Cárdenas, Matanzas, Cuba
Encyclopedia
Cárdenas is a municipality and city in the Matanzas Province
Matanzas Province
Matanzas is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos and the capital of the same name, Matanzas...
of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, about 175 km (108.7 mi) east of Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
.
Geography
Cárdenas is a maritime port town on the level and somewhat marshy shore of a spacious bay of the northern coast of the island (Bay of CárdenasBay of Cárdenas
The Bay of Cárdenas is a shallow bay on Cuba's northern shore, in the province of Matanzas.It is located on the Cuban coast, facing the Nicholas Channel, and is delimited to the north by the Hicacos Peninsula. To the north-east it is flanked by cays of the Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago, such as...
), sheltered by a long promontory (Hicacos peninsula
Hicacos Peninsula
Hicacos is a peninsula on Cuba's northern shore, in the province of Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is located on the peninsula. The name comes from a species of cactus.-Geography:...
). The city lies between the sea and hills.
A large quantity of asphalt has been taken from the bed of the harbour. A flow of fresh water from the bed of the harbour is another peculiar feature; it presumably comes from the outlets of subterranean rivers.
There are mostly narrow streets, various squares (including the Plaza de Colón, with a bronze statue of Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
given to the city by Queen Isabella II.
Isabella II of Spain
Isabella II was the only female monarch of Spain in modern times. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, who refused to recognise a female sovereign, leading to the Carlist Wars. After a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of...
and erected in 1862) and substantial business buildings.
The municipality is divided into the barrio
Barrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...
s of Cantel, Fundición, Guásimas, Marina, Méndez Capote, Pueblo Nuevo and Versalles.
History
In 1850 General Narciso López
Narciso López
Narciso López was a Venezuelan adventurer and soldier, best known for an expedition aimed at liberating Cuba from Spain in the 1850s..- Life in Venezuela, Cuba, and Spain:...
landed here on a filibustering expedition, and held the town for a few hours, abandoning it when he saw that the people would not rise to support him in his efforts to secure Cuban independence.
In May 1898, during the Spanish–American War, three notable battles
Battle of Cárdenas
The Second Battle of Cárdenas was a secondary naval engagement of the Spanish–American War fought on 11 May of 1898 in the port of Cárdenas, Cuba, between an American squadron of 5 ships under Captain Chapman C. Todd and 3 small Spanish vessels under Mariano Mateu. The battle resulted in an...
were fought at Cardenas.
In the early 20th Century, Cárdenas was one of the main sugar-exporting towns of Cuba. By 1907 the population was 24,280. The shallowness of the harbour necessitated lighterage and repeated loading of cargoes. The surrounding region is farmed for its fertility.
The Cuban Flag was first raised over Cuban soil in this once picturesque and historic city of straight and narrow streets, horse-drawn carriages, industry and "cangrejos" (blue crabs).
Cárdenas is the home of Elián González
Elián González
The custody and immigration status of a young Cuban boy, Elián González , was at the center of a heated 2000 controversy involving the governments of Cuba and the United States, González's father, Juan Miguel González Quintana, González's other relatives in Miami, Florida, and in Cuba, and Miami's...
, a child used in a political dispute between Cuba and the United States.