the largest and richest of the West India islands, and the most important colony of Spain, was discovered by Columbus on 28th Oct. 1492, during his first voyage. It was first called Juana in honour of Prince John, son of Ferdinand and Isabella; but after Ferdinand's death it received the name of Fernandina. It was subsequently designated Santiago, from the patron saint of Spain; and still later Ave Maria, in honour of the Virgin. Its present name is that by which it was known among the natives at the time of its discovery. It was then divided into nine independent principalities, under as many caciques. The aborigines are described as living in a state of happy tranquillity among themselves, and possessing a religion devoid of rites and ceremonies, but inculcating a belief in the existence of a great and beneficent Being, and the immortality of the Cuba was twice visited by Columbus after its discovery—in April 1494, and again in 1502. In 1511 his son Diego Columbus, for the purpose of colonizing the island, fitted out an expedition, consisting of above 300 men, under Diego Velasquez, who had accompanied his father on his second voyage. Their first settlement was Baracoa, and in 1514 they founded Santiago and Trinidad. In July 1515 was planted a town called San Cristóbal de la Habana, which name was transferred in 1519 to the present capital, the first named place being now called Batahano. In 1538 Havana was reduced to ashes by a French privateer; and to prevent a similar disaster in future the Castillo de la Fuerza, a fortress which still exists, was built by Hernando de Soto, Governor of Cuba, and afterwards famous for his explorations in the southern and western regions of the United States, as well as for the discovery of the Mississippi. In 1554 the French again attacked and destroyed Havana.
The early settlers devoted themselves principally to the rearing of cattle; but about 1580 the cultivation of tobacco and the sugar-cane was commenced, and this led to the introduction of the system of negro slavery. Previous to 1600 two other fortresses were built for the defence of Havana—the Moro, and the Punta, which are still in existence. For about a century and a half after this period the island was kept in a state of almost perpetual fear of invasion from the French, English, Dutch, or the pirates infesting these seas; and several ineffectual efforts were made to reduce it. About 1665 the walls of Havana were commenced. In 1762 Havana was taken by an English fleet and army under Lord Albemarle, the former consisting of more than 200 vessels of all classes, and the latter of 14,041 men, while the Spanish army numbered 27,610 men. The defence was exceedingly obstinate; the English commenced operations on the 6th of June; but it was not until the 30th of July that the Moro Castle surrendered; and on the 14th August the city capitulated. The spoil divided among the captors amounted to L736,185. The following year Cuba was restored to the Spaniards, and from that time its progress has been rapid; indeed this restoration is regarded by native writers as the true era whence its importance and prosperity are to be dated. The administration of Las Casas, who arrived as captain-general in 1790, is represented by all Spanish writers as a brilliant epoch in Cuban history. He promoted with indefatigable perseverance a series of public works of the first utility; introduced the culture of indigo; extended the commercial importance of the island by removing as far as his authority extended the trammels imposed upon it by the old system of privilege and restriction. By his judicious administration the tranquillity of the island was maintained uninterrupted at the time of the revolution in St Domingo; although, as is generally believed, a conspiracy was formed at the instigation of the French among the free people of colour in Cuba. In 1802 Jesu Maria, a populous suburb of Havana, was destroyed by a fire, which deprived 11,400 people of their habitations. On the deposition of the royal family of Spain by Napoleon (the news of which arrived in July 1808), every member of the Cabildo took oath to preserve the island for the deposed sovereign, and declared war against Napoleon. Since that time the island has been presided over by a succession of governor-generals from Spain, some of whom have conducted themselves honourably, while the names of others are loaded with infamy.
