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Location:
Central
America, Mexico, Acapulco
Category:
City
View
Description:
Urban street scene in
Havana, Cuba capital city,
Fidel Cam view |
Location Information:
Havana
(Spanish: La Habana ) officially
Ciudad de La Habana, is the capital
city, major port, and leading
commercial centre of Cuba. The city
is one of the 14 Cuban provinces.
The city/province has 2.1 million
inhabitants, the largest city in
Cuba and the second largest in the
Caribbean region. The city extends
mostly westward and southward from
the bay, which is entered through a
narrow inlet and which divides into
three main harbours: Marimelena,
Guanabacoa, and Atarés. The sluggish
Almendares River traverses the city
from south to north, entering the
Straits of Florida a few miles west
of the bay. In 1959 the city halted
its growth, and since then has
suffered a net loss of living units,
despite its population increase.
King Philip II of Spain granted
Havana the title of City in 1592 and
a royal decree in 1634 recognized
its importance by officially
designating it the "Key to the New
World and Rampart of the West
Indies". Havana's coat of arms
carries this inscription. The
Spaniards began building
fortifications, and in 1553 they
transferred the governor's residence
to Havana from Santiago de Cuba on
the eastern end of the island, thus
making Havana the de facto capital.
The importance of harbour
fortifications was early recognized
as English, French, and Dutch sea
marauders attacked the city in the
16th century. The sinking of the
U.S. battleship Maine in Havana's
harbor in 1898 was the immediate
cause of the Spanish-American War.
Present day Havana is the center of
the Cuban government, and various
ministries and headquarters of
businesses are based there.
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