LAUREL DITCH, CABANAS FORTRESS
LAUREL DITCH, CABANAS FORTRESSThe Cabanas fortress stands near the Morro Castle, at the eastern side of the entrance to the harbor of Havana, and ranks with the Morro and La Punta, on the western headland, as one of the historic fortifications of the capital. Like the Morro Castle, it was used by the Spaniards as a prison, and the Laurel Ditch, under its landward walls, was the scene of many a martyrdom of Cuban patriots. Here men and boys innumerable, during the years of Cuba's struggles to be free, were lined up to be shot, until the massive wall was thickly pitted with the marks of bullets fired not at the foes but at the friends of Cuba.
LAUREL DITCH, CABANAS FORTRESS
The Cabanas fortress stands near the Morro Castle, at the eastern side of the entrance to the harbor of Havana, and ranks with the Morro and La Punta, on the western headland, as one of the historic fortifications of the capital. Like the Morro Castle, it was used by the Spaniards as a prison, and the Laurel Ditch, under its landward walls, was the scene of many a martyrdom of Cuban patriots. Here men and boys innumerable, during the years of Cuba's struggles to be free, were lined up to be shot, until the massive wall was thickly pitted with the marks of bullets fired not at the foes but at the friends of Cuba.
The consternation of the inhabitants can be imagined when suddenly the bells began to ring and the cannons to thunder. The people rushed out of their houses. Some were armed; but the greater part had no weapons and hurried to the Sala Real, where fifteen hundred guns were stored away with some old carabines, swords, bayonets, and other weapons, mostly out of order and too old to be of any use. They were quickly distributed among the people. The war council assembled. The governor, the Royal Lieutenant, the General of the Navy, the Marquesof the Royal Transports, the Commissary D. Lorenzo Montalvo and the distinguished visitors, the Commander-in-Chief Conde de Superanda and Field Marshal D. Diego Tabares were present. It was decided to charge Colonel D. Carlos Caro with the task of opposing and preventing the enemy's debarkation at Cojimar and Boconao, and to collect the cavalry of that place, a few companies of infantry, militia and lancers, in all about three thousand men, at this point. La Cabanas was rapidly supplied with artillery. But in the meantime the enemy, according to the testimony of a British officer's journal, had already landed troops and overcome the resistance of the very places to the support of which these forces were sent!
The military defense of Havana, as described by Blanchet, presented a sorry spectacle. It consisted of eight hundred and ten cavalry, three thousand five hundred infantry, three hundred artillery, nine thousand marines and fourteen thousand militia. The armament of these troops was insufficient in quantity and inferior in quality. Twelve vessels were anchored in the port. The entrance was protected by the Morro with fourteen cannons, the battery of the Doce Apostoles with twelve guns, that of the Divina Pastora with fourteen guns and the fort of la Punta. In the city there were the twenty two guns of la Fuerza, the residence of the Captain-General, and the depository of the royal estates. The condition of the walls was unsatisfactory. The town was dominated by fortified heights, which, however, were very accessible. It is not difficult to imagine the state of the people when the news reached the town that Cojimar and Boconao had fallen. When on the following day General Eliot defeated D. Luis Rasave and took Guanabacoa, Colonel Caro, who had been little more than a spectator, retired to Havana. The population was in a panic.
The war council then entrusted the defense of the Morro to D. Luis Vicente Velasco, a native of Villa de Noja in Santander and commander of the vesselLa Reina. Defenses were hurriedly put up at Chorrera and Cabanas. All residents unable to bear arms were advised to leave the city. Soon a procession of women and children and members of the religious orders of both sexes, with here and there the calash of some wealthy family, were seen to proceed along the roads radiating from the city towards the suburbs and the more remote haciendas, under the protection of a detachment of troops. It was a heartrending picture to see these crowds, trudging along on foot in the cruel heat of the tropical sun, on roads almost impassable from recent rains. Many succumbed to the hardships of this exodus. Others were dumb with terror as they realized that they might never again see their fathers, brothers and husbands. Again others gave vent to their high-strung emotions by loud wails. About the time this evacuation took place, fire was set to the suburbs outside of the city walls and unspeakable was the distress of innumerable unfortunate families, who in the face of foreign invasion saw their homes reduced to ashes.
A part of the British fleet was seen sailing at this time towards the leeward part of the island with the manifest intention of making another landing. The population was dazed. Some men rushed out to defend their homes and their women, but the greater number was so overcome by the calamity confronting them, that their wills seemed paralyzed and they dumbly awaited the blow that was coming. The next day the work of fortifying la Cabanas began in such an exposed place on the border of the city that rifle bullets could reach the Plaza de los Armas. The construction of a trench was also begun. It was intended to hold one hundred cannon, but afternine or ten had been mounted, the war council changed its plan, ordered the destruction of the trench and had the artillery brought down. This was done in the night of the ninth of June and fire was set to some houses on the hill. The people were startled by this surprising procedure and began not only to grumble, but to talk of treason.
As the British fleet was then menacing the port, the three vessels,Neptune,EuropaandAsia, were concentrated in the canal of the entrance. With the huge iron beams that closed it and the artillery of the harbor, they acted like forts securing its safety. It seemed as if these land batteries could prevent the landing of any enemy vessel. But the war council wanted to improve upon this measure and decided to sinkNeptuneandEuropa, during the hurried execution of which order two sailors were drowned. Still bent upon what seemed an improvement, two days later theAsia, too, was sunk. The British, supposing the port to be closed, anchored along the coast, landed five thousand men and after defeating the land forces, the fleet entered the canal without encountering serious obstacles. But the Spanish authorities continued to commit more blunders. Appointing as commanders of the land-forces officers of the fleet, the army of course resented this as an insult. The task of mobilizing the troops was entrusted to D. Juan Ignacio de Madriaga; the defense of el Morro had been given to D. Luis Vicente de Velasco, whose second was D. Bartolome Montes, and that of la Punta to D. Manuel Briseno, who was soon relieved by D. Fernando de Lortia. Almost all the army posts were occupied by officers of the fleet. The reasons for these measures which seemed absolutely senseless in view of the critical situation, were hotly discussed and some malicious tongues asserted that the object of thiscurious disposition was to prevent the fleet from making its escape.