The island of Cuba is long and narrow, somewhat in the form of an irregular crescent with its convex side towards the north. It divides the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico into two passages, that to the N.W. being 32½ leagues wide at the narrowest part, between the points of Hicacos in Cuba and Tancha on the Florida coast; and the S.W. passage 38 leagues wide between the Cabo de San Antonio of Cuba, and the Cabo de Catoche, the most salient extremity of the peninsula of Yucatan. Cuba lies between 74. and 85. W. Long.; and 19. and 23. N. Lat. Its length, following a curved line through its centre, is 790 miles, and its greatest breadth (from Cape Maternillos to Mota Cove) is 107 miles. The area is estimated at 31,468 square miles, or, including the other small islands attached to it, 32,507 square miles. The coast of Cuba is generally low and flat, and is surrounded by numerous islands and reefs, which render the approach both difficult and dangerous to those not acquainted with the proper channels. The low nature of the coast subjects it to frequent floods and inundations; and especially on the north side of the island there are many large lagunes from which a considerable quantity of salt is obtained. No island, however, in proportion to its size, has a greater number of excellent harbours, many of them accessible even to ships of the line. A range of mountains extends from one end of the island to the other, dividing it into two unequal portions, of which the northern is generally the narrower. The highest are those at the S.E. extremity of the island, to the N.W. of Santiago de Cuba, and have, according to Humboldt, an elevation of 1200 toises, or 7673 English feet. This Cordillera is one great calcareous mass, resting on a schistose formation. The summits are for the most part rocky and naked, occasionally interrupted by more gentle undulations. The central and western parts of the island contain two formations of compact limestone, one of clayey sandstone, and another of gypsum. The limestone formations abound in caverns. The secondary formations, east of Havana, are pierced by syenite and epidotite rocks united in groups. The syenite strata are intercalated with serpentine, and inclined to the N.W. In some places petroleum runs out of rents in the serpentine; and abundant springs of this fluid are also found in the eastern part of the island. The rivers in general are necessarily short, and flow toward the north and south. The largest is the Cauto, rising in the Sierra del Cobre, and falling into the bay of Buena Esperanza on the southern coast, after a course of 50 leagues, for 20 of which it is navigable, though at low water obstructed by bars. The Sagua le Grande rises in the Sierra del Escambray, passes Santo Domingo, and falls into the sea in front of the Boca de Maravillas, being navigable for five leagues. The principal of the other rivers are the Sagua le Chica, the North and South Iatibonica, the Cuyaguateje, Sasa, Agobama, and the Hanabana. On some of the rivers are beautiful cascades, while several of them flow during part of their courses underground.
The climate of the western half of the island presents many inequalities of temperature, arising from that portion of the island being situated along the northern limit of the torrid zone, and from the proximity of the American continent. The seasons are divided into rainy and dry, but the line of demarcation is not very clearly defined. The warmest months are July and August, when the mean temperature is from 82° to 84° Fahr.; the coldest are December and January, when the mean temperature is about 78°. The mean annual temperature at Havana is about 78° Fahr. During the rainy season the heat would be insupportable but for the regular alternation of the land and sea breezes. Snow never falls in Cuba, but hail and hoar-frost are not uncommon in the winter season; and at an elevation of 300 or 400 feet above the level of the sea, ice is often seen several lines in thickness during the prevalence of north winds. Hurricanes are not so frequent here as in Hayti and the other West Indian Islands, and seldom do much damage on shore. They occur during the autumn from August to October.
