The History of Cuba, vol. 1

by Willis Fletcher Johnson

The third unfavorable feature of the time was the haggling over La Fuerza. Begun by De Soto, and later almost entirely rebuilt, that famous fortress seemed to be under some malign spell which made it a source of injury rather than of benefit to Havana. Year after year passed, appropriation after appropriation was made and expended, and still it remained unfinished. Man after man undertook the task of completing it, only to fail and lose his personal reputation either for efficiency or for honesty. Moreover, as the work proceeded grave faults were developed, both in plan and in construction. The fort, which at first had been denounced as needlessly large, was seen to be entirely too small to shelter a garrison sufficient for the defence of Havana. The original design had been to make it a shelter to which all the people of the town could flee in case of attack, and it might have served this purpose at a time when the people of Havana were numbered by scores, or at most by a hundred or two. But with the figures extending into thousands it became evident that La Fuerza was entirely inadequate to any such purpose. Indeed, it was realized that that design was ill-conceived, for if the place was to grow into a considerable city it would be impracticable and undesirable to make any fortification large enough to hold all the population.

The construction was also faulty. The fort was built of stone, but there had thoughtlessly been chosen for the purpose a stone which had the advantages of being plentiful and so soft as to be easily worked. Unhappily it had also the very serious disadvantages of being so soft that it would probably soon be battered to fragments by cannon balls, and of being so porous that water soaked into and through it as through a sponge. During the rainy season the place was flooded, water standing in pools on the floor, and the magazine being so wet that gunpowder could not be kept there without spoiling; wherefore another building, of wood, had to be provided for that purpose. The same kind of stone was used, moreover, for the reservoir which was to provide fort and city with water, with the result that its contents quickly leaked out. There arose a proverbial saying in the city that the powder magazine was always wet and the water reservoir was always dry; and it was sarcastically proposed that the functions of the two be exchanged. The powder would be kept dry in the reservoir, and there would always be plenty of water in the magazine! Nor was this the only error in construction. The whole structure was said to be dangerously weak, so that if all its guns should be fired simultaneously, the shock might tumble the walls into ruin. The guns were available for use in only a narrow zone; they were of too short range to carry to the other extremity of the harbor, and they were so placed that they could not be depressed so as to hit vessels which had come close in toward the water front of the city. Therefore a hostile ship with long range guns could lie out of reach of La Fuerza and bombard the fort and city at will. Or one could sail swiftly in, running the gantlet of the narrow zone of fire, and gain a place under the walls of the fort where it would be quite safe for the guns of the latter while it could use its own at short range with deadly effect. It was also complained that the parapet was too low to afford shelter to the men serving the guns, and that the four big wooden gates were a source of fatal weakness.

It was presently perceived, too, that fortifications elsewhere than in the heart of the city were needed for adequate defence of the place. Especially were such works needed at the headlands commanding the entrance to the harbor. Without them, a daring enemy might seize one of those spots, bring up some long range guns from his ships, and have not only Havana but La Fuerza itself at his mercy. Montalvo appears to have recognized this need, and to have urged the construction of such forts, especially on the Cabañas hill, but to no avail. Instead, the royal government proposed the construction of a strong wall around the entire city, including the water front. It actually ordered that work to be undertaken, the first step being to destroy a large part of the city, including the church, to make room for the wall. Against this suicidal policy Montalvo effectively protested, declaring that if the city were thus demolished it would never be rebuilt, and also pointing out that the day of walled cities was past. In the face of his representations the wall scheme was abandoned; but his wise suggestions of forts commanding the harbor were not acted upon until years afterward.

It is to be recorded to his credit that Montalvo gave more attention than his immediate predecessors had done to development of some of the natural resources of the island. He interested himself in forestry, and soon had an immense trade in timber and lumber between Cuba and Spain. The exquisite cabinet work of the Escurial, in Spain, was made of wood from the forests of Cuba—mahogany, ebony, ironwood, cedar, and what not. Wood was supplied for other purposes, too, notably for ship-building. It was at this time that interest arose in the great island just off the southern coast, which at that time was so richly clad with pine forests as to receive from Montalvo on that account its present name of "Isle of Pines." During the administration of Menendez the whole island was granted to Alfonso de Rojas for a cattle range, a purpose for which it was admirably adapted, and there are legends to the effect that the water between the Isle of Pines and Cuba was at times so shallow as to make it possible to drive herds of cattle across from the one land to the other. It is to be observed, in passing, that thus early in history was the Isle of Pines recognized as an integral part of Cuba.

