SOCIETY AT THE HAVANNAH. 243 



nearly double. The extreme inequality in the distribution 

 of the population, the want of inhabitants on a great part of 

 the coast, and its immense development, render the military 

 defence of the whole island impossible : neither the landing 

 of an enemy, nor illicit trade, can be prevented. The Ha- 

 vannah is well defended, and its works rival those of the 

 most important fortified towns of Europe ; the Torreones, 

 and the fortifications of Cogimar, Jaruco, Matanzas, Mariel, 

 Bahia Honda, Batabano, Xagua, and Trinidad, might resist 

 for a considerable time, the assaults of an enemy ; but on 

 the other hand two-thirds of the island are almost without 

 defence, and could scarcely be protected bythe best gun-boats. 

 Intellectual cultivation is almost entirely limited to the 

 whites, and is as unequally distributed as the population. The 

 best society of the Havannah may be compared for easy and 

 polished manners, with the society of Cadiz, and with that 

 of the richest commercial towns of Europe ; but on quitting 

 the capital, or the neighbouring plantations, which are inha- 

 bited by rich proprietors, a striking contrast to this state of 

 partial and local civilization is manifest, in the simplicity ( 

 manners prevailing in the insulated farms and small towns, 

 The Havaneros or natives of Havannah were the first among 

 the rich inhabitants of the Spanish colonies, who visited 

 Spain, France, and Italy ; and at the Havannah the people 

 were always well informed of the politics of Europe. This 

 knowledge of events, this prescience of future chances, have 

 powerfully aided the inhabitants of Cuba to free themselves 

 from some of the burthens which check the development of 

 colonial prosperity. In the interval between the peace of 

 \ r ersailles and the beginning of the revolution of San Do- 

 mingo, the Havannah appeared to be ten times nearer to Spain 

 than to Mexico, Caracas, and New Grenada. Fifteen years 

 >ahT, at the period of my visit to the colonies, this apparent 

 inequality of distance had considerably diminished ; now, 

 when the independence of the continental colonies, the im- 

 portation of foreign manufactures, and the financial wants of 

 tlie new states, have multiplied the intercourse between 

 Europe and America ; when the passage is shortened by 

 improvements in navigation; when the Columbians, the 

 Mexicans, and the inhabitants of Guatimala, rival each 

 other in visiting Europe ; the ancient Spanish colonies those 