The only peculiar quadruped known in the island is the jutia or hutia, an animal shaped like a rat, and from 12 to 18 inches in length exclusive of the tail. It is of a clear black colour, inhabits the bowels and clefts of trees, and feeds on leaves and fruits. Its flesh is insipid, but is sometimes eaten. A few deer are found about the swamps, but they are supposed to have been introduced from the continent. The woods abound in wild dogs and cats, sprung from these animals in a domestic state, and differing from them only in habits and size. They are very destructive to poultry and cattle. Of domestic animals, the ox, the horse, and the pig, are the most valuable, and form a large proportion of the wealth of the island; the sheep, goats, and mules, are less numerous. The manati frequents the shores. The domestic fowls include geese, turkeys, peacocks, and pigeons. The indigenous birds are distinguished by the beauty of their plumage, and are very numerous, including upwards of 200 species. Birds of prey are few. The vulture and turkey-buzzard are protected by law and custom, on account of their services in the removal of offal. The rivers, bays, and inlets, are well supplied with fish. Oysters and other shell-fish are numerous, but of inferior quality. The reefs and shallows, and the sandy portion of the beach, abound in turtle; and the crocodile, cayman, and the iguana, are common. Large numbers of land-crabs are frequently seen crossing the island; they travel over the land every spring, when the rains commence from the sea on the north to the Caribbean Sea on the south. Snakes are not numerous; the majá—12 or 14 feet in length, and 18 or 20 inches in circumference—is the largest, but is harmless; the jaba, which is about 6 feet long, is venomous. Among the insects may be specially noticed the bee and phosphorescent fly. These flies are very numerous, and much used among the poorer inhabitants. Fifteen or twenty of them confined in a calabash pierced with holes are frequently used during the night to serve as a sort of lantern. The noxious insects are the nigua or jigger, a species of ant called vivajagua, the family of mosquitoes, the sand-fly, the scorpion (less poisonous than that of Europe), and spiders, whose bite is malignant enough to produce fever.
The forests of Cuba are of vast extent, and so dense as to be almost impenetrable. Mahogany and other hard woods are indigenous, and several sorts are well adapted for shipbuilding. The palm is the queen of the Cuban forests, and the most valuable tree on the island. The most common species, the Palma real (Oreodoxia regia), the cocoa tree, and the African palm, are found in all parts. The fruits of Cuba are those common to the tropics, of which the pine-apple and orange are the most esteemed. Of the alimentary plants, the platano or plantain is by far the most important. Next in order come the sweet and bitter yuca or cassava; the sweet root being eaten as a vegetable, and the bitter converted into bread after its poisonous juice has been extracted. The sweet potato, and other famine-foods, roots, are also common. Indian corn is indigenous, and rice is extensively cultivated.
The mineral riches of the island have not yet been explored to any considerable extent. Though gold and silver have undoubtedly been found in the island, the quantity has never been sufficient to repay the labour of search. Gold was sent to Spain from this island by the early settlers, but it was more probably the accumulated wealth of the aborigines in previous centuries, wrested from them by tyranny and rapine at the period of the conquest, than the product of honest labour on the part of the colonists. Traces of auriferous sand are found in the rivers Holguin, Escambray, &c. Some specimens of the finest gold have been obtained in recent times from the workings of Agabama and Sagua la Grande, but at an expense of time and labour that could not remunerate the parties engaged in it. In 1827 silver and copper were discovered in the jurisdiction of Villa Clara, and the first ores gave no less than 7 oz. of pure silver to the quintal (= 107½ lbs.) of ore; but they have become less productive, probably from not being properly worked. The copper mines near Santiago, in the eastern part of the island, are of great extent, and very rich, employing nearly 900 persons, and yielding an ordinary average of about 27 per cent. of pure metal. They were wrought with some success during the seventeenth century, but had been abandoned for more than 100 years. About the year 1830 Mr Hardy, a landed proprietor in the island, happened, when on a visit to that part, to carry off some of the refuse of the old workings in order to subject them to analysis, the result of which was, that the metal was found so rich as amply to repay the expense of sending it to England for smelting. Several other mining companies have since been established; and the amount of copper ore exported in 1850 was 552,288 quintals, or nearly 25,100 tons. Of the 35,683 tons of copper ore imported in 1851 into the United Kingdom, 20,825 tons came from Cuba. Coal of a highly bituminous character, affording a strong heat, and leaving very little solid residue in the form of ashes or cinders, is very abundant. In some places it degenerates into a form resembling asphaltum, and near the coast it is often found in a semi-liquid state like petroleum or naphtha. In the quarries near Havana a thick slate is found, fit for floors and pavements. Marbles and jaspers of various colours, and susceptible of a high polish, are found in many parts of the island, and particularly in the Isle of Pines. It is generally believed that iron exists in various parts of Cuba, and many parts of the great Cordillera undoubtedly contain rocks of a ferruginous nature; but from the difficulty of access, the scarcity of fuel, and the want of capital, no extensive mining operations have been engaged in. Native leadstone, however, has been found in various parts, and chalybeate springs are numerous.
