marshal D. Diego José Navarro, a native of
Badajoz. He entered upon the duties of his administration on the twelfth
of July, 1777, at a time when the war being waged between Britain and
her American colonies had created an atmosphere of apprehension and once
more brought near the possibility of a conflict with the old enemy. The
repeated protests of her economic experts against her trade restrictions
had induced the government of Spain to issue the royal "Ordenanza para
el libre comercio con las colonias," a decree due to the constant
efforts of the Minister of the Indies, D. José de Galvez, whose
experience in the colonies had given his voice sufficient weight to
convince his Majesty of the urgent necessity of this reform. During two
and a half centuries Spain had traded with America only, through the
ports of Cadiz and Sevilla; this ordinance opened all the ports of the
peninsula to traffic with all those of Spanish America.
At the same time was ordered a reduction in the duties and the
permission of importing foreign goods, though they always had to be
carried in Spanish boats. These duties were henceforth three per cent.
on Spanish products, and seven per cent. on foreign products. When the
value of the goods was greater than their bulk, a duty was levied,
called estranjeria (foreign custom). As a result of this reform, the
revenues of Cuba which in 1764 had amounted to not more than three
hundred and sixteen thousand pesos, rose in the year 1777 to one million
twenty seven thousand two hundred and thirteen pesos. Contraband which
had been one of the worst evils that the Cuban authorities had to
contend with for two centuries, visibly declined and was soon limited to
articles of luxury. At the same time there was also ordered by royal
decree the unification of the coinage, and the macuquino, a coin with
the milled edges cut off, was replaced by one of silver with a corded
edge. All these reforms were received by the people with unbounded
enthusiasm. In all parts of the island the inhabitants spontaneously
gave vent to their joy in brilliant festivals and in a display of
oratory, which acclaimed the beginning of the new era for Cuba.
Like Buccarelli, Governor Navarro was much concerned with the legal
malpractice that had long existed in the courts. The bar was composed of
many men who with insidious cunning stirred up and prolonged innumerable
lawsuits. Their machinations not only violated the sense of justice, but
directly disgraced their profession and the judicial administration of
the island. So many families had been ruined by such legal procedures,
that Governor Navarro was determined to check the operations of these
sharks. He ordered that no one but a duly appointed notary should be
permitted to draft legal documents and perform judicial acts and he
reduced the number of these men to thirty-four for the whole island. He
also appointed an appraiser to adjust the costs of legal proceedings and
ordered that lawyers who had been convicted of malpractice should be
deprived of the right to plead. The Audiencia of Santo Domingo protested
against some of these decisions of Navarro, but he succeeded in
convincing the court of the justice of his acts.