On the tenth of June a British division moved from the leeward part of the fort of Chorrera, a short distance from the port, with the object of landing troops. They met with greater resistance than they had reason to expect; for the defense was here aided by the loyal executor D. Luis de Aguiar, who had been appointed Colonel of the militia. All day his men fought bravely; they consisted of whites and negroes. They expected a supply of powder and ammunition from an official of Guadeloupe, but he by mistake had delivered them at la Caleta. Finally their stock gave out, and, obeying the order of a superior officer, Aguiar withdrew his troops with little loss. The British then advanced about three thousand men strong, until they reached the hill of San Lazaro, where they dug trenches and prepared a new encampment. They also occupied and fortified the height of the caves, called Taganana, where they mounted three cannon and two large mortars. With two vessels, armed with bombs, in the small bay, the fire they kept up helped the camp on the weather-side, at which the chief force was concentrated. They then proceeded to erect batteries on the height of la Cabanas and were at first much molested during their work by Aguiar, Chacon and the guerilla Pepe Antonio, who had collected a force at that point. A detachment of militia under the command of Captain D. Pedro de Morales was sent to reenforce them, but on the next day he was surprised by the British, who thus came into possession of this important place.
In the meantime, the British expedition was beginning to suffer much from incessant rains, alternating with excessive heat. Their work was retarded as much by the weather as by the physical condition of their forces, whichbegan to suffer from the climate and fatigue. The resistance of the Cubans was increasing in proportion as the enemy drew near. During the last days of June, Colonel D. Alejandro de Arroyo landed a body of six hundred men at Pastora battery. Simultaneously the naval lieutenant D. Francisco de Corral placed three hundred men at Norno de Barba. The plan was to spike up the enemy's artillery. But laudable as was the ambition of the commanders, their ability of achievement was not in proportion. Their forces, too, were sadly inferior in number to those of the British. The Captain of the infantry of the fleet, D. Manuel de Frias, was made prisoner, three hundred of his troops were killed and forty men wounded. The force of Col. Arroyo also sustained heavy losses, especially the grenadiers of Arrajon.
A council held at el Morro resulted in the election by the commanders of D. Luis Vicente de Velasco as their head and chief. No man was more able or worthy to fill this responsible position. Untiring in his efforts to defend the fortress, Velasco resolutely and capably endeavored to foil the enemy's designs. But he was out-numbered and the danger grew daily nearer. Though at a great loss to their forces, the British forged ahead and surrounded Velasco with a continuous fire. With the port closed to the Cuban squadron they were free to place their cannon as they went along. The rain of bullets, bombs and grenades was incessant and the breakdown of the bastions inevitable. The garrison seemed to be doomed. The commander declared that it would not be possible to maintain his position without some aid from the camp, but while the walls were being gradually destroyed by the enemy, he did not venture a well organized sortie. On the first of July el Morro was attacked by the batteries which the British had planted on el Cabanas andthe fire from three vessels, among them theCambridgeand theDragon. The valor of Velasco inspired his troops, pathetically small in comparison with those of the British. After seven hours of the hottest fire, theCambridgeand theDragonwere so badly battered that they were forced to the rear. The British lost three hundred men, among them Captain Goostree of theCambridge. So fierce had been the resistance offered by Velasco and the few cannon at his disposal, that the British camp, which had been pouring a rain of bombs on el Morro, finally ceased firing. So the honor of this day belonged to the Spanish commander.
It is interesting at this point to revert to the journal of the British officer, who took part in this memorable siege of Havana. After reporting under date of July third that their great battery had caught fire, he continues on the following day:
"The Morro was now found to be tougher work and the Spaniards more resolute than was at first imagined. Our people grew fatigued by the heat and hard labour and the want of water near them was a sensible distress, and the disappointment of the Morro's not being reduced so speedily as at first they were made to hope, helped to depress the spirits of the weak and low minds; but we found every want relieved and amply made up for by the Admiral's attention, not only to supply every article that could be asked, but by his own sagacity, foreseeing and his precaution providing everything we could want."
During the following days the British seem to have suffered much from the climate. The writer of the journal records that the men in general "fall down with fevers and fluxes, but few are carried off by them." Admiral Keppel was much weakened by illness and fatigue, butthis discouraging entry is followed immediately by a cheerier note, dated July 8th and 9th:
"Every one was exerting himself in his different station and with such zeal as gave fresh hopes to our undertaking, notwithstanding the melancholy scene of the infinite number of sick and the apprehension of the approaching hurricane season."
The British had begun to realize the failure of the naval attempt to reduce el Morro. They tried to fortify themselves in the harbor and established the lee-shore camp on the slope of Aroztegui, the same on which El Principe was situated. From this point they undertook many movements, but were always driven back. In spite of these temporary and local successes the Cuban authorities now fully realized that their situation was almost hopeless and devised various measures to stay the progress of the enemy. The magistrates D. Luis de Aguiar and D. Laureane Chacon were made colonels of the militia. They decided to stop the forays and attacks from that encampment, and D. Aguiar established himself in the Horon and tried to dislodge the enemy from various points to which they had penetrated. His undertaking was successful, as was proved by the number of prisoners taken. The hostile forces at Taganana, however, did much mischief and he resolved to attack them on the night of the eighteenth of July. His troops consisted of peasants and negro slaves and fought so effectively, that he was able to send to the fortress eighteen prisoners, including an officer and many trophies. The governor was so elated by this success that he gave one hundred and four negro slaves, that had taken part, their liberty.
The British officer in his journal alludes in the entries of these days to the heavy losses sustained by the British,but dwells more upon the ravages caused by disease. The sick list increasing, the guards had to be reduced. The necessity of having a supply of fresh meat for the invalids and convalescents worried them much. They had counted upon getting it from Santiago and Bejucal, where the rich plantations and pastures were, and a monastery that promised rich loot. But D. Laureane Chacon anticipated their movements in that direction. He concentrated some troops four leagues leeward from Wajay, and thus not only checked their progress, but by his persistent opposition weakened their forces.
Many of the smaller actions that were undertaken against the British by the Cubans were by volunteer forces recruited by veteran fighters, who had not been associated with the army proper, and their manner of waging war was of the kind called guerrilla warfare. Nevertheless they did active and efficient work and had they not been hindered and restrained by orders from the regulars, they might have accomplished much more. The Lieutenant Diego Ruiz lost his life in such an enterprise. Another famous guerrilla, the valiant fighter known as Pepe Antonio, had won the esteem of the whole army by his courage. He had collected a force of three hundred men and was planning an ambitious assault upon the enemy, when he was called to report to Colonel Caro, who commanded the encampment at Jesus del Monte and San Juan. Colonel Caro, who had not during the siege distinguished himself by any extraordinary achievements, not only censured Pepe Antonio severely, but discharged him. The valiant patriot hero of many daring exploits was so grieved by this injustice that he died within five days.