The chief agricultural products of Cuba are sugar, coffee, and tobacco. The cultivation of these has advanced with great rapidity since 1809, when the ports of the island were more freely opened to foreigners. The following are the quantities of sugar exported in various quinquennial periods in Spanish arrobas, an arroba being equivalent to 25¼ lbs. English. In 1785–90 = 5,452,192; 1795–1800 = 11,460,776; 1820–25 = 24,526,581; 1830–35 = 39,467,878; 1835–40 = 50,742,777; 1840–45 = 64,338,492; 1845–50 = 93,452,300. The cultivation of coffee advanced for a time with equal or even greater rapidity than that of sugar; but latterly, from the low prices of coffee, the cultivation of sugar has become the more profitable, and in a great measure supplanted coffee. In 1840 the exportation of coffee was 2,143,174 arrobas, and in 1851 only 468,124 arrobas. Tobacco is indigenous in Cuba, and its excellent quality is celebrated in all parts of the world. In 1850, 319,125 arrobas of leaf tobacco, and 1,063,200 arrobas of manufactured, were exported. Among the other productions are Indian corn, rice, beans, plaintains, cotton, cocoa, pine-apples, lemons, oranges, limes, figs, melons, &c. Of the manufactures, the principal are the making of sugar, molasses, rum, and cigars, and the preparation of coffee and wax.
The ports of the island licensed for foreign trade are Havana, Santiago, Puerto Prince, Matanzas, Trinidad, Baracoa, Gibara, Cienfuegos, and Manzanilla. The average annual amount of the exports and imports, from 1841 to 1845, was respectively 822,472,355 and 824,099,646; and from 1846 to 1850, 827,150,754 and 828,828,988. The domestic products exported in 1850 amounted to 825,043,154. Of the imports into Cuba in 1850, those from Spain amounted to 29½ per cent.; from the United States 22½; from England 21½; Germany 7½; France 6½; Spanish America 6½. Exports, 11½ per cent. to Spain; 32½ to United States; 27½ to England; 7¾ to Germany; 7½ to France; 2½ to Spanish America.
Education is in a remarkably backward state in Cuba. According to the latest and most favourable accounts, the number of schools was only 222, and of pupils 9082: of these 6025 were male, and 2417 female whites; and 460 coloured males, and 180 coloured females. The number of No grants in aid of public instruction are given out of the public treasury; and those who are unable to pay for education are left dependent upon private efforts. Of the above-mentioned pupils, 3757 were receiving instruction gratuitously—540 being educated by the Sociedad Economica, 2111 by local subscriptions; while the remaining 1106 were gratuitously instructed by the teachers. It was announced in the Diario de la Marina of January 1862, that the government was about to establish nineteen primary free schools in Havana, Matanzas, and Puerto Prince, and two normal schools in Havana; but we are not aware that they have yet been organized. The royal university of Havana has medical and law schools. A six years study of medicine, and a classical education, are necessary for graduation in these sciences. Among the other educational institutions are the royal seminary of San Carlos y San Ambrosio, founded in 1773; a girls' seminary, founded in 1691; a free school of sculpture and painting, founded by the Sociedad Economica; a free mercantile school; and private institutions. A museum of natural history was established at Havana in 1838, and a botanical garden outside the walls in 1844. The Sociedad Economica, formerly called the Sociedad Patriotica, has for its object the advancement of education, agriculture, commerce, and popular industry. It publishes monthly a journal of its labors, and has a public library and branches in nine of the principal towns.
