Harbor And Shipyards of Havana (Ben Hoffman)

At the time of the Spanish Empire in the New World, the most significant settlement in the Caribbean was Havana, Cuba. It served as an important stop on the long sea route between their territory on the continent and Spain itself; an essential staging ground for the treasure fleets to carry gold and silver to the king’s coffers. Havana was of such high value that the Spaniards built it up as the most fortified location in the entirety of their American territories, with a permanent defensive garrison. The city’s 1762 capture by the British was a major factor in the surrender of the Spanish-French alliance in the Seven Years’ War, and the peace treaty’s return of Havana to Spain was a very controversial move among the British.

But Havana was not valuable simply because it happened to make a convenient rest stop for the shipping lanes. It was also host to the most important shipyard in the Spanish Empire. It was identified as the optimal location for such during the 1560s, after the Spaniards adopted a formal system for the naval convoys traveling between their colonies and Spain.

A fundamental fact one must understand with regards to naval history is that not every settlement with a harbor is created equal. It’s much the same as real estate: “Location, location, location!” Available surface area, depth of the water, and natural or man-made features protecting from adverse weather all factor into both the number and type of vessels a harbor can host. Havana has a good combination of these traits, on top of being in a useful position relative to the rest of the Spanish territories in the New World.

This led to investment into local infrastructure and fortifications by the Spanish government, as well as natural stimulation of the local economy through the sheer amount of traffic coming through: nearly all Spanish ships traveling from the Caribbean to the mother country’s main port of Seville passed through Havana. The local populace understood their opportunity and put in a great deal of work to make sure their town would be able to profit as much as possible from their lucky place in the scheme of Spanish colonialism. This included gaining the ability to service and repair vessels that came into their bay, which involved developing skills and infrastructure. These would eventually lend themselves to the formation of local shipyards, causing Havana to become a source of ships as well as a support to them. Additionally, a huge amount of foodstuffs and other provisions were brought to the city from other Cuban settlements, as Havana alone could not possibly feed both itself and the fleets. In 1572, the University of Seafarers of Seville recommended enlarging the local population of slaves on the basis of improving the ability to produce food for ships. (de la Fuente, p.53)

The strategic importance of Havana had become common knowledge among Atlantic Europe by the end of the 16th century. (de la Fuente, p.67) In fact, a 1590 letter asserts that Havana was the “best harbor and the surest in the world”. A secondhand Dutch account from 1598 describes Havana as, “the chiefest town of merchandise and where all their ships are made”. (de la Fuentes, p.68-69) This was written more than a century before the actual Royal Shipyards of Havana were constructed beginning in 1717. As such, Havana also became a ripe target for attack by enemies of the Spanish crown, whether they were rival European powers, independent pirates, or privateers (not that the Spanish cared about the difference between the latter two). As such, projects to strengthen the defenses of Havana were ordered early and often, until by the beginning of the 17th century it became the most fortified place in the New World.

Works Cited

Reinaldo Funes Monzote. 2008. From Rainforest to Cane Field in Cuba : An Environmental History since 1492. Chapel Hill: University Of North Carolina Press.

De, Alejandro, Del Pino, and Bernardo Iglesias Delgado. 2008. Havana and the Atlantic in the Sixteenth Century. Chapel Hill: University Of North Carolina Press.

“List of Spanish Monarchs | Britannica.” 2020. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-Spanish-monarchs-2070695.

Koenigsberger, Helmut. 2019. “Philip II | Biography, Accomplishments, & Facts.” In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philip-II-king-of-Spain-and-Portugal.

‌ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. n.d. “Old Havana and Its Fortification System.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/204.

All images used are public domain, acquired courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.