Among these side plays of the great siege an expedition led by Colonel Gutierrez had some successful encounterswith the British. D. Luis de Aguiar and D. Laureane Chacon, too, who had gathered under their command the brave youths of the country side, were untiring in their efforts to weaken the British. They prevented them from establishing a cordon and cutting communication with the fort and were themselves enabled uninterruptedly to secure provisions and supplies with which to carry on their operations. Less fortunate was the attack upon Cabanas by D. Juan Benito Lujan with a thousand militia men from the interior of the island. At daybreak, on the twenty-second of July, according to the British officer, the Spanish at el Morro, having been enforced by twelve hundred men from the town, furiously attacked the British. But Brigadier Carleton directed so fierce a fire against them that their forces were driven into the water. He describes them as having consisted mainly of militia, some seamen, mulattoes and negroes. They lost four hundred dead, many wounded and seventy prisoners. A violent cannonade followed, during which Carleton was wounded.
While the British troops were encamped from La Cabanas to Cojimar they made many looting raids in the neighborhood, extending their incursions as far as San Miguel and Santa Maria del Rosario. They not only ransacked the churches for their treasures, but also private estates, and took away whatever they could carry. They had approached el Morro by the bulwark of Pina and a body of forty to fifty men in the shelter of some rocks maintained an incessant gunfire. The garrison of the fort, which was being steadily reduced by the rain of bombs and grenades, wanted to make a sortie into the open country, hoping there to be reenforced. Remaining in el Morro was becoming more and more perilous, because the enemy had undermined the fortress. D. Luis de Velasco, broken down by the strain and overwork receiveda blow on the shoulder, which temporarily disabled him. His aide, Mentes, was likewise wounded, and the two were replaced by D. Francisco Medina and D. Manuel de Cordova. During their absence nothing was done, for the peasantry, fond as they were of Velasco, were reluctant to fight and perhaps die under the command of another. Mentes returned on the third day, appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, and, joined by D. Juan Benito Lujan, who commanded one thousand men of Tierradentro and some colored troops from the fort, attempted a sally. But the British on the heights threw themselves upon the Cubans and overpowered them. The loss on both sides was so great, however, that the enemy had to ask for a truce to bury their dead. As the British said, the Spanish were valiant, but they had no head. If there had been at their head a man of foresight, and if unity of command had been insured at the beginning, the disaster might have been avoided.
The British forces were at this time beginning to suffer painfully for want of water and lack of fresh provisions. Five thousand men, and a great proportion of officers among them, were unfit for duty. But the arrival of North American troops under convoy of theIntrepidof sixty-four guns, revived the spirit of the expedition. The North Americans had lost a ship of forty guns and six transports in the old straits of Bahama, but the people were saved and encamped upon the shores, and the British Admiral sent frigates for them. One thousand and four hundred men under Brigadier Burton reenforced Col. Howe on the west side. The Cuban defense was also encouraged in these days, for Velasco, who had been wounded on the sixteenth of July, with second, Mentes, forced to seek medical care in the city, returned to his post at el Morro on the twenty-fourth. During the siege theSpanish vessels, with the exception of the frigatePerla, which was sunk by the foe, were singularly inactive. The critical and decisive moment of the siege came on the thirteenth of July, when at two o'clock in the afternoon the British sprung their mines. Through the breach they rapidly entered and captured the battery of San Nicolas. Although the garrison was so terrified that not a few soldiers had fled, the remaining offered a brave opposition to the invaders. D. Fernando Parrayo and thirteen men, supported by two cannon, fought heroically, while the British forces poured into the port. The British officer gives due credit to the Cuban commanders who desperately tried to save the honor of their country. He writes:
"The Marquis de Gonzales, commander of a man of war, etc., second in command of the fort, fell bravely endeavoring to animate and rally his people. Don Luis de Velasco, also Captain of theReinaman-of-war, soon after shared the same fate endeavoring to defend the colours of the fort, round which he had made a breastwork and had collected about 100 men, who soon fled and left him to that stroke he seemed to invite and wait for; for being shot through the breast he fell, offering his sword to the conquerors. Confusion and fright ensued, and as much slaughter; for near 400 of the enemy fell by the sword; as many more taken prisoners to whom the soldiers had generously given quarters, though no ways obliged by the rules of war. English colours were soon flying on the fort, that were welcomed by the loud huzzas of all the rejoiced army and navy. A parley ensued, and D. Luis de Velasco (not yet dead) was at his own request sent to breathe out his last at the Havana, where he expired a day after, leaving a name behind and a character that justly merited admiration and esteem from his opposites as respect and love from his confederates."
The historian Blanchet also reports that the British showed due reverence to the dead leader and that hostilities were for that reason suspended during the following day. They received a reenforcement of troops from New York on the second of August; but they had fallen in with three French men-of-war and some frigates on their passage, who took five or six transports with about five hundred men. Their forces were being decimated by the climate and the hardships. The British witness writes that finishing the batteries on Cabanas cost the lives of many poor seamen who were obliged to be day and night filling vessels with water for the men at work. Some men-of-war were sent down with transports to Mariel, for want of men made it unsafe for them to remain any longer on this most open and frightful coast, where the Spaniards as well as West Indians expressed their surprise and dread at seeing such a fleet ride so long in such a season.
When the British entered el Morro, they found only one hundred and two bronze cannon of various calibres, two hundred iron cannon, nine bronze mortars, two iron mortars, four thousand one hundred and fifty-seven rifles, five hundred hand grenades, four hundred and seventy empty grenades of various quality, seventeen thousand four hundred and four cannon balls, thirty quintals of rifle balls, one hundred and twenty-five thousand cartridges and five hundred quintals of powder. The sorrow at being forced to give up el Morro was great. Supported by the vesselAquilonthe quick fire from la Punta and the bulwarks of the place promptly demolished the fort. The Cuban vessels retired to the interior of the bay, fearing the bombs from la Cabanas. The commanders for the same reason sought shelter in the hospiteum of St. Isidore, which was situated at the point farthest awayfrom the fire. Yet the determination to continue to resist the invaders prevailed and a battery was formed on the elevation of Soto, where the fort of Attares was located, and fortifications were continued to be strengthened wherever it was possible.
The batteries of the British were completed on August tenth, and Lord Albemarle summoned the city to surrender. But Governor Prado relied upon reenforcements promised him by the governor of Santiago de Cuba and hoped also for the possible arrival of a French squadron, so he refused. The people, too, were opposed to surrender, for they had within the last six days received reenforcements from several sides; two hundred and twelve rifles and ammunition from the town of Cuba, five hundred more from Jagua and fifteen hundred on the very last day. However, the fierce fire which the British opened against Havana at daybreak on the eleventh of August, induced the commander of the Cuban forces to give up the last hope. About noon the Spanish ceased firing and at three o'clock in the afternoon flags of truce appeared everywhere. The governor sent word that Havana was ready to capitulate.