The Roman Catholic is the only religion tolerated by government. An effort was made a few years ago by England to obtain permission to erect a Protestant church at Havana, but without success. None can hold property or engage in any business in Cuba, without first acknowledging in writing that he is an apostatical Roman Catholic; but those who have tender consciences leave out the word "Roman," and the omission is winked at. Religion and morality, indeed, like education, are here at a very low ebb. The author of Cuba and the Cubans, himself a Catholic and a Cuban, says—"Nowhere is presented a more dark and distressing picture of unbelief, corruption, and immorality." At the present day a brief mass irreverently hurried through, and witnessed by a very few, is all that attests the Sabbath in Cuba. During service, all seem intent on showing, by their undignified disrespect, that they are neither believers, nor ashamed of their unbelief. The very priests themselves exhibit the same painful picture of an all-pervading, all-demoralizing infidelity; and the country curates may, as a class, be set down as examples of all that is corrupt, all that is disgusting in low and brutish vice. In the church itself there is no expounding, no reading even of the Gospel; no consolations are carried to the dying, as in the charitable communities that abound in other countries, whether Catholic or Protestant. At first there was but one diocese, which included not only the whole island, but also Louisiana and the two Floridas, all under one bishop. In 1788 Cuba was divided into two dioceses, each embracing half the island. The eastern diocese, or that of Santiago de Cuba, was in 1804 erected into an archbishopric, while that of Havana still remains under a bishop. The diocese of Havana embraces 44 parochial churches, and 79 auxiliary ones, and the archbishopric only 27 parochial churches and auxiliaries. The revenues of the church are derived from tithes on the products of the island (sugar estates established since 1805 being alone exempted), the fees of christenings, marriages, deaths, &c. The amount of tithes collected in 1847 is estimated at $267,444; and adding to this the estimated amount of the fees, the total revenue of the church may be calculated at about $625,000.
The island is divided into several distinct jurisdictions, as the civil, judicial, military, ecclesiastical, &c. The military is divided into two departments, a western and an eastern, each embracing half the island. There was a third department, the central; but that was suppressed in 1851, and it is said that the suppression also of the eastern department is in contemplation. Each department is under a commander-general, and is divided into sections, each under a commander-of-arms; the sections are subdivided into partidos and cuartones, each of the former being under a petty judge with the title of captain, and each of the latter under a leader of patrol. Politically, Cuba is divided into two provinces—the western, or that of Havana,—and the eastern, or that of Santiago. The judicial division contains two jurisdictions—the royal pretorian audience of Havana, and the royal audience of Puerto Prince. The maritime division comprises five provinces, which are subdivided into districts, each of the former having a commander, and each of the latter an adjutant. The ecclesiastical divisions have been already noticed. The captain-general is invested with almost unlimited powers, and is responsible only to the sovereign of Spain; he is the supreme head of the civil, military, and ecclesiastical jurisdictions of the island; his decisions are final, and his word is law. At Matanzas, Trinidad, Puerto Prince, and Cienfuegos, there are officers with the title of governor, whose duties, however, are of a judicial nature, extending to disputed points of every sort, civil, criminal, or military; and subordinate to them are eight lieutenancies, called capitánías á guerra. In all the cities and towns are municipal bodies, styled ayuntamientos perpetuos, exercising judicial functions. There are also in the rural districts jueces pedaneos, a sort of itinerant village judges or justices of the peace appointed by the local governors. All judges and other judicial functionaries are paid by fees instead of salaries; and the petty officers of the government, dependent on their fees, prey like so many wolves upon the unprotected within their jurisdiction.
