The Spanish Government, have accordingly spared no expence in fortifying the Havannah, on which they seem to place their chief dependence for the security of their ultramarine colonies.
Cuba was discovered by Columbus during his first voyage in the year 1492, on Sunday the 28th of October. The natives of San Salvador, the first land he made, called it by its present name, Cuba; Columbus, however, named it after the king or queen of Spain; but it retained this title only for a short time, the native name soon taking precedency of the other. Columbus appears to have made his research in this island, from the reports of the Indians of San Salvador; when he arrived with his ships at the estuary of a large river, the inhabitants imagining some terrible event was about to befall them, fled to the interior; he, however, sent some of his people after them; they fell down astonished at the feet of these men, whom they imagined to be gods, and gave them different articles the produce of the country, amongst which were golden ornaments, made, as they said, in the mountains; and the Europeans imagined they had found the mines of gold and silver they were taught to imagine existed in this quarter of the world.
Columbus visited the greater part of the north coast of the island, in search of the precious metals, but the Spanish adventurers were disappointed in their hopes, gold being found only in very small quantities. They in some measure consoled themselves by the reflection, that the continent, as they imagined Cuba to be, might contain these valuable articles in some other part, and by the certainty, that the part they were now in, was fertile, beautiful and rich in the vegetable productions of nature. The Spaniards imagined that Cuba was a part of an immense continent, till the year 1508, when an officer of the name of Obando, circumnavigated it, and by this means ascertained that it was the largest of the islands hitherto discovered in those seas. The brother of Columbus, in the year 1511, in his capacity of admiral, and governor of Hispaniola, sent Don Jago Velasques with a force of 300 men, to conquer and colonize Cuba, which having performed, Velasquez was appointed governor of the island; his principal town he founded on the southern coast, and called it St. Jago; this situation he chose on account of the largeness and fineness of the harbour; he then built the city of the Havannah, at first of wooden houses, and afterwards with stone.
The climate of Cuba is better than that of any other island in the West Indian seas, excepting Puerto Rico; it is mild and temperate, and they have no winter; the summer heat is moderated by the rains and sea-breezes; the periodical rains lasting during the months of July and August.
The fertility of Cuba is celebrated; spices, among which are pepper and ginger; cassia, manioc, cacao, maize, aloes, mastic, sugar, tobacco, the flavour of which is superior to that of any other part of the world, known in commerce by the name of Havannah, and sold to an enormous amount in cigars, with many other articles the produce of tropical climates, constitute the riches of this fine island. Coffee, though cultivated, is so little attended to in the plantations, that not so much is grown for exportation as might easily be raised. Honey is one of the great articles of the export trade, and is annually produced to a great amount, as wax is also. Cattle, originally from Europe, have multiplied so much in Cuba, that they have become wild, and frequent, in immense droves, the forests and savannahs, or marshy plains; they are hunted for the sake of their hides and tallow, which are exported to a great amount.
The forests also abound with swine, which have multiplied in a similar manner; and the inhabitants possess large stocks of mules, horses, fine black cattle, and sheep, all of which thrive very much.
The woods chiefly consist of timber of valuable qualities, the red cedar, oaks, firs, palms, mahogany, ebony, lignum vitæ; woods producing gums, aromatic and medicinal, &c.
The rivers and coasts abound with fish, and fine turtles frequent the shallows. The birds of Cuba are principally the parrot, and paroquet, American partridge, turtle-dove, and great varieties of aquatic birds.
In this island there are supposed to exist veins of gold and silver, because the inhabitants procure a small quantity of those metals in the sands of the rivers which descend from the mountains. The great metallic production of Cuba is copper, of which some valuable mines exist in the eastern part of the island, with which a trade is carried on amongst the West India islands, and the ports of the southern continent.