According to the British officer's journal the victors took possession of the town and port of Havana on the next day; they also became the owners of nine ships of the line, of seventy four and sixty four guns, two very large ones on the stocks, nearly completed, about twenty-five loaded merchant ships; nearly three million dollars belonging to the King and the Royal Company; about six hundred pieces of cannon, and great magazines of stores and merchandise of all kinds. He continues:
"But the most grateful at the time was, that it furnished us with fresh provisions, rest and shelter for the many thousands poor sick wretches we had in our camp andhospital ships, all mouldering away for want of nourishment when their disorders had left them. Our battalion is so weak that we have not above one hundred and fifty men fit for duty. I am told the navy is badly off. Our loss of killed and wounded is very trifling in comparison to that of the enemy. Theirs amounts to upwards of six thousand killed and dead of their wounds since, and of sickness."
The following day the governor ordered all weapons to be surrendered by military bodies as private individuals and Mayor D. Antonio Ramirez de Estenez was authorized to accord the articles of capitulation.
>Articles of Capitulation
ARTICLE I
The garrison will leave by the puerta de Tierra on the twenty-eighth of the present month, if there should not arrive before sufficient help to raise the siege, with all military honors, the soldiers with arms, hoisted flags, six field cannon, and the regiments will also remove the military cases with their contents, and besides six carriages of the Governor.
ARTICLE II
Said garrison will be permitted to remove from the town all luggage and money, and transport them to another place of the island.
ARTICLE III
That the ship crews of the port that had served on land shall in their departure enjoy the same honors as the garrison and be brought back to their vessels. They may sail to any other place of Spanish domination, on the condition that on their voyage until their arrival at their destinationthey shall not attack any vessel of H. British Majesty, of his allies, or any vessel of his subjects.
ARTICLE IV
That of all the artillery, arms, ammunition and provisions belonging to his Catholic Majesty, excepting those that particularly correspond with said fleet, an exact inventory shall be taken, with the assistance of four subjects of the king of Spain, who will be appointed by the governor, and four subjects of H. British Majesty, chosen by H. Ex Count Albemarle, who will take possession of all until both sovereigns agree otherwise.
ARTICLE V
That in this capitulation shall be comprised H. Ex Conde de Superanda, Lieutenant-General of the armies of H. Catholic Majesty, and former Viceroy of Peru, as well as Don Diego Tabares, Fieldmarshal of the same royal arms, and former Governor of Cartagena, who happens to be in that town on their way to Spain, together with their families. They shall be left in the possession of their baggage and their sailing to Spain shall be facilitated.
ARTICLE VI
That the Catholic Apostolic Roman religion shall be maintained, and conserved, as before exercised under H. Catholic Majesty, and that not the least impediment shall be placed in the public acts in regard to the rites exercised and with the churches, and the observation of religious feasts, and all priests, convents, monasteries, hospitals, societies, universities, colleges shall remain in the free enjoyment of their privileges and rights, as to their property and income, and furnitures, as they had enjoyed before.
ARTICLE VII
That the Bishop of Cuba shall likewise conserve his rights, privileges and prerogatives, which are required for the direction and spiritual nourishment of the faithful of the Catholic religion, or nomination of priests and ecclesiastical ministers necessary, and exercise his accustomed jurisdiction. (Note: Conceded with the reserve that the nomination of priests and other employes be subject to the approval of the Governor of H. British Majesty sent to the place.)
ARTICLE VIII
That in the cloisters and nunneries the internal government hitherto prevailing shall be followed with subordination to their legitimate superiors, according to the statutes of the particular institutions. ("Conceded.")
ARTICLE IX
That the funds in the town belonging to H. Catholic Majesty shall be embarked on the vessels of the fleet that happen to be in port to be shipped to Spain, likewise all the tobacco belonging to H. Catholic Majesty; that even in war time the same Sovereign shall be permitted to buy tobacco from the island, in the district subject to the King of Great Britain at current prices, and to transport it to Spain in their own foreign vessels. ("Refused.")
ARTICLE X
That in consideration of the fact that this port is so conveniently situated for those navigating in these parts of America, be they Spanish or English, it shall be available to the subjects of H. Catholic Majesty as a neutral port and they shall be permitted to enter and leave freely, taken the food they require and repair their vessels, paying for everything at current prices, and that they cannotbe insulted or disturbed in their navigation by the ships of H. British Majesty, nor the ships of his subjects and allies, from the promontory of Celoche on the coast of Campêche and St. Antonio in the West, and from the sound of la Tortuga to this port, and thence to the latitude 33° North, until their two Majesties agree otherwise. ("Refused.")
ARTICLE XI
That all permanent inhabitants of the city and neighborhood remain in the free use and possession of their political offices and employments, and in that of their funds and other property, i.e. household stuff of whatever origin, quality, or in whatever condition they be, without being obliged to contribute in other terms than those made by H. Catholic Majesty. (Conceded, and they will be permitted to continue in the enjoyment of their property so long as their conduct does not give cause for denying them.)
ARTICLE XII
That these same should retain and have guaranteed the rights and privileges which they hitherto enjoyed, and that they will be governed in the name of H. British Majesty under the same conditions as they have been under Spanish domination, naming their judges and agents of justice according to usages and customs. (Answered in the preceding.)
ARTICLE XIII
That whoever of said inhabitants is unwilling to stay in this city, be permitted freely to remove his property and wealth in the manner most convenient to him, to sell them or leave them to be administrated, and to go away with them to the dominions of H. Catholic Majesty,he may choose, granting them a space of four years and giving them bought or chartered vessels for conveyance, with the passports and necessary protection of safety, and the power to arm them in the cruise against the Moors and Turks, with the express condition not to use them against subjects of H. British Majesty or his allies, nor to be ill-treated or molested by them. (Reply: The inhabitants will be permitted to sell and remove their effects to any place of Spanish dominions, in vessels at its coast, for which purpose they will be given passports; and it is to be understood that officials who have property in the island will enjoy the same benefits as conceded to the other inhabitants.)