The crown revenues of the island are the rentas maritimas, including duties on imports, exports, and tonnage, and the local or municipal duties levied at some of the custom-houses; the impuestas interiores, including the tax on home manufactures, sale of papal bulls and stamped paper, the profits derived from the lottery, and the impost on cockfights; deductions from the rentas eclesiasticas, particularly those called the royal mints and the consolidated fund, the sinking fund, the media annata, and the annual and monthly revenues of the clergy; personal deductions, such as from the pay of public functionaries, and the price of exemption from military service; miscellaneous receipts, as the produce of the sale of royal lands, the rents of vacant livings and of unclaimed estates, the produce of vendible offices; and casual receipts, including deposits, confiscations, donations, and the recovery of arrears. The total revenue received from these sources in 1849 was $12,664,329; and in 1850, $12,248,712.
The circulating medium of Cuba, like that of Spain, is composed entirely of the precious metals; paper money is unknown. The coins in use are the Spanish dabloon, or onza de oro, which is a legal tender for 17 hard dollars, and at the ordinary rate of exchange of 8½ per cent. is worth L.3, 10s. 10d. sterling; and the subdivisions of the dabloon, the half, the quarter, the eighth, and the sixteenth—the last being equivalent to a dollar and half a real. The Mexican, Colombian, and other South American dabloons are a legal tender for 16 hard dollars, equal to L.3, 6s. 8d. sterling; and are sometimes in demand for exportation at a premium; their divisions are worth eight, four, two, and one dollar respectively. Of silver coins, the Spanish dollar and its divisions, and also Mexican, United States, and South American dollars, are legal tenders at their nominal value.
The roads of Cuba are generally in a very wretched condition. Several railways have been established: the oldest, opened in 1838, extends from Havana to Guines, a distance of 45 miles, and has branches to Batabano, San Antonio, and Los Palos. A railway from Regla to the mines of Prosperidad has been abandoned. There are lines in operation from Matanzas to Sabanilla, Cardenas to Bamba, Jucaro to beyond Altamisa, and Puerto Prince to Nuevitas. The coast communication is kept up by steamers which ply regularly between the different ports. The number of coasting vessels that entered the port of Havana in 1851 was 3,523.
It is impossible, from the conflicting accounts of the different writers upon the subject, to arrive at anything like certainty as to the number of inhabitants on the island at the time of its conquest; but it may be estimated at probably from 300,000 to 400,000. There is little doubt, however, that before 1560 the whole of this population had disappeared from the island. The first census of Cuba was taken in 1775, when the population was 170,862. In 1791 it was 272,140. The following table gives the population since that period:
| Year | Whites | Free Blacks | Slaves | Total | |------|--------|-------------|-------|-------| | 1811 | 274,000 | 114,000 | 212,000 | 600,000 | | 1817 | 290,021 | 115,691 | 225,268 | 630,980 | | 1827 | 311,051 | 106,494 | 286,942 | 704,487 | | 1841 | 418,291 | 152,838 | 436,495 | 1,007,624 | | 1846 | 425,769 | 149,226 | 323,759 | 898,752 | | 1849 | 457,133 | 164,410 | 323,897 | 945,440 |
Neither of the two last censuses include the garrison, crews of vessels, or the floating population, so that by adding for that omission 40,000 to the census of 1846 the population would be 938,752, and 54,560 to that of 1849 the whole number of souls in the island would be 1,000,000. The census of 1846 gives the population of the principal towns as follows:—Havana 106,968, Puerto Prince 19,168, Santiago de Cuba 24,005, Matanzas 16,968, Trinidad 13,222. The population of Havana in 1849 is given at 142,002, and in 1850 at 150,561.
