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MATANZAS

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Originally appearing in Volume V17, Page 876 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MATANZAS , an important See also:

city of See also:Cuba, See also:capital of Matanzas See also:Province, situated on a large deep See also:bay on the N. See also:coast, about 54 M. (by See also:rail) E. of See also:Havana. Pop. (1907), 36,009. There are railway outlets W., S. and E., and Matanzas is served by See also:steam-See also:ships to New See also:York and by the coast steamers of the See also:Herrera See also:Line. The bay, unlike all the other better harbours of the See also:island, has a broad mouth, 2 M. across, but there is See also:good shelter against all winds except from the N.E. A See also:coral See also:reef lies across the entrance. Three See also:rivers emptying into the bay—the See also:San Juan, Canimar and Yumuri—have deposited much silt, necessitating the use of lighters in loading and unloading large ships. The city is finely placed at the See also:head of the bay, on a See also:low, sloping See also:plain backed by wooded hills, over some of which the city itself has spread. The conical See also:Pan de Matanzas (1277 ft.) is a striking See also:land-See also:mark for sailors. The San Juan and Yumuri rivers See also:divide Matanzas into three districts. The Teatro Esteban, See also:Casino Espanol and See also:Government See also:House are noteworthy among the buildings.

The broad Paseo de See also:

Marti (See also:Alameda de Versalles, Paseo de See also:Santa Cristina) extends along the edge of the See also:harbour, and is perhaps the handsomest parkway and See also:boulevard in Cuba. At one end is a statue of See also:Ferdinand VII., at the other a See also:monument to 63 Cubans executed by the See also:Spanish Government as traitors for bearing arms in the cause of See also:independence. A splendid military road continues the Paseo to the See also:Castillo de San Serverino (built in 1694-1695, reconstructed in 1773 and following years). There are two smaller forts, established in the 18th See also:century. Near Matanzas are two of the most noted natural resorts of Cuba: the valley of the Yumuri, and the caves of Bellamar. Commanding the Yumuri Valley is the See also:hill called Cumbre, on which is the Hermitage of Monteserrate (1870), with a famous See also:shrine. Matanzas is the second See also:port of the island in See also:commerce. See also:Sugar and See also:molasses are the See also:chief exports. The city is the chief outlet for the sugar product of the province, which, with the province of Santa See also:Clara, produces two-thirds of the See also:crop of the island. There are many large warehouses, See also:rum distilleries, sugar-See also:mills and railway See also:machine-shops. Matanzas is frequently mentioned in the See also:annals of the 16th and 17th centuries, when its bay was frequented by See also:buccaneers; but the city was not laid out until 1693. In the next See also:year it received an See also:ayuntamiento (See also:council).

Its prosperity rapidly increased after the See also:

establishment of See also:free commerce See also:early in the 19th century. In 1815 it was made a See also:department capital. The See also:mulatto poet, See also:Gabriel de la Concepci6n See also:Valdes, known as Placido (1809-1844), was See also:born in Matanzas, and was executed there for participation in the supposed See also:conspiracy of negroes in 1844, which is one of the most famous episodes in Cuban See also:history. The hurricanes of 1844 and 1846 are the only other prominent See also:local events. See also:American commercial See also:influence has always been particularly strong.

End of Article: MATANZAS

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