ARTICLE XIV
That these will not be in the least molested for having in their loyalty taken up arms, and enlisted their militia for the war; nor shall the English troops be permitted to plunder or any other abuse, and that, to the contrary, they shall completely enjoy the other rights, exemptions and prerogatives as the other subjects of H. British Majesty, the families that had left the town on account of the present invasion to return without any obstacle or difficulty from the country to the city with all their provisions and funds, and it is to be understood that neither the one nor the others will be inconvenienced by the stationing of troops in their houses, unless it be in quarters as were used during Spanish dominion. (Reply: Conceded, excepting that in case it becomes necessary to quarter the troops, it must be left to the direction of the Governor. All the slaves of the King will be delivered to the persons that will be named to receive them.)
ARTICLE XV
That holders of stocks found in this town and belongingto merchants of Cadiz and in which all nations of Europe are interested, be facilitated to depart freely with them, to remit them with the protocols without being insulted in their voyage.
ARTICLE XVI
That the ministers in charge of the administration and distribution of the Exchequer or any other business of H. Catholic Majesty be left in the free use of all those documents that are in their guard, with the power to remit or bring them to Spain for safety, and the same to hold also good with regard to the Royal Company established in this town, and its clerks. All public papers will be delivered for revision to the secretaries of the Admiral, and will be restored to the ministers of H. Catholic Majesty, unless they be found necessary for the Government of the island.
ARTICLE XVII
That the public archives remain in the power of the Ministers in whose charge they are, without being permitted the least irregularity in regard to these papers and the instruments they contain, because of the grave mischief that would result from it to the rights of the community and to private individuals. (Replied in the preceding articles.)
ARTICLE XVIII
That the officials and soldiers who are in the hospitals be treated in the same way as the garrison, and after having recovered, they should be helped in obtaining beasts of burden or vessels for their transportation to where the rest of the garrison happens to be, as well as everything necessary for their safety and subsistence during the voyage, and among others they should be given theprovisions and medicines asked for by the directors and surgeons of said hospitals. (Conceded: The governor having competent commissaries to assist them with provisions, surgeons and the necessary medicines at the cost of H. Catholic Majesty.)
ARTICLE XIX
That the prisoners of either party taken by the other since the sixth of June when the English fleet appeared before this port, be reciprocally restituted without any ransom whatever in the course of two months. (This article cannot be concluded before the British prisoners are returned.)
ARTICLE XX
Upon the granting of the articles of this capitulation, and the giving of hostages by either party, the gate of Tierra will be delivered to the troops of H. British Majesty, for placing there a guard, together with another provided by the garrison of the place until the evacuation is carried out, and His Ex Conde de Albemarle will send a few soldiers for the protection of the churches, convents, the houses of the generals and other officials. (Conceded.)
ARTICLE XXI
That the governor and commander of the fleet be permitted to dispatch to H. Catholic Majesty and to other parties information by the vessels, to which passports for their voyage shall be given. (Since the troops are to be sent to Spain, the information is useless.)
ARTICLE XXII
That in consideration of the vigorous defense made by the Fort of la Punta, it shall be included in this capitulation and its garrison shall enjoy the same honors as thatof the fortress, and it shall leave through one of the most suitable breaches made in the ramparts. (Conceded.)
ARTICLE XXIII
This capitulation to be observed punctually and literally. (Conceded.)
Headquarters in Habana, August 12, 1762.
(Signed) G. Pococke,Albemarle,Marques of the Royal Fleet,Juan de Prado.
What is contained in these articles in regard to the squadron, its officials, crew and garrisons, has been done with my intervention, and I propose them as their Comendante General, and in consequence of what has been accorded in the Junta of yesterday.
Habana, August 12, 1762—El Marques of the Royal Transports.
We agree with these articles, which are a true copy of the originals, according to the translation made from the English into Spanish by D. Miguel Brito, public interpreter of this town for H. Catholic Majesty.
Habana, August 12, 1762—El Marques of the Royal Transports—Juan de Prado.
With the solemn signing of the foregoing articles of capitulation on the twelfth of August, 1762, began the occupation of Havana by the British, who thus seemed to have attained the goal of their covetous aspirations. It was a great day for them; it was a day of mourning for the Cubans.
While these articles of capitulation were in themselves not unjust, differing in no essentials from those usually exacted by the victors from the vanquished, the people of Havana found it difficult to obey all these injunctions coming to them from a foreign authority. History furnishes abundant proofs that it is comparatively easy to conquer a country by numerical superiority or clever strategy, but that it is infinitely more difficult to conquer the hearts of its people. The Spanish historian Alcazar records an incident belonging to the history of the capture of Havana which illustrates this point.
As soon as the British were masters of the city Lord Albemarle called an extraordinary meeting in which he declared to the Municipio that, being masters of the city by force of arms of King George III. of England, they had to insist upon obedience and allegiance to him as sovereign. The Alcalde D. Pedro Santa Cruz at once rose to say that subjects of Don Carlos III. of Spain could not without committing perjury swear allegiance to any other monarch. He added: "The capitulation compels us to passive obedience. Count on this, but never on our dishonor." It seems that these noble words found an echoin the heart of the British commander who henceforth let the people choose whether to take the oath or not.
This story is symptomatic of the attitude of the population of Cuba towards the conquerors. When the morning of the thirteenth of August, 1762, dawned, the British were in possession of the town and port of Havana with one hundred and eighty miles to the east and all that tract of land to the west which terminates the island on that side. They took without resistance Managuas, Bejucal, Santiago, Mariel and Matanzas. The commander of the fort of San Severine in Matanzas, D. Felipe Garcia Solis, had stored up a large amount of provisions and supplies of all kinds in view of an eventual attack. But when he heard of the capitulation of Havana, he blew up the fort and retired with part of the garrison to Santiago. The governor of that city, D. Lorenzo Madriaga, was recognized as the authority to be obeyed by the people in that part of the island not taken by the British. Perhaps the British had gauged the sentiment of the population; perhaps they felt that their forces were too much weakened by the hardships of the siege. They made no attempts at further extending their conquest.
According to the agreement between Admiral George Pococke and Lord Albemarle on the one side and the Marques of the Royal Transports and D. Juan de Prado on the other side, the Spanish garrison was to retire with military honors; artillery arms and munitions were to be delivered to the British; the Spanish troops were to be sent back on British transports; but the British were to respect the Catholic religion, its ministers, and churches, hospitals, and colleges; and the population was not to be disturbed in the exercise of wonted occupations and employments; and the laws of Spain were to remain in force. On the thirteenth of August, the gates of Tierrawere opened to the British and on the following day they entered with two pieces of artillery and planted their flags on the forts. The following day the Spanish vessels were delivered to them:Tigre,Reina,Soberano,Infante,Aquilon,America,Conquistader,San AntonioandSan Genero. Many merchant vessels in the bay were also taken. The value of their booty was estimated at fourteen million pesos. But according to Valdes their losses during the first twenty four days of the siege had been seven thousand men, some killed in combat, some deserters, but the greater part victims of the Cuban climate. Hence in spite of reenforcements from Jamaica and North America, they had only three thousand men of infantry when Havana was taken.
