CTKSIIUfS 



CUBA 



contained the history of the Assyrian monarchy 

 down to the foundation of the kingdom of Persia; 

 t li next seven continued the history of Persia down 

 to the cud of the reign of Xerxes ; the remaining 

 micd it down to 398, the year in which 

 CteM.-is left Persia, Ctesias compiled his history 

 from oriental sources, and it is not wonderful that 

 his statements often contradict those of Herodotus. 

 Of his I ml Hen also only an abridgment by Photius 

 is extant. Sec ( iilmore's edition of Tfie fragments 

 of the Persika of Ktesiu* ( 1888). 



Ctesibilis, a Greek who flourished under 

 Ptolemy Philadelphia and Euergetes, at Alex- 

 andria, a In ii 1 1 250 years B.C., and was famous for 

 his inventions in mechanics. We owe to him and 

 his jmpil Hero Alexandrinus, the pump, the bent 

 siphon, and also the discovery of the elastic force 

 of air, and its application as a motive power. 



CtesipllOIl, a city of Babylonia, on the eastern 

 bank of the Tigris and opposite Seleucia, the com- 

 mon winter residence of the Parthian kings, and 

 finally the capital of the Parthian kingdom. It 

 was connuerea by the Romans in 115 A.D., and 

 destroyed by the Aralw under Omar in 637. Its 

 ruins still attest its former magnificence. 



Cliando, a name of the Chobe, a tributary of 

 the Zambesi ( q. v. ). 



Cuango, or KWANGO. See CONGO. 



Cuba, the most westerly and largest island of 

 the West Indies, till 1898 the principal colony left 

 to Spain, stretches in the form of a long narrow 

 crescent, convex on the north side, at the entrance 

 of the Gulf of Mexico, which it divides into two 

 channels the north-west, 124 miles wide, and the 

 south-west, 97J miles at its narrowest part. Cuba is 

 759 miles long from Cape Maysi on the east to Cape 

 Antonio on the west, with a breadth varying from 

 27 miles to 110 miles, and a coast-line of about 

 2000 miles. According to the census of 1899, the 

 area of Cuba is approximately 44,000 sq. m., the 

 Isle of Pines being included in Havana province. 

 Only about one-third of the coast-line is accessible 

 to vessels, the remainder being beset by reefs and 

 banks. The shores, low and flat, are liable to in- 

 undations, but there are numerous excellent havens. 

 A watershed running lengthwise through the island 

 rises into mountainous heights only in the south- 

 east, where are the Sierra de Maestra shooting up in 

 the Pico de Turquino to 8400 feet, and the Sierra 

 del Cobre ( copper ). The mountains, composed of 

 granite overlaid with calcareous rocks, and con- 

 taining minerals, especially copper and iron, are 

 clothed in almost perennial verdure, wooded to the 

 summits. Carboniferous strata appear in the west, 

 schistose rocks on the north coast. The limestone 

 rocks abound in caverns, with magnificent stalac- 

 tites. Mineral waters are plentiful. The rivers, 

 running north and south, are navigable for only a 

 few miles by small boats, but are very serviceable 

 for irrigation of the plantations, and supply excel- 

 lent drinking water. The climate, more temperate 

 than in the other West Indian Islands, is salubrious 

 in the elevated interior, but the coasts are the 

 haunt of fever and ague. No month of the year is 

 free from rain, the greatest rainfall being in May, 

 June, and July. Earthquakes are frequent in the 

 east. Hurricanes, less frequent than in Jamaica, 

 sometimes cause widespread desolation. A hurri- 

 cane in 1846 demolished 1872 houses, and sank 216 

 vessels. 



