Havana
Havana names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Havana the capital of Cuba
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
the capital of Cuba. The word is Spanish, meaning the harbor. Havana is the most important city in the West Indies . It is situated on the northern shore of the island at the inner bend of one of the finest harbors in the world. The entrance is narrow, and is defended by strong fortifications. The climate is, of course, tropical. The average temperature for the winter months is not over two degrees cooler than that for the summer. The usual range is from 71 deg. to 82 deg. Frost is never known. The lowest temperature on record is 49.6 deg. the highest, 100.6 deg. The average annual rainfall is 54 inches. Snow was reported in Havana in 1856. The city was founded by the Spaniards in 1519. They called it, and rightly, the key of the New World. It was taken more than once by pirates, and has been consumed by fire several times. The modern city has excellent wharves and a dry dock in which ships may be repaired. The railroads of the island center here. The city exports an enormous quantity of sugar, tobacco, cigars, and fruits, amounting in all to about $60,000,000 a year. Three-fourths of the business is with the United States . Naturally enough, the imports are chiefly flour, meat products, cotton cloth of various weights, and machinery. There is a street railway system of thirty-six miles. For those who are able to endure a rather warm climate, the city is charming. There are numerous open squares and parks, with attractive seats under the shade of palm trees. There are fifty public fountains. Unlike some cities, the handsome residences are scattered throughout every quarter. There are numerous promenades and well shaded drives. The cafes are celebrated lounging places. Prior to the independence of the island and the American management of city affairs, Havana was noted for the ravages of yellow fever . A supply of pure water was provided in 1895. It comes into the city from the mountains by means of an aqueduct seven miles long. The streets are now thoroughly clean and the sewerage system of the city is in order. The deaths from yellow fever have been reduced from the former figure of half a thousand a year to three or four cases. This result has not been attained without heroic effort. Squalid quarters have been torn down, cesspools cleaned out, whitewash used freely; in short, the city has been purged from center to circumference and made a decent, attractive place in which to live and do business. The population in 1905 was not far from a quarter of a million. See Cuba
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city and capital of the island of Cuba, on Havana Bay, on the N. coast. It is one of the most important commercial points in the Western hemisphere, and its harbor is one of the finest in the world, well sheltered, and entered through a deep and narrow channel, opening into a large basin, capable of sheltering 1,000 vessels. The harbor harbor is provided with excellent covered wharves, and a dry dock. The city is divided into two sections, the older one of which has narrow, crooked streets, while the modern Havana has broad and beautiful avenues. The parks and promenades of Havana are among the most beautiful in the world; among them are the Plaza de Armas, in front of the governor's palace; the Alameda de Paula, along the bay; and the Parque de Isabel. Among the notable buildings are the Opera House; the Cathedral, built in 1724; the Government Buildings; and the celebrated fortresses, Morro Castle and Punta, at the mouth of the harbor; and La Cabana, a fortress S. E. of Morro. The city has a university, botanical gardens, scientific, educational and benevolent societies, gas and electric lights, and an excellent water supply, from the Chorrera. From 1761 till after the American occupation yellow fever was epidemic every summer, often very severe, but improved sanitary conditions, due to the rigid rule of the American military authorities, have stamped out the disease. The manufactures of the city include cigars and cigarettes, sugar, rum, straw hats, molasses, honey, and preserved fruits. It has railroad communications with Cabanos, Matanzas, Santiago, and other cities, and steamship lines to the United States, France, Spain, and Great Britain. Havana was for years the seat of Spanish power in Cuba. The city was formally, evacuated by the Spanish on Jan. 1, 1899 Pop. (1918) 360,500. See CUBA. 1
Havana a province of Cuba
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a province of Cuba, in the western part of the island, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Caribbean Sea, bounded on the west by the province of Pinar del Rio, and on the east by the province of Matanzas. Although the smallest of the provinces of Cuba (area 31.74 square miles), it is the second largest in the point of population, which in 1919 was 697,583. It is also commercially the most important province of the Republic, having many large cigar and cigarette factories, sugar and saw mills, distilleries, tanneries, and foundries. Its surface is low and undulating. Besides valuable cabinet timber from its many forests it produces bananas, corn, pineapples, sugar cane, tobacco, vegetables, and yucca. The capital is Havana (q. v.).
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Aiton's in 1910 noted that three-fourths of Havana's business was with the United States, and Collier's in 1921 credited American military rule with stamping out yellow fever. The trade link was severed by the revolution of 1959 and the United States embargo imposed in 1962; the tourist and sugar traffic that Havana lived on was redirected first to the Soviet bloc and, after 1991, to Canada and Europe. The quarter-million people Aiton's counted in 1905 have become about 2.1 million, and the old walled core the accounts describe as narrow and crooked was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982 and has been restored as Habana Vieja, its decaying colonial housing now the city's chief attraction. Havana province, which Collier's describes separately, no longer exists in that form: Cuba was redivided in 1976, and in 2011 the surrounding province was abolished and replaced by Artemisa and Mayabeque, leaving the city itself as the province of La Habana.
Written for this edition, 2026.