The departure of the Spanish troops was scheduled for the twenty-fourth of August. The British held ready for them three transports which on the thirtieth sailed through the gate of la Punta. One of them carried the Governor and his family. On his arrival in Madrid he was tried by a war council, which for his lack of foresight and energy in preparing the defense of Havana, condemned him to exile. But the king commuted the sentence to imprisonment for life. The British commanders, no longer needed in Havana, worn out with fatigue and weakened by the climate, also hurried to leave. Brigadier Burton returned to North America, Admiral Keppel to Jamaica, Pococke to England. He met with terrible tempests, lost one ship of line, and twelve transports. But the greeting he received on his arrival in England was most enthusiastic. Though the parliament was divided on the question of extending British conquests in Spanish America, there was still the party representing commercial interests to be reckoned with.
With a promptness quite unusual at that time a bookwas published shortly after the capture of Havana, which outlined the course to be pursued in order to reap the benefits of the South Sea trade, which so far had been in the hands of the French and Spanish. It was entitled "The Great Importance of the Havana" set forth in an "Essay on the Nature and Methods of Carrying on a Trade to the South Sea and the West Indies, by Robert Allen, Esq., who resided some years in the Kingdom of Peru, London, printed for J. Hinxman in Paternoster Row and D. Wilson in the Strand, in 1762. Dedicated to the most Hon. Thomas Harley, Esq., M. P. and Merchant of London." The author begins with reference to an old tradition that a Prince of Wales had made an expedition to the coast of Mexico in 1190 and died there. Upon this tradition and the assertion that the Mexican language abounds in Welsh words, he seems to base the right of British priority to Spanish America.
Mr. Allen was evidently much concerned with the activity of the French in West Indian waters. He says: "As to the slave-trade, it is too well known that the French are now under contract with the Spanish Assiento to supply them with four or five thousand negroes yearly and the greater profits and advantages which they reap from this trade has encouraged them to send many strong ships yearly to the coast of Africa which have not only taken many of our own ships on that coast, but also destroyed several of our many forts and settlements and likewise made several new settlements of their own, all which has been frequently represented both in the governing and legislative bodies of Britain, and no effectual reconciling remedy taken yet." He continues, that the channel of Spanish trade is quite altered from Jamaica "and the French, a nation whom we least suspected in trade, have of late years engrossed much of the greatestpart thereof to themselves." He tries to rouse the British to the need of regaining the Spanish market in America, which was slowly slipping away from them, by a strenuous appeal to his Majesty to encourage such commerce by underselling the French. After giving a list of commodities and manufactures proper for this trade, he adds the postscript:
"If Queen Anne, at the treaty of Utrecht, obtained so valuable a branch of trade as the Assiento contract by the success of the Duke of Marlboro alone, which according to stipulation was for two millions in shares annually, but doubly augmented under that contract in other goods (tho' given up by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle with our right of logwood) how much more ought we to insist on valuable terms since the reduction of Cuba, the key to the South Sea trade?"
While the British people, like all people under a mass suggestion, were giving themselves up to jubilating and celebrating, the politicians in Parliament and elsewhere to controversies on technical questions, the business world of London and the great industrial and manufacturing centers of the country were considering investments in West Indian trade and calculating the profits to be made thereby. After all human nature is very much alike the world over. That the British as victors were also not different from other conquerors by force of arms and exacted requisitions and even without any formalities and ceremonies appropriated the treasures that seemed worth taking possession of, is evident from many data in the chronicles of those days. Not only were the royal chests taken, but also the property of private corporations, and individuals. Some documents relating to the "right of bells" have been presented and are interesting reading.Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Cleaveland, Artillery Commander of the island, addressed the following communication to Bishop Senor D. Pedro Agustino Morell of Santa Cruz, and to other priests:
"According to the rules and customs of war observed by all official commanders of artillery in all European countries when a besieged town surrenders by capitulation:
"I command that the city of Havana and the neighboring towns, where the army was situated, give account of all the bells found in all the churches, convents and monasteries, as well as in the sugar-plantations, and of other metals similar to bells, in order that said point shall be put into effect.
"Havana, 19 August, 1762."Samuel Cleaveland,"Lieutenant-Colonel of Artillery."
The bishop addressed a letter of inquiry concerning this "Derecho de companes" to Lord Albemarle and received the reply, that the war custom was well known, that the chiefs of artillery receive a gratification from any besieged and captured town or city, and that the Lieutenant-Colonel insisted upon compliance with his demand, adding, however, that it would not be disproportionate. Cleaveland was offered one thousand pesos in place of the coveted bells, but the British considered this amount too small, and the bishop received another letter from Lord Albemarle, which reads:
"Illustrious Sir:
"The compensation offered to the Commandant of Artillery of His British Majesty for the bells of the city is so low as to compel me to express my indignation. Inorder to have the matter settled, I say, that your Reverence can give the said official for all the churches ten thousand pesos and I am in the hope that this letter will deserve your immediate attention.
"Your obedient servant,"Albemarle.
"Havana, 27 August, 1762."
The Bishop tried to obtain the sum demanded by alms and collections among his parishioners. But at a meeting on the thirty-first of August it was seen that the collection amounted only to one hundred pesos and four reales, which together with the previous one thousand pesos did not nearly approach the sum required. This was communicated to the British General with the remark that it would be impossible to raise more. This communication received no reply and the Commander of Artillery came to ask for the delivery of the bells, although this was not to take place until September fourth. He did not receive the bells, for the ten thousand pesos were got together by a loan, and the money was paid to Cleaveland on the sixth of that month.
Difficulties between the British authorities and the Spanish clergy increased as time went on. On the twentieth of August the Junta of priests and prelates had a meeting at which was discussed the demand of the British Lieutenant-General, the local governor of the place, for a church in which the Anglican worship was to be instituted. The Bishop decided at once to send the communication to said governor, explaining to him that this demand was not contained in the articles of capitulation and if his Excellency had some other basis to justify his claim, he should communicate it. In reply the Bishop received on the thirtieth of August the following letter:
"Havana, Aug. 30, 1762.
"Rev. Sir:
"I wish and ask that your Reverence provide for the British troops a church for their divine worship, or that an alternative be arranged with the Catholics for such hours in the morning or evening, in which they don't use their church.