The soil of Cuba is eminently fertile, a large 

 part still covered with virgin forest containing 

 magnificent mahogany, cedar, ebony, ironwood, 

 dyewoods, and pine. The vegetation of Cuba 

 also includes lignum-vitce, tamarind, palms, ferns, 

 lianas, &c. Among the cultivated products are 

 sugar, tobacco, coffee, cacao, rice, maize, cotton, 



esculent roots, and tropical fruit*. Among the ani- 

 mals are a species of tail-lens rat peculiar to Cuba, 

 great abundance of birds, including the mocking- 

 bird, a species of vulture (valuable as a ucavenger ), 

 woodpecker, partridge, flamingo, albatrom. Of 

 noxious animals there are the crocodile, scorpion, 

 and mosquitoes. The riven* and seas are well 

 stocked with lish, the turtle abounding in the 

 shallows and sandy places of the beach. 



Sugar, for which soil and climate are peculiarly 

 favourable, has Jong been the chief predict of 

 Cuba, though it had suffered much from the low 

 prices even before the insurrection ruined trade. 

 The total production of sugar in the year 1894-95 

 was 1,004,2(34 tons. About nine-tenths of the 

 sugar and nearly all the molasses are exported 

 to the United States. Of tobacco, of excellent 

 quality, the yield is about 300,000 bales annually. 

 In 1893 the export of tobacco was 227,865 bales, 

 besides 147,365,000 cigars ; in 1895, 156,513,000. 

 The mining industry of Cuba has as yet received 

 little attention ; but one iron company has ex|K>rted 

 to the United States in some years 200,000 tons 

 of iron ore. Manganese and copper are also found. 

 There are some 1600 sugar plantations in Cuba, 

 8500 tobacco plantations, and 700 coffee plantations. 

 The total imports into Cuba in 1892 are stated at 

 57,000,000 pesos or dollars, and the exports at 

 90,000,000. But for war, the revenue should be 

 about 25,000,000 pesos. The debt is now much over 

 40,000,000. 



The census taken ( 1899 ) under the American mili- 

 tary administration showed a total population of 

 1,572,797, as against 1,500,000 in 1879 (De las Pefias, 

 Havana, 1881); theChinese have decreased to 14,857. 

 The principal towns, Havana, Puerto Principe, 

 Matanzas, Santiago, Nuevitas, and Cienfuegos, are 

 united by railway, of which there are about 1100 

 miles ; the telegraph system aggregates (1898) about 

 2300 miles. Under Spanish rule the captain-general 

 was highest military and civil commander ; and all 

 state offices were held by Spaniards from Spain 

 one of the great grievances of the Cubans. 



After the war (see below) and the conclusion of 

 peace ( 1899) between the United States and Spain, 

 Cuba became practically a dependency in the first 

 instance a military protectorate of the United 

 States ; and though it was intended that the island 

 was to be governed in the interests of the Cubans, 

 and as soon as possible by Cubans, the formal 

 status of Cuba was not definitely settled. Many 

 American statesmen regarded with serious mis- 

 givings a colonial expansion that absorbed Puerto 

 Rico, annexed Cuba, and took over the Philippines 

 at once. But the Americans proceeded to reorganise 

 the administration on a provisional footing, to make 

 roads and railways, to improve docks and harbours, 

 and to impose hitherto unheard-of sanitary pre- 

 cautions. Many burdensome taxes were abolished 

 and a fair customs tariff was established. 



Cuba, spoken of as the 'Queen of the Antilles,' 

 was first discovered by Columbus in 1492, the 

 discoverer calling it ' the most beautiful land that 

 eyes ever beheld.' It was first settled by Spaniard- 

 at Baracoa in 1511. Havana, first settled in 1519, 

 was reduced to ashes by the French in 1538, and 

 again in 1554. For about one and a half centuries 

 Cuba was in constant danger from French, English, 

 Dutch, and West Indian filibusters. In 1762 the 

 English under Lord Albemarle (q.v.) took Havana, 

 which, however, was by the Treaty of Paris next 

 year restored to Spain. Hitherto the whole Spanish 

 trade with the colonies had t>een in the hands of a 

 single privileged company. During the ten months' 

 English occupation, Havana, open to free trade, 

 showed in ita port, instead of ten to twelve ships 

 yearly as formerly, more than one thousand, and 

 agriculture made rapid progress. In 1818 Cuba 