The population of Cuba, according to the latest official statements, is given in the subjoined table. The total fixed population of the whole island according to this table was in 1853, 1,900,060:
### WESTERN DEPARTMENT
| Jurisdiction | Area in leagues, whites | Free Colored | Slaves | Total | |--------------|-------------------------|--------------|-------|-------| | Pinar del Rio | 312 | 21,843 | 3,824 | 9,998 | | S. Cristobal | 70 | 11,578 | 1,923 | 6,548 | | Bahia-bonita | 64 | 621 | 5,041 | 2,229 | | Mariel | 38 | 15,921 | 2,949 | 19,622 | | San Antonio | 13 | 12,924 | 1,721 | 10,188 | | Havana | 75 | 87,916 | 32,594 | 26,850 | | Santiago | 18 | 7,194 | 1,697 | 4,964 | | Bejucal | 16 | 10,817 | 1,746 | 7,638 | | Guanabacoa | 26 | 11,564 | 2,841 | 5,428 | | Río Ciego | 95 | 18,214 | 2,442 | 16,918 | | Jaruco | 43 | 10,218 | 1,875 | 8,136 | | Matanzas | 72 | 34,723 | 4,968 | 40,728 | | Cardenas | 106 | 27,525 | 3,836 | 55,016 | | Sagua | 123 | 2,634 | 1,173 | 10,901 | | Cienfuegos | 105 | 17,811 | 4,124 | 11,318 | | Santa Clara | 113 | 25,592 | 8,528 | 5,301 | | Trujillo | 73 | 15,908 | 7,224 | 9,180 | | Remedios | 295 | 15,149 | 3,821 | 4,612 | | Sto. Espiritu | 321 | 24,321 | 6,334 | 8,615 | | **Total** | 2,028 | 397,451 | 98,442 | 208,717 |
### EASTERN DIVISION
| Porto Prince | 505 | 26,850 | 15,818 | 9,261 | | Nuevitas | 150 | 2,721 | 697 | 1,742 | | Tunas | 229 | 3,818 | 1,821 | 722 | | Manzanilla | 116 | 7,321 | 11,143 | 917 | | Holguin | 212 | 19,457 | 3,271 | 3,827 | | Bayamo | 110 | 10,721 | 11,267 | 2,717 | | Jiguan | 26 | 2,597 | 3,281 | 1,928 | | Cuba | 257 | 21,254 | 2,978 | 3,400 | | Guantánamo | 134 | 1,574 | 2,281 | 9,928 | | Baracoa | 123 | 3,847 | 3,721 | 1,842 | | **Total** | 1,945 | 104,537 | 78,255 | 61,708 |
The inhabitants of Cuba are divided into 4 classes,—the native Spaniards, who occupy nearly all the offices of power and trust; the Creoles, who are mostly planters, farmers, or lawyers, and are generally looked upon with contempt by the Spaniards; the third class, composed of free mulattoes and free negroes in about equal parts, who are excluded by law from all civil offices; the slaves, constituting the fourth class, are divided into bozales, those recently brought from Africa—the ladinos, those imported before the law of 1821 prohibiting the slave trade—and the criollos, those born on the island. Cuba has long been notorious for the extent to which the slave trade has been carried on there, and the ineffectual efforts made to suppress it. The English government at length succeeded in 1853 in inducing the Spanish government to pledge itself to adopt measures for its suppression; but as yet little effort has been made to check it.
