HAVANA 



2715 



HAVELOCK 



sounded a note of pity for man's weaknesses 

 as he sees them. The Sunken Bell, The 

 Weavers and Before Sunrise are among his 

 best plays. He is the author of a volume of 

 poems, Springtide, and a book of Travel 

 Sketches. 



HAVANA, ha van' a, or HABANA, hah bah' 

 na, is the capital and metropolis of the repub- 

 lic of Cuba, and the most important city in 

 the West Indies. It is but ninety miles distant, 

 almost due south, from the city of Key West, 

 Florida, which is connected by rail with the 

 mainland of that state. It is no farther east 

 than Detroit, and is two hundred miles far- 

 ther west than the city of Panama. For gen- 

 erations it has been visited in the winter 

 season by tourists from North American lands. 

 The harbor, one of the safest in the world, 

 is entered by a narrow channel between Morro 

 Castle, on the east, and the Punta on the west. 

 Within this harbor occurred, on February 15, 

 1898, the mysterious catastrophe by which the 

 Maine, a visiting vessel of the United States 

 navy, was destroyed, with many of its men. 

 See SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 



Havana covers about nine square miles, and 

 contains over 325,000 people. About half of 

 the city is centuries old, and possesses the fea- 

 tures of an old Spanish town. The governor's 

 palace and the cathedral, both of which date 



HAVANA 



MAP OP HAVANA 



from 1724, are typical of the period of their 

 construction and possess much interest for the 

 visitor. The newer portion of the city is well- 

 designed, with broad streets, beautiful prome- 

 nades and drives and picturesque parks, or 

 plazas. The houses are low and are built in 

 Spanish style around central courts which are 

 often bowers of tropical beauty. The walls 

 and roofs are sometimes brightly colored, and 



instead of windows there are fancy wood or 

 iron grills. There are a large .number of hotels, 

 clubs and theaters in the city. Among the 

 educational institutions are the University of 

 Havana, the Jesuit College de Belen (Bethle- 

 hem), a normal school, a library and museum 

 and numerous minor schools. 



Alameda de Paula, along the bay, is a popu- 

 lar promenade. The Prado is a beautiful 

 boulevard ending in Colon Park, the largest 

 in the city. There are fifty or more fountains 

 throughout the city, supplied by an aqueduct, 

 which also furnishes water to residences. 



Industries. Cigar and cigarette factories, the 

 largest in the world, are the principal indus- 

 trial establishments of the city. One of them 

 produces 2,000,000 cigarettes daily. Boxes and 

 barrels, wagons, carriages and machinery are 

 manufactured to some extent. As the chief 

 port of the island, Havana handles a large part 

 of Cuba's commerce. Cigars, tobacco and 

 sugar are the chief exports, and the imports 

 consist principally of foodstuffs and cotton. 

 The lighterage interests of Havana are power- 

 ful, and through the absence of wharves, those 

 who make a business of removing the cargoes 

 from vessels are prosperous. It has been esti- 

 mated that bringing a ton of material to shore 

 at Havana costs about as much as to carry 

 it from Liverpool. About half the imports of 

 Havana come from, and nearly two-thirds of 

 the exports go to, the United States. The 

 foreign trade amounts to about $140,000,000 a 

 year; about $82,000,000 of it is carried in 

 American vessels. 



Location of Capital. It was intended at first 

 that the capital city should be on the south 

 coast of Cuba, but in 1519 the plan was 

 changed and the new city was built on the 

 northern harbor, that it might be more easily 

 reached from Europe. The port chosen, with 

 all its beauty and convenience of location, is 

 unfortunately shallow; and in this day of great 

 ships it is a serious disadvantage, alike to trav- 

 elers and to shippers, to make constant use of 

 lighters to effect a landing. 



Many times in its long history has Havana 

 suffered from foreign attacks in the wars of 

 Spain; and in the old days of piracy on the 

 Spanish main it was repeatedly raided by these 

 enemies. M.S. 



Consult Rowan and Ramsey's The Island of 

 Cuba; Norton's Complete Handbook to Havana 

 and Cuba. 



HAVELOCK, hav'lok, SIR HENRY (1795- 

 1857), a British soldier who will always be 



