GENERAL VIEWS. 



103 



I have been twice in Cuba, on one occasion three 

 months, and on the other a month and a half, and 

 have had the good fortune to enjoy the confidence 

 of persons, who from their talents and position, 

 either as proprietors, administrators, or merchants, 

 could give me reliable information regarding the ad- 

 vance of public prosperity. This confidence flowed 

 from the favor with which I was honored by the 

 Spanish ministry, and I trust that I also merited it 

 for the moderation of my principles, my circumspect 

 conduct, and for the pacific character of my occu- 

 pation. For the last thirty years the Spanish gov- 

 ernment has not obstructed the publication, even in 

 Havana, of the most interesting statistical tables 

 relative to the state of the commerce, colonial agri- 

 culture, and revenue of Cuba. I obtained copies of 

 these documents during my stay there, and the rela- 

 tions I have preserved with America since my return 

 to Europe, have afforded me the complement of the 

 data I had previously collected. 



I visited in company with Bonpland only the vici- 

 nity of Havana, the beautiful valley of Guines, and 

 the coast between Batabano and Trinidad. After 

 describing succinctly the physical aspect of the coun- 

 try, and the singular modifications of a climate so 

 different from that of the other Antilles, I shall speak 

 of the general population of the island, its area cal- 



