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The port of Havana was originally known as Carenas, until 1519 when the Villa de San Cristóbal, founded to the south by Diego Velásquez in 1514, was moved to the present site of Havana and subsequently given its present name. This story is told on the walls of the Templete, a tiny temple on one side of the Plaza de las Armas. In the beginning, Havana served mainly as a base for the Spanish conquista of the New World as it was poor in the resources that the Spanish considered valuable such as gold, precious stones and silver, so a large number of the settlers and Conquistadors moved on to other places like Mexico.
Serving as a base for the conquista turned Havana into a trading port, with goods going from Spain to the New World and vice versa. However, this made Havana a target for Pirates and the first attack on Havana occurred in 1555, when French corsairs sacked and burned the city. This vulnerability led to the construction of Havana's first fortress. Another problem with pirates was their attacks on Spanish ships, so beginning in 1561, all ships bound for Spain were ordered to assemble in Havana Bay to travel together, which gave a large boost to the commerce in the city. Proof that Havana had grown into an important world port is the fact that in 1563 the Spanish Governor of Cuba moved his residence to Havana, making it the unofficial capital.
On December 20, 1592, King Phillip II made Havana an official city, which led to even more development. Three castles were constructed, the
Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta, the Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro and the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, as well as two defensive towers, La Chorrera and San Lázaro.
The first half of the 17th Century brought about much more development and growth in Havana. However, it hid a bit of a speed bump in 1649 when a disease epidemic hit the city, and wiped out a third of the population. But Havana bounced back and construction on the city walls began in 1674, although not to be completed until 1740.
In 1762, the city was take by the British during the Seven Years' War. During British rule, the city was opened up completely to trade with their colonies in North America and the Caribbean and brought new industry and labor to Cuba. However, less than a year later, Britain traded Cuba for Florida in the Peace of Paris, and the Seven Years' War ended. Once Havana was returned to Spanish control, many fortifications were built, making it the most heavily fortified city in the Americas. In addition to the fortresses, at this same time the Cathedral was built, and was the resting place of Christopher Columbus' remains for 100 years.
As Havana moved into the 19th Century, it flourished and became quite fashionable, and in 1837, Cuba became only the fifth country in the world to build a railroad. As Havana continued to grow, they were forced to take down the city walls in 1863, and at the end of the century, the United States took control of the country after the battleship Maine was sunk in the harbor.
Under American control, many casinos, luxury hotels and nightclubs popped up and was a major tourist destination for Americans. It was also a favorite destination for the famous and Hollywood elite like Frank Sinatra and Gary Cooper, and writer Ernest Hemingway lived here for over 20 years. Havana prospered under American rule until 1959, when the Cuban revolution was led by such rebel guerillas as Che Guevara, Raúl Castro Ruiz, and Fidel Castro, who was to become the leader of Cuba for more than 50 years. Castro declared Cuba to be a communist state and by nature of this, an ally of the Soviet Union. The United States imposed an embargo on Cuba, providing quite a shock to the now nationalized economy.
Today, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba remains a communist nation, however despite the American Embargo, Cuba has begun to rely heavily on its tourist appeal, attracting visitors mainly from Canada and Europe. Havana is a city with an interesting story and saturated with history, which is evident just walking the streets of this Caribbean city.
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