`bä), city (1994 est. pop. 385,800), capital of Santiago de Cuba prov., SE Cuba. Cuba's second largest city, Santiago is situated on a cliff overlooking a bay. Minerals, agricultural produce, and woods are exported. The city is also the terminus of a major highway and railway. Founded in 1514 by Diego de Velázquez and moved to its present site in 1588, Santiago served for some time as Cuba's capital. In its early days, it was captured by French and English buccaneers and was a center of the smuggling trade with the British West Indies. Frenchmen fleeing the slave revolt in Haiti in the early 19th cent. settled in Santiago and heavily influenced the city's development. During the Spanish-American War of 1898, U.S. ships established a blockade in Santiago's harbor; when the Spanish admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete, bottled up in the harbor, made a desperate attempt to escape, his fleet was destroyed. Heavy fighting preceded the city's surrender. Fidel Castro Castro, Fidel (Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz) , 1926–, Cuban revolutionary, premier of Cuba (1959–76), president of the Council of State and of the Council of Ministers (1976–)...... Click the link for more information. began his revolutionary struggle against Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar Batista y Zaldívar, Fulgencio , 1901–73, president of Cuba (1940–44, 1952–59). An army sergeant, Batista took part in the overthrow of Gerardo Machado in 1933 and subsequently headed the military and student junta that ousted Carlos Manuel de
..... Click the link for more information. by attacking the Moncada army garrison in Santiago on July 26, 1953. The city retains many colonial landmarks, notably its cathedral (the largest in Cuba) and the crumbling forts that stand on high cliffs above the harbor. It also has a university.
Santiago de Cuba
Seaport city (pop., 1994 est.: 440,000), eastern Cuba. The second largest city in Cuba, it was founded in 1514 and moved to its present site in 1522. It commanded a strategic location on the northern Caribbean Sea in the early colonial period and was the capital of Cuba until 1589. It was a focal point of the Spanish-American War, and in 1898 the entire Spanish fleet was destroyed near its coast. In 1953 it was the scene of Fidel Castro's attack against the Moncada army barracks. It is the centre of an agricultural and mining region and exports copper, iron, manganese, sugar, and fruit.
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
a city in southeastern Cuba; capital of the province of the same name. Population, 276,000 (1970). Santiago de Cuba is Cuba’s largest industrial center and seaport after Havana. It has a food-processing industry, which produces tobacco, spirits and cordials, sugar, and canned fish; it also has a cement industry, a textile industry, a leather and footwear industry, a chemical industry, oil refining, metalworking, and shipbuilding. It exports sugar, tobacco, rum, and coffee. Copper ores are mined in the vicinity. The University of Santiago de Cuba is in the city. Santiago de Cuba was founded in 1514.
Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
| ?Page tools | ||
|---|---|---|
|