Montalvo also did much to promote agriculture, and the raising of swine. He endeavored to revive interest in both gold and copper mining, and seems to have been persuaded that there were enormously rich deposits of the former metal hidden somewhere on the island, in places known only to the natives. He strove diligently and persistently to get from the few surviving Indians information concerning these mines, but in vain. If the Indians knew, they would not tell; but it seems altogether probable that they did not know, and that no such mineral wealth existed on the island.

It was in Montalvo's time, too, that what was destined to become Cuba's greatest industry had its permanent establishment. At various times and places thitherto men had experimented with sugar growing and manufacture, with varying degrees of success. But every such undertaking had after a while been abandoned, either for lack of profit or because of the superior attractions of something else. It was not until 1576 that plantations were established which were never to be abandoned but were to continue in cultivation down to this present time, and that sugar mills of similar permanence were put into operation. The scene of this epochal enterprise was the region around Havana, particularly between Havana and Matanzas. There in the year named at least three mills were established, a fact indicating that a considerable area was planted in cane. These mills were of the most primitive description, each consisting of three wooden rollers, formed of logs of trees denuded of the bark, mounted in a rude frame of timber, and caused to revolve by a long pole of which one end was fastened to the end of one of the upright rollers while to the other was hitched a mule or an ox, which walked in a circle around the "mill." The expressed juice was caught in trays or jars of earthenware, and then was boiled in open pans. The sugar thus produced was not refined beyond the stage of what would now be considered a very coarse brown sugar, but it served the uses of the island. It does not appear that any considerable quantity was exported until a number of years later. These primitive establishments in 1576 were, however, the beginning of Cuba's gigantic sugar industry.

One other incident of Montalvo's administration must be recalled, to wit, his quarrel with the church, or at least with the Bishop. Diego Sarmiento, who became Bishop in De Soto's time, had been gathered to his fathers, and had been succeeded by Bishop Durango. The latter had in turn died, and in 1560 had been succeeded by Bernardino de Villapando, who spent only three years in the island and then departed for Mexico under unpleasant charges of embezzlement of funds. The charges against him do not appear to have been pressed, nor did they affect his standing in the church, for he was presently transferred to the then much more important see of Guatemala. Moreover, despite the charges made against him, he was recognized as a most energetic and successful prelate. He established many mission stations throughout the island, and expedited the completion of the cathedral at Santiago.

Upon his promotion to Guatemala after three years' service Bishop Villapando was succeeded by Juan de Burgos, who continued with much success the work of his predecessor. He secured the erection of a large church school on the site now occupied by the Hospital of San Juan de Dios, at Havana, and there the famous missionary preachers and teachers, Juan Roger and Francisco Villaroel, gave instruction to Indian youths in the Christian religion and in the Spanish tongue. In connection with this school there was built the church of San Juan de Dios, and from the establishment thus founded by Bishop Burgos grew the first hospital in Havana. It took originally the form of a military hospital, for the soldiers of the Havana garrison and for soldiers in transit to or from Florida, Mexico and other places. It is recorded that for his work Bishop Burgos depended entirely upon the offerings of the people; demonstrating what could be accomplished by an honest and businesslike administrator.

The next Bishop of Cuba was Pedro del Castillo, who came to the island from the University of Salamanca. He was a most aggressive and strenuous prelate, with policies of his own and with the courage to enforce them. Arriving in Cuba in 1570, he glanced at Santiago when he landed there, crossed the island to Havana, where he spent a little time, and then proceeded to Bayamo, where he established his home, preferring that to any other city of Cuba. He then laid claim to the island of Jamaica as a part of his bishopric, and succeeded in carrying that point despite the opposition of the Archbishop at Hispaniola. Then he complained that the royal officials were not properly collecting the tithes, or at any rate were not paying him his proper revenue; wherefore he himself began collecting the tithes. This brought him into conflict with the crown, a circumstance which did not alarm him nor swerve him from his course. He made a number of appointments of the clergy under him which he deemed to be for the good of their parishes but which made him unpopular with them. Also he incurred much unpopularity among the people by his insistence upon certain reforms in their morals.

This strenuous policy presently led Castillo into conflict with Montalvo. The Governor thought that the Bishop ought to reside at Santiago, where were his official residence and also the Cathedral. Castillo refused to do so, on the nominal ground that he considered Santiago an unhealthful spot. There is reason to suspect, however, that he preferred Bayamo because of certain very rich legacies which had been left years before for the erection of a masonry church and parochial school at that place. The provisions of these wills had not been carried out, and the strenuous Bishop set himself to the task of finding out why the church and school had not been built, and of getting possession of the legacies and administering them himself. In the litigation which ensued he quarrelled with Montalvo so bitterly that he excommunicated him; an act which the governor did not take greatly to heart. The strife between the two accentuated, however, the antagonism between church and state which was even at that early time beginning to prevail.