Category: Cubana Linda

1842: Six vessels operate along both coasts of Cuba.

Domitila, a widow with a small son, lives through an 18-month siege of Sancti Espiritu, initiated by General Valeriano Weyler, (1896-1897) inventor of the modern concentration camp. Thousands of peasants and farmworkers are forced off the land, crowded into wooden barracks constructed in pits, dotting the outer barrios of cities.

1597: The Castillo del Morro fortress is completed above the eastern entrance to Havana Harbor.

1607: Havana is officially named capital of Cuba.

1628: Dutch fleet led by Piet Heyn plunders the Spanish fleet in Havana Harbor.

1662: The English fleet led by Christopher Myngs captures Santiago de Cuba to opens trade with neighboring Jamaica.

1762: The English fleet takes over Havana Harbor; the British troops suffer atrocious losses due to fever. The two governments reach agreement that Spain will cede Florida in exchange for keeping Cuba.

1791: The Haitian slaves revolt against the planters under the direction of Francois Toussaint Overture; he is captured by trickery and dies in a French prison.

1793-1803: After years of bitter and bloody battles, the slaves, led by Haitian successor to Overture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, forces the French to flee Haiti. More than 30,000 French, white refugees come to Cuba after the rebellion.

1812: A group of Cuban slaves headed by Jose Antonio Aponte plan a revolt. The plot is discovered and Aponte is hung, but revolts by slaves continue.