"I request at the same time that an account be given me of all churches, convents, monasteries of every denomination, that are comprised in the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Cuba, as well as of Superiors and public officers associated with them.
"Very respectfully, etc.,"Albemarle."
In a long letter dated September second, 1762, the Bishop replied, that he had to consult with the government of his Spanish Majesty and briefly avoided complying with the demand. Thereupon he received a caustic communication from Albemarle saying:
"Sir:
"I received your very large letter, but which is no answer to mine. I do not know having read a particular Capitulation made with the Church, but I am sure that there is none that can exclude the Subjects of H. British Majesty of their public worship in churches; and for that reason, if you do not assign me a church I shall take one that suits me best, and please remember that all Ecclesiastical employes or dignitaries have to receive my approbation, and also that you better comply with my demand, and cease writing such long Epistles.
"Albemarle.
"Havana, September 4, 1762."
After a consultation with the other prelates the bishop informed Albemarle that since he was so decided, he should choose any church that he liked best. Albemarle selected the Church of San Francisco. But he insisted upon his other claims, as can be seen from the following letter dated September 25:
"Some time ago I asked for a list of all Ecclesiastical Benefices (to which is associated a curacy) of the Donation of Your Honor; and once more I repeat my wish to be complied with without loss of time.
"I learn that the Jesuit college received in their order an English official dismissed from the Royal Service on account of his bad proceedings; I can hardly believe that such a thing has been done without my license. That order has even in Spain a bad reputation, and in Portugal and France they have been expelled. If they are not entirely under your jurisdiction, send to me their Rector, etc.
"Albemarle."
The Bishop replied that the story about the admission of the discredited Englishman into the Jesuit seminary was altogether untrue, since the authorities of that college could not admit anybody, this being a special privilege of the Provincial residing in Mexico. A somewhat amusing incident of these disputes between the British authorities and the Spanish clergy of Havana is recorded in the following letter of the Bishop dated October twenty-second. It reads:
"Your Excellency:
"Yesterday between 4 and 5 o'clock in the afternoon, there called on me on your part a person whose name and nationality I do not know. All I know is that he speaks Spanish, though with a foreign accent and wearsgolden earrings as is customary with women. He addressed me with 'Usted.' I informed him in the conversation that in speaking to me he had to use a more dignified title. He replied that he would always use 'Usted.' It then occurred to me that this obstinacy might be justified by his higher rank. I asked him and he said that he had no other rank but that of a bomb-thrower in his Majesty's name. He continued in his way of speaking to me with a loud voice, and since in all his conduct he was wanting of the respect due to my dignity, I deem it fair that it should be corrected and that your excellency give me satisfaction."
Lord Albemarle seems to have paid no attention to this letter. But on the same day the Bishop received another urgent order in which Lord Albemarle, as Governor and Captain-General of the island, insisted in his demand to receive a list of all ecclesiastical orders and benefices, in order to know and be the "competent judge" of the persons appointed by the Bishop and be able to consent to their appointment. The Bishop in his reply referred to his previous letter, stating that the Governor could neither before nor after the appointment be a competent judge of the appointees, since ecclesiastics, according to all rights, were exempt of protests by the laity, and their privileges were inviolate.
According to the historian Blanchet, Bishop Morrell was at the end exiled to Florida for having refused to obey certain orders given by the British authorities.
Although Albemarle cannot be said to have governed with the tyranny that characterized the German governors of occupied territories in the recent war, he failed to win the people. Those residents of Havana who were able to leave the place, moved into the country or to towns like Villa-Clara. The peasants of the neighborhood,who had carried on a profitable trade with the city in garden and dairy products, fowl, venison, etc., preferred to renounce these profits rather than go to the market and have the British buy what their soil had raised and their hands had tended. The spirit of the people was unanimous in the hatred of the enemy conquerors. Their intemperance, their customs, and even their language irritated them. Altercations that terminated in bloodshed became more and more numerous as time went on. Any act of violence against the British was severely punished, and not a few Cuban "rebels" were executed; the atmosphere of Havana was soon charged with invisible mines that a spark could set off.
Complying with the orders of the British government, Albemarle had to exact the payment of certain sums from the population, including the clergy and the religious organizations, and found great difficulty in enforcing these orders. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that the feelings of the population were being deliberately hurt, especially by the disregard of the British authorities for the institutions maintained by the clergy. Thus a wave of indignation swept over the city, when the beggars and the sick were ejected from the convent of San Juan de Dios, which was turned into a hospital for the British. Without remuneration they occupied almost one-third of the buildings subject to an ecclesiastical tax, they transformed private residences into jails; they seized merchandise and funds that were owned by the Real Compania de Comercio and when these were claimed as private property, they were returned only after payment of one hundred and seventy-five pesos. As the tension grew crimes committed from vindictiveness increased among the population. M. Savine, the French writer referred to previously, reportsthat the Guajiros of the mountains poisoned the milk furnished to the garrison. A Cuban "rebel" who had escaped from the jail went about in the part of the island not occupied by the British and preached a "holy war" against the invaders of the island. Conditions were such that Havana might have become at any moment the scene of a new Sicilian Vespers.
It was at this time that the Commissary D. Lorenzo de Montalvo wrote to the Minister of War at Madrid under date of October eighteenth, 1762:
"The extraordinary mortality of the British troops has reduced them to the state which Your Excellency will see from the included papers. If at this moment eight or ten vessels arrived with two or three thousand men to debark, it would not be forty eight hours before they would capitulate."
There was indeed a movement on foot in the unoccupied part of Cuba to collect a force, march against Havana and deliver it from the British conquerors. A force of guerilleros was ready for action under command of the intrepid Aguiar. He was only waiting for enforcement promised him by Governor Madriaga of Santiago, who had three hundred and fifty men with two thousand and five hundred guns, collected at Yaguas and Villa-Clara. But he lingered at Yaguas and it was supposed that he was afraid of losing his position if the British should decide upon moving against Santiago. Madriaga was however associated with Aguiar, D. Lorenzo Montalvo, D. Nicolas Rapua, D. Pedro Calvo de la Puerta, D. Augustin de Cardenas and other prominent citizens and patriots of Cuba in a pact to reconquer Havana at an opportune moment, and action may have been delayed only because rumors were afloat that peace was about to be signed.
