CUBA. 



557 



Dollars. 

 610,797 14 



From the United States in Spanish vessels, . . 



France, dollars 1,048,965 63 



Hangeatic cities, 913,601 00 



Denmark, 12,662 75 



England . . . 1,548,779 37 



Italy, 29,773 12 



Netherlands 289,758 88 



Portugal, 56,144 88 



dollar* 3,899,9S5 53 



Of which imports one-fourth, at least, was? g. 9 gg ..j 

 brought in American bottoms, say, . . J *^ 



From Spain in foreign bottoms, 3,097,590 38 i 

 dollars, of which two-thirds, at least, were > 2,065,000 24 

 under the United States' flag, . . . J 



Making a total of imports, in 1829, under the- 



taking a total of imports, in 1829, under then 

 American flag, including the imports from > 7,737,08449 

 the United States in Spanish vessels, of . J 



The whole value of imports for 1829, into? 14 , J25 414 50 

 Havanna, j ' 



Supplied by the United States and by? 773703449 

 American vessels, 5 ]__| 



Leaving, for all other flags, including the? 7188 s 3001 

 Spanish J ' ' 



The tonnage duty paid by American vessels? 234 Q32 

 was, j 



Thus, from the United States alone? ,_ 6g4 tons 

 (American tonnage) came, . . 3 



One-fourth of foreign tonnage fromi g 172 

 other countries, ' 



Two-thirds of tonnage of foreign? 20 13J 

 vessels from Spain, . . . , j '- 



Total American tonnage, 93,969 tons, at 2.53, 234.922 



From the above notes, it seems that the United 

 States and her ships have supplied more than 50 per 

 cent, of the entire imports of Havannah for the last 

 year. 



The island is subject to the king of Spain, and, for 

 the purposes of government, is divided into two po- 

 litical divisions. That on the west is under the im- 

 mediate control of the captain-general residing in 

 Havannah. The other is under a governor appointed 

 by the king, but subject, in many respects, to the 

 captain-general. It is also divided into two ecclesias- 

 tical jurisdictions, the one governed by an archbishop, 

 who resides at St Jago, the other one by a bishop, 

 who resides at Havannah. These jurisdictions have 

 their limits 20 leagues east of the town of Espiritu 

 Santo. Since the oeginning of 1826, the island has 

 been divided, for the purpose of defence, into three 

 military departments ; these again into districts, and 

 the districts into sections. The departments are 

 commanded by a general officer. The eastern de- 

 partment embraces the districts of St Jago, Baracoa, 

 Holguin, Jibara, Jiguani, Cobre, Tiguabos, Manza- 

 nillo and Bayamo; the central, those of Puerto 

 Principe, Nuevitas, Trinidad, Espiritu Santo, Villa de 

 Santa Clara, and St Juan de los Remedies ; the west- 

 ern, those of Havannah, St Antonio de Compostela, 

 St Felipe, and St Jago del Bejucal, St Antonio Abad 

 de los Bannos, Guanajay, Guanabacoa, Filipinia, Ja- 

 ruco, Guines, Matanzas, and Guamutas. These same 

 divisions serve as limits for the jurisdictions of the 

 three intendencies which are established for the col- 

 lection and administration of the public revenue, and 

 the heads of which reside at Havannah, Puerto, Prin- 

 cipe, and St Jago, the capital cities of the three de- 

 partments. Education is in a very low state ; but 

 according to Abbot's Letters on Cuba (Boston, 1829) 

 it is improving. The morals of the people are loose ; 

 the police is weak or inactive : murders are frequent. 

 The laws are very numerous and contradictory, anc 

 much bribery and corruption prevail in the adminis- 

 tration of justice. In 1821, the importation of slaves 

 was prohibited by law ; and, though it is yet carriec 



on, and tolerated by the authorities of Cuba, in spite 

 of the laws against it, there is no doubt that it has 

 diminished a great deal, in consequence of the efforts 

 and vigilance of the English cruisers. The emanci- 

 pation of Colombia, Mexico, and the Spanish part of 

 5t Domingo, has brought to Cuba almost all the 

 Spaniards who were settled in those countries, to- 

 gether with many of the Creoles. The number of the 

 iboriginal population cannot now be ascertained. 

 The European and African population, in 1511, did 

 not include more than 300 persons. Within the last 

 52 years, the population has more than quadrupled : 

 the coloured population has increased faster than the 

 white. According to the census of 1827, given in 

 the Spanish report mentioned above, the population 

 then stood thus : 



Whites 



Free Mulattoes, .... 



Free Negroes, 



Mulatto and Negro slaves, 



Male*. 



168,653 

 28,0. r -8 

 23,904 



183,290 



Females. Total. 



142,393 311,051 



29,450 57,514 



25,076 48,980 



103,652 286,942 



Grand total, 704,487 



of which 311,051 are white, and 393,536 are co- 

 loured. 



It is generally believed, that the inhabitants are 

 not desirous of separating from the Spanish govern- 

 ment, partly because Spain treats them tolerably 

 well, and partly because of the distracted condition in 

 which they behold those parts of Spanish America 

 which have shaken off the Spanish yoke. A con- 

 spiracy was discovered, however, in 1830, the object 

 of which was the independence of the island. A ri- 

 diculous expedition was sent from Cuba, in 1829, 

 against Mexico, under general Barradas, who was 

 forced to capitulate at Tampico, on September 11 of 

 that year. The principal cities of the island are the 

 capital, Havannah (siempre fidelisima ciudad de S. 

 Cristobal de la Habana), with 237,828 inhabitants, 

 St Jago de Cuba, St Salvador, St Carlos de Ma- 

 tanzas, St Maria de Puerto Principe, c. (See these 

 article*.) For further information respecting the 

 island, the reader is referred to Humboldt's Per- 

 sonal Narrative, and the Cuadro Estadistico already 

 mentioned. 



Cuba was discovered, in 1492, by Christopher Co- 

 lumbus. In 1511, don Diego Velasquez sailed from 

 St Domingo, with four vessels and about 300 men, 

 for the conquest of the island. He landed, on the 

 25th of July, near the bay of St Jago, to which he 

 gave its name. The natives, commanded by the 

 cacique Hatuey, who had fled from St Domingo, his 

 native country, on account of the cruelties of the 

 Spaniards, in vain endeavoured to oppose the pro- 

 gress of the invaders. The noise of the fire-arms 

 was sufficient to disperse the poor Indians. Hatuey 

 was taken prisoner and condemned to be burned 

 alive, which sentence was executed after he had re- 

 fused to be baptized. This diabolical act filled all 

 the other caciques with terror, and they hastened to 

 pay homage to Velasquez, who met with no more op- 

 position. The conquest of Cuba did not cost the 

 Spaniards a single man. The conquerors, not find 

 ing the mines sufficiently rich to induce them to 

 work them, gradually exterminated the natives, 

 whom they could not employ. After the conquest 

 of Cuba, more than two centuries elapsed without the 

 occurrence of any memorable incident. In 1741, the 

 English admiral Vernon sailed, in July, from Jamaica, 

 and entered the bay of Guantanamo, which he named 

 Cumberland. He landed his troops twenty miles up 

 the river, where they remained in perfect inaction 

 until November, when they went back to Jamaica. 

 Notwithstanding the disastrous termination of this 

 expedition, the English government did not relinquish 

 the idea of taking possession of Cuba. In 1762, they 