Under a better and more liberal system of government, there can be no doubt that Cuba would speedily attain a much higher state of prosperity and importance than it has yet enjoyed. Great as is its productiveness at present, some writers assert that under a good government it would be increased five-fold; its mineral resources would then be fully developed, and it would be able fully to take advantage of its admirable position to develop its trade. The continuance of the present line of policy in reference to Cuba must undoubtedly in time lead to a revolution which Spain of itself will be unable to quell. Not to mention the heavy taxes with which the natives are burdened, the old exclusive system is here still in full force; offices of trust and emolument are almost without exception bestowed upon persons from Spain; the governor-general is the sole medium of communication between the colonists and the crown; his power is absolute, and from his decrees there is no appeal; and indeed the island has been under martial law since 1825. The governor-ship is notoriously sought after and bestowed as a means of acquiring or repairing a fortune, and a five years' tenure of office is considered sufficient to realize a fortune of half a million sterling. It is said that in the event of a revolution in the island, Spain relies upon the aid of England and France; but even were these powers to render assistance it would probably be only of a pacific nature, and limited to an attempt to obtain for the island a more liberal and congenial form of government. Indeed we doubt not that any active measures taken by other powers to aid Spain in quelling such a revolution would gladly be seized upon by the United States as an excuse for rendering assistance to the insurgents, and obtaining for Cuba a place in the Union. The United States have long been looking with an acquisitive eye upon this island; and although they may not as a body sympathize with such piratical expeditions as that of Lopez in 1850, yet it cannot be denied that they would gladly possess this island by less dishonest means. The opinion of their government upon this subject may be gathered from a despatch of the late President Adams, in which he says that Cuba has "an importance in the sum of our national interests with which that of no other foreign territory can be compared, and little inferior to that which binds the different members of this Union together;" and "that if an apple severed by the tempest from its native tree could not choose but fall to the ground, so Cuba forcibly disjoined from its own unnatural connection with Spain, and incapable of self-support, could gravitate only towards the North American Union; which by the same law of nature could not cast her off from its bosom." The hope of its one day becoming a part of the Union no doubt influenced the States' government in rejecting the "Tripartite Treaty" proposed to it by France and England;—that neither of these three governments should now or at any future time obtain possession of Cuba, and that they bind themselves to discountenance all such attempts to that effect on the part of any power or government whatever. Although from its position, being, as it is called, the "key of the Gulf of Mexico," its occupation by any powerful state might materially affect... their commercial interests in that part, yet in the same way its being in the possession of the States might materially affect the interests of England and France—they too are extensively engaged in the Gulf trade, and have also valuable possessions in the neighbourhood of Cuba. Some years ago an attempt was made by the States to enter into negotiations for the purchase of Cuba. They offered one hundred million of dollars as the maximum price; but the answer of the minister of state was, "that it was more than any minister dare to entertain such proposition; that he believed such to be the feeling of the country that sooner than see the island transferred to any power they would prefer seeing it sunk in the ocean." Negotiations are said to have been resumed recently by the States' government for its purchase at the price of one hundred and fifty million of dollars, but it is not yet known with what success. We cannot refrain from here giving the opinion upon the subject of one of the Americans themselves, a writer in Hunt's Merchants' Magazine for 1853. "That island is in no sense ours because of its situation; the claim that whatever we deem important upon our boundaries, belongs rightfully to us, or is to be acquired in defiance of the rights and interests of others, needs no other refutation than simply to trace it to its result—an assertion of universal proprietorship. In the second place let us remember that the matter is environed with difficulties and dangers, and those most formidable—deeply affecting both our foreign relations and our internal affairs—perhaps our very existence as a nation. Finally, regarding the argument of interest, by itself, let us strip it of all the fictitious colourings attached to it. The plea of an interest amounting to a necessity is false. After all, we have ground for but a very moderate interest in Cuba. We can be safe and great without Cuba. Our Gulf and Mississippi trade is likely, under the ability of self-protection we have now attained, to have just as free passage, inwardly and outwardly, if we do not acquire Cuba, as if we do—and might not be greatly disturbed, even were England its proprietor. With fortifications at Key West and other points on the Florida shore, and a fleet, if need be, in the channel, our merchant vessels would be tolerably secure of a way at all times—quite as much so probably as if we owned Cuba. But if we could claim Cuba on this ground of commercial necessity, ought we not to assent to the propriety of the supposed design of Russia on the Dardanelles? Ought she not, too, to possess the island of Zealand, at the mouth of the Baltic? Should not England also seize the northern coast of France, in order to secure the passage of the English Channel? Has not France an equal right to the south coast of England? And, finally, as to Cuba itself, would not the claim of Mexico be just as good as our own?" It does not follow that because Cuba throws off the yoke of Spain it necessarily puts on that of the United States; indeed the Cubans do not seem to have exhibited any strong desire for a connection with that government. In the event of its separation from Spain, its only proper position seems to be that of a distinct and independent state; and we believe that it has within itself every material for self-government and self-defence.