Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 3 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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There Are Found Anchorages Often Frequented By Small Barks;
For Example, The Surgidero Del Batabano, Bahia De Xagua, And Puerto
Casilda, Or Trinidad De Cuba.
Beyond this latter port, towards the
mouth of the Rio Cauto and Cabo Cruz (behind the Cayos de doce
Leguas), the coast, covered with lagoons, is not very accessible, and
is almost entirely desert.
At the island of Cuba, as heretofore in all the Spanish possessions in
America, we must distinguish between the ecclesiastic,
politico-military, and financial divisions. We will not add those of
the judicial hierarchy which have created so much confusion amongst
modern geographers, the island having but one Audiencia, residing
since the year 1797 at Puerto Principe, whose jurisdiction extends
from Baracoa to Cape San Antonio. The division into two bishoprics
dates from 1788 when Pope Pius VI nominated the first bishop of the
Havannah. The island of Cuba was formerly, with Louisiana and Florida,
under the jurisdiction of the archbishop of San Domingo, and from the
period of its discovery it had only one bishopric, founded in 1518, in
the most western part at Baracoa by Pope Leo X. The translation of
this bishopric to Santiago de Cuba, took place four years later; but
the first bishop, Fray Juan de Ubite, arrived only in 1528. In the
beginning of the nineteenth century (1804), Santiago de Cuba was made
an archbishopric. The ecclesiastical limit between the diocese of the
Havannah and Cuba passes in the meridian of Cayo Romano, nearly in the
80 3/4 degree of longitude west of Paris, between the Villa de Santo
Espiritu and the city of Puerto Principe. The island, with relation to
its political and military government, is divided into two goviernos,
depending on the same capitan-general. The govierno of the Havannah
comprehends, besides the capital, the district of the Quatro Villas
(Trinidad, Santo Espiritu, Villa Clara and San Juan de los Remedios)
and the district of Puerto Principe. The Capitan-general y Gobernador
of the Havannah has the privilege of appointing a lieutenant in Puerto
Principe (Teniente Gobernador), as also at Trinidad and Nueva
Filipina. The territorial jurisdiction of the capitan-general extends,
as the jurisdiction of a corregidor, to eight pueblos de Ayuntamiento
(the ciudades of Matanzas, Jaruco, San Felipe y Santiago, Santa Maria
del Rosario; the villas of Guanabacoa, Santiago de las Vegas, Guines,
and San Antonio de los Banos). The govierno of Cuba comprehends
Santiago de Cuba, Baracoa, Holguin and Bayamo. The present limits of
the goviernos are not the same as those of the bishoprics. The
district of Puerto Principe, with its seven parishes, for instance,
belonged till 1814 to the govierno of the Havannah and the
archbishopric of Cuba. In the enumerations of 1817 and 1820 we find
Puerto Principe joined with Baracoa and Bayamo, in the jurisdiction of
Cuba. It remains for me to speak of a third division altogether
financial. By the cedula of the 23rd March, 1812, the island was
divided into three Intendencias or Provincias; those of the Havannah,
Puerto Principe and Santiago de Cuba, of which the respective length
from east to west is about ninety, seventy and sixty-five sea-leagues.
The intendant of the Havannah retains the prerogatives of
Superintendente general subdelegado de Real Hacienda de la Isla de
Cuba.
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