British invade Havana

During the mid-eighteenth century, Havana had more than 70,000 inhabitants. On June 6th 1762, at dawn, there came an impressive British fleet, with over 50 ships and 14,000 men. To take the city, the English had to pay the Morro Castle, defended by a strong garrison in front of Captain Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla and Marques Vicente Gomez. Havana fell after two months of siege.

By taking possession of the city, the British also captured the Spanish fleet that had been trapped in the bay of Havana, consisting of nine ships with a line of 74 and 64 guns, in addition to 25 merchant ships loaded with all kinds of provisions.

Three million dollars belonging to the Royal Company and large quantities of food were stored in the City. Sir George Keppel ruled for eleven months until mid-1763, date on which the British returned Havana to the Spanish, in exchange for Florida.

In 1763 they began construction of the Fortress of San Carlos de la Cabana, the largest built by Spain in the New World, which shored up the defenses of Havana after the British occupation.

The work lasted for over eleven years at an enormous cost at their time as it is said that Charles III, King of Spain came to the window of his palace with a spyglass to indicate why it was so expensive a construction. Its privileged position made him an impregnable bastion. It had a large number of cannons cast in Barcelona in the eighteenth century, which are placed symbolically at the entrance of Havana Bay.

In 1774 the first official census of Cuba was made. There were 171,670 inhabitants, of whom 44,333 were slaves. Between 1789 and 1790 they divided the diocese of Cuba. A cathedral stands in Havana while the old miter remains in Santiago de Cuba. Six years later, on 15th January 1796, the remains of Christopher Columbus arrived in Havana from Santo Domingo.

Since Spain was no longer the monopoly of trade, Havana became a flourishing city more than ever, and in 1818 was a free port. They settled for luxury and pleasure. The stores offered the latest fashions, the theaters showcased the best actors of the moment, the rich bourgeoisie built magnificent mansions with columns, and there was talk of it becoming the Paris of the Antilles.

Hotel Habana Libre (old Havana Hilton), located in the central corner of Vedado was opened in the nineteenth century with the arrival in Havana of Alexander von Humboldt, who was impressed by the vitality of the port of Havana. In 1837 he inaugurated the first stretch of railway at a length of 51 km, between Havana and Guines, used for transporting sugar from Ariguanabo Valley to the port city.

Spain thus became the fifth country worldwide to have a railroad (Cuba belonged to Spain at that time). Throughout the century, Havana was enriched by cultural centers, like the Teatro Tacon, one of the most luxurious in the world, Artistic and Literary Liceo, and the Colosseum theater.