Editing Havana (section)

=== 16th century ===

[[File:Jacquesdesores.jpg|thumb|French pirate [[Jacques de Sores]] looting and burning Havana in 1555]]

[[Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar]] founded Havana in 1514, on the southern coast of the island, near the present town of Surgidero de [[Batabanó, Cuba|Batabanó]] on the banks of the [[Mayabeque River]] close to [[Playa Mayabeque]]. However, all attempts to found a city on Cuba's south coast failed; an early map of Cuba drawn in 1514 places the town at the mouth of the river.<ref>{{in lang|es}} [[commons:File:LaHabanaalSur.jpg|Fundación de La Habana a orillas del Río Onicajinal o Mayabeque]]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mayabeque.blogia.com/2009/092601-san-cristobal-de-la-habana-en-el-sur-analisis-historico-geografico-de-su-localiz.php |title=San Cristóbal de La Habana en el Sur |publisher=Mayabeque.blogia.com |date=August 19, 2010 |access-date=2013-01-08}}</ref>

Between 1514 and 1519 the Spanish established two settlements on the north coast, one of them in ''La Chorrera'', around the site of the [[Torreón de la Chorrera]], what eventually became the neighborhoods of Vedado and Miramar, next to the mouth of the [[Almendares River]]. The town that became Havana originated adjacent to what was then called ''Puerto de Carenas'' (literally, "[[Careening]] Port"), in 1519. The quality of this natural bay, which now hosts Havana's harbor, warranted this change of location.

[[Pánfilo de Narváez]] gave Havana – the sixth town founded by the Spanish on Cuba – its name: ''San Cristóbal de la Habana''. The name combines ''San Cristóbal'', [[patron saint]] of Havana. Shortly after the founding of Cuba's first cities, the island served as little more than a base for the ''Conquista'' of other lands.

Havana began as a trading port, and suffered regular attacks by [[buccaneer]]s, pirates, and [[French corsairs]]. The first attack and resultant burning of the city was by the French corsair [[Jacques de Sores]] in 1555. Such attacks convinced the Spanish Crown to fund the construction of the first fortresses in the main cities – not only to counteract the pirates and corsairs, but also to exert more control over commerce with the West Indies, and to limit the extensive ''contrabando'' ([[black market]]) that had arisen due to the trade restrictions imposed by the ''[[Casa de Contratación]]'' of [[Seville]] (the crown-controlled trading house that held a monopoly on New World trade).<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-03-15 |title=Havana - Colonial, Revolution, Cuba {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Havana/History |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

Ships from all over the New World carried products first to Havana, to be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships gathered in the city's bay also fueled Havana's agriculture and manufacture, since they had to be supplied with food, water, and other products needed to traverse the ocean.<ref name=":1" />

On 20 December 1592, [[King Philip II of Spain]] granted Havana the title of City. Later on, the city would be officially designated as "Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies" by the [[Spanish Crown]]. In the meantime, efforts to build or improve the defensive infrastructures of the city continued.<ref name=":1" />