In Spain itself feeling ran high. The provinces of Murcia, Granada, Aragon, Valencia and Catalonia sent an address to King Charles III. asking to defend the colonies. It said among other things:
"Sir:
"Now is the moment to hold high the glory of the nation; let us humiliate under your auspices ambitious England which in her folly proposes nothing less than the ruin of all Europe. As her only aim is commerce, that is sordid gain, she wages a regrettable war upon a warlike nation that does not know meanness and has no other sentiments than the love of her king and her country. Money may be needed in London, as once in Carthage; but virtue, constancy and heroism we shall never lack, as they never failed the ancient Romans."
But there is no record that this address elicited anything more than an appreciative reply from the government at Madrid. For the diplomatic and political world of Spain as of Great Britain was indeed occupied in considering a settlement of the Spanish-British problem.
Nevertheless there were Spaniards, who even at that trying time must have viewed the state of things dispassionately, for the historian Pezuela gives the British much credit for the moderation and conciliatory tendency of their policy during the occupation. He records that they did not materially alter the general regime of the city, nor even make any radical changes in the municipal government. On taking possession of the town, Albemarle named for civil lieutenant-governor the Alderman D. Sebastian Penalver, a prominent lawyer; for the latter's Suplente or alternate, the alferez real or chief ensign D. Gonzale Oquendo, and for common civil judge D. Pedro Calvo de la Puerta, a high-constable and property holderhighly esteemed by his fellow citizens. These three officials by their wisdom, unselfishness and impartiality lightened the burden of the foreign yoke.
Both Albemarle and Keppel had soon recognized some of the greatest evils of the colonial administration, among them the corruption of the lower courts and the amazing amount of bribery going on even in the higher departments of the government. They tried to check the malpractice of lawyers, and in a decree dated the fourth of November, 1762, prohibited the making of gifts or presents of any kind to the principal governor and to the inferior authorities, considering such practice as means to promote dishonesty. However, the attitude of the great majority was and remained hostile to the British and it needed all the prudence and tact of men like Oquendo, Penalver and Puerta to avoid conflicts between the citizens and the foreign authorities. Nor should the Intendant Montalvo be forgotten, whose services were highly appreciated by Albemarle.
In the British parliament there existed at that time a state of turmoil. The Earl of Bute, friend and adviser of George III., did not care for further extension of Britain's colonial possessions in America, saying that it was much greater importance "to bring the old colonies in order than to plant new ones." Others favored the return of Havana to Spain in exchange for Porto Rico and Florida. On the twenty-sixth of October, 1762, the British King expressed his approval of the latter proposal and urged the diplomats engaged in deliberating upon the subject speedily to draft a treaty. He wrote to Bedford, as quoted by Bancroft in his "History of the United States," Vol. III., p. 298:
"The best despatch I can receive from you will be those preliminaries signed. May Providence, in compassionto human misery, give you the means of executing this great and noble work."
The terms proposed to the French according to the same authority were severe and even humiliating, and Choiseul is reported as having said:
"But what can we do? The English are furiously imperious; they are drunk with success; and, unfortunately, we are not in a condition to abase their pride."
The preliminaries of a peace which was to bring a certain stability to the colonies in America and permanently settle the claims of the three nations that had for three centuries been striving for supremacy in the New World, were signed on the third of November, 1762. They contained the following stipulations: England was to receive the Floridas and some islands in the West Indies, but abandon Havana; it was to have Louisiana to the Mississippi, but without the island of New Orleans; it was likewise to have all Canada, Acadia, Cape Breton and its independent islands, Newfoundland, except a share of France in the fisheries, with the two islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon as shelter for their fishermen. In Africa England was to have Senegal, which insured for it the monopoly of the slave-trade. In the East Indies, too, France recovered only what she possessed on the first of January, 1749, the rest going to England and assuring its sway over that territory. France, on the other hand, to indemnify Spain for the loss of Florida, ceded to Spain New Orleans and all Louisiana west of the Mississippi. There is no doubt that France came off worst in this settlement; but, as her minister Choiseul said, it was at the time helpless. In England, which by this settlement laid the foundations of her great power, there was a great display of flamboyant oratory. The king was reported to have said:
"England never signed such a peace before, nor, I believe, any other power in Europe."
Granville, then, on his deathbed, exclaimed:
"The country never saw so glorious a war or so honorable a peace," and Bute, roused to defend it against some opponents in Parliament, uttered these words significant of the high esteem in which he held himself and whatever services he rendered England as favorite of the king:
"I wish no better inscription on my tomb than that I was its author."
It is needless to say that the effect of this document upon Spain was of quite a different nature. For it practically checked for all time her ambitions for maintaining supremacy in the world her discoverers and explorers had once claimed under her colors. Cuba, of course, rejoiced at the prospect of the restitution of Havana. Lord Albemarle, suffering from the strain of the siege and the climate, as no less from the realization that he would never be able to reconcile the Cubans to a recognition of his authority, had left early in the year 1762 and Sir William Keppel occupied his post. The peace was ratified at Paris on the tenth of February, 1763, and the people began to look forward with impatience to the arrival of a new governor from Madrid and to the debarkation of the British. In spite of the harassing situation which they had endured during the rule of the enemy they had not been idle, but planned many improvements and reforms which they promised themselves to execute as soon as the British domination would end. They had learned, too, to appreciate the advantages of free trade; for during the British occupation no less than nine hundred merchant vessels entered the harbor and not a few cargoes of negroes were landed.
The changes which the island underwent during this time were far-reaching. The British occupation had established a direct contact with the world outside of Spain, which was bound to broaden the narrowly provincial viewpoint of the residents of the colony. For the nobles to whom large tracts of land had been granted in the earlier days of the colony had never permanently resided there but only came over for a short time to occupy their winter residence in Havana and for another brief season to show themselves in all their old-world aristocratic splendor on their haciendas. The great majority of the people, descendants of the adventurers and the poor immigrants of the pioneer period, had acquired the habits of country people so engrossed in their fields, their live stock and the daily labors required to make these possessions profitable, that they had lost any desire to seek the stimulating influence of city life. The cities themselves, Havana not excepted, had a provincial aspect and offered little attraction to the foreign traveler who did not come there exclusively on business. Nevertheless they left a pleasant memory with many a casual visitor. A Frenchman, who spent some time in Havana about the year 1745, set down his impressions, which with other letters and memoirs of travel were edited by Pierre Jean Baptiste Nougaret and published in Paris in 1783 under the title: "Voyages interessans dans differentes Colonies francaises, espagnoles, anglaises, etc." In these reminiscences of Havana some twenty years before the Britishoccupation, he draws a picture of the city, which it is interesting to compare with what other writers have to say of the Havana of 1762. He writes:
HAVANA, FROM CABANAS