The commerce of Cuba has grown in spite of the limitations that have been placed upon it and not because of any encouragement that has been given to it.  Columbus called Cuba the most beautiful land that eyes had ever seen.  Its resources, granted by a generous nature, have enabled it to recuperate after destructive warfare with a rapidity simply amazing to those accustomed only to the climate and the soil of the temperate zone.  The immense industries of Cuba have been hampered from the beginning by Spanish oppression and the fact that they have flourished under such unfavorable conditions is a striking evidence of what may be expected under a policy of encouragement and freedom.  Sugar, tobacco, and other tropical products have made fortunes for Cuba every year, only to have them stolen by Spanish officeholders, sent there to plunder all they could get their hands upon.  With peace assured, the opportunities for the extension of industries in the “Pearl of the Antilles” will be enormous.

The commercial development of Cuba has come through centuries of disturbance, warfare, and oppression.  A simple catalogue of all the evils with which the Cubans have had to contend would fill a volume.  All that can be done here is to indicate briefly some of the more notable events in the history of the island after the British conquests and the relinquishment of the prize to the Spanish authorities upon the return of peace.  Near the end of the last century there came a period which offered more encouragement to the hope of permanent prosperity in Cuba than had been offered before.  The successive governors appointed varied in character, it is true, but several of them were liberal minded, public spirited men who gave to the colony far better administration that it had been accustomed to.  One of these was Luis de Las Casas, who imparted a new impulse to the agriculture and commerce of the island.  It was under his guidance that trade with the United States began to assume importance, and to his efforts was due the transfer of the remains of Columbus from Santo Domingo to their present resting place in the cathedral at Havana.  He encouraged literature, science, the fine arts and the erection of various public charitable and educational institutions.  He was the founder of the first public library and the first newspaper which had existed in the island.  He showed his ability as an executive by restraining the restless population under the excitement which accompanied the revolution in the neighboring colony of Santo Domingo, which ended by the loss to Spain of that island.

One of the earliest causes of ill feeling between the islanders of Cuba and the people of Spain occurred just at the end of the administration of Las Casas in 1796.  In the seventy years prior to that time a great navy yard grew up on the Bay of Havana, and 114 war vessels were built there to convoy the Spanish treasure ships.  All at once this flourishing industry was closed on the demand of the ship-builders of Spain that the work should be done in the mother country.  As might have been expected, this aroused great indignation among a large number of people in Havana who had been dependent upon the industry.