Colonial Era & Sugar Empire

Havana was founded by the Spanish in 1519 — as San Cristóbal de la Habana. Its location on Cuba's north coast, at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico, made the city the most strategically important port of the New World: Here, the Spanish silver fleets gathered before sailing back to Spain laden with gold, silver, and gemstones.

The Pirate Era

The wealth attracted pirates and privateers: Jacques de Sores plundered Havana in 1555, Francis Drake threatened the city in 1586. In response, Spain built the massive fortresses Fortaleza del Morro and Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña — the largest fortress in the Americas, which still towers over the harbor today.

Sugar and Slavery

From the 18th century, Cuba became the world's largest sugar producer. The plantations consumed hundreds of thousands of African slaves — their descendants continue to shape Cuba's culture, music, and religion (Santería, Son, Rumba). Slavery was only abolished in Cuba in 1886 — the last country in the Western Hemisphere besides Brazil.