1.
List of cities in Cuba
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This article shows a list of cities in Cuba. These are the largest Cuban cities, with at least 20,000 inhabitants, population data refers to city proper and not to the whole municipality, because they include large rural areas with several villages. All figures are accurate as of 2003 and provincial capitals are shown in bold, list of places in Cuba Municipalities of Cuba Provinces of Cuba 2012 population statistics of Cuba
List of cities in Cuba
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Havana, Capital of
Cuba
List of cities in Cuba
–
Map of Cuba
List of cities in Cuba
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Santiago de Cuba
List of cities in Cuba
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Camagüey
2.
Cuba
–
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and it is south of both the U. S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti, and north of Jamaica. Havana is the largest city and capital, other cities include Santiago de Cuba. Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, with an area of 109,884 square kilometres, prior to Spanish colonization in the late 15th century, Cuba was inhabited by Amerindian tribes. It remained a colony of Spain until the Spanish–American War of 1898, as a fragile republic, Cuba attempted to strengthen its democratic system, but mounting political radicalization and social strife culminated in the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Further unrest and instability led to Batistas ousting in January 1959 by the July 26 Movement, since 1965, the state has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba. A point of contention during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, a nuclear war broke out during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Culturally, Cuba is considered part of Latin America, Cuba is a Marxist–Leninist one-party republic, where the role of the vanguard Communist Party is enshrined in the Constitution. Independent observers have accused the Cuban government of human rights abuses. It is one of the worlds last planned economies and its economy is dominated by the exports of sugar, tobacco, coffee, according to the Human Development Index, Cuba is described as a country with high human development and is ranked the eighth highest in North America. It also ranks highly in some metrics of national performance, including health care, the name Cuba comes from the Taíno language. The exact meaning of the name is unclear but it may be translated either as where fertile land is abundant, authors who believe that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese state that Cuba was named by Columbus for the town of Cuba in the district of Beja in Portugal. Before the arrival of the Spanish, Cuba was inhabited by three distinct tribes of indigenous peoples of the Americas, the Taíno, the Guanajatabey, and the Ciboney people. The ancestors of the Ciboney migrated from the mainland of South America, the Taíno arrived from Hispanola sometime in the 3rd century A. D. When Columbus arrived they were the dominant culture in Cuba, having a population of 150,000. The name Cuba comes from the native Taíno language and it is derived from either coabana meaning great place, or from cubao meaning where fertile land is abundant. The Taíno were farmers, while the Ciboney were farmers as well as fishers and hunter-gatherers, Columbus claimed the island for the new Kingdom of Spain and named it Isla Juana after Juan, Prince of Asturias. In 1511, the first Spanish settlement was founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar at Baracoa, other towns soon followed, including San Cristobal de la Habana, founded in 1515, which later became the capital
Cuba
–
Hatuey, an early
Taíno chief of Cuba.
Cuba
–
Flag
Cuba
–
Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar,
conquistador of Cuba.
Cuba
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Slaves in Cuba unloading ice from Maine, c. 1832.
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
4.
Provinces of Cuba
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Administratively, Cuba is divided into 15 provinces and a special municipality thats not included in any province. The last modification was approved in August 2010, splitting Havana province into two new provinces, Artemisa and Mayabeque, the new provinces started functioning from January 1,2011. Havana City Province recovered its original name, La Habana, Isla de la Juventud was known until the 1970s as the Isla de Pinos. The provinces were created in 1879 by the Spanish colonial government, from 1879 to 1976, Cuba was divided into 6 provinces, which maintained with little changes the same boundaries and capital cities, although with modifications in official names. These historical provinces are the following, Pinar del Río La Habana, included the city of Havana, current Mayabeque, some municipalities of current Artemisa Province, oriente, contained the present-day provinces of Las Tunas, Granma, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo Pop. Source, Cuba census 2002 Presidents of the Provincial Assemblies of Peoples Power in each province in the country
Provinces of Cuba
–
Provinces of Cuba Provincias de Cuba (
Spanish)
5.
Santiago de Cuba Province
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Santiago de Cuba Province is the second most populated province in the island of Cuba. The largest city Santiago de Cuba is the administrative center. Other large cities include Palma Soriano, Contramaestre, San Luis, prior to 1976, Cuba was divided into six historical provinces. One of these was Oriente province, which was, prior to 1905, the present day province comprises the south-central region of Oriente. The province is rich in resources such as iron and nickel. The economy, however, relies mostly on agriculture, with large plantations growing bananas, cacao, industry is growing around the capital, as is tourism. The natural beauty of the area is attracting tourists from both the rest of Cuba and from overseas. In 2004, the province of Santiago De Cuba had a population of 1,043,202, with a total area of 6,156.44 km2, the province had a population density of 169. 4/km2
Santiago de Cuba Province
–
Santiago de Cuba Province
6.
Metropolitan area
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As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions. The Greater São Paulo is a term for one of the multiple definitions the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. A metropolitan area combines an urban agglomeration with zones not necessarily urban in character and these outlying zones are sometimes known as a commuter belt, and may extend well beyond the urban zone, to other political entities. For example, El Monte, California is considered part of the Los Angeles metro area in the United States, in practice, the parameters of metropolitan areas, in both official and unofficial usage, are not consistent. Population figures given for one area can vary by millions. A polycentric metropolitan area is one not connected by continuous development or conurbation, in defining a metropolitan area, it is sufficient that a city or cities form a nucleus that other areas have a high degree of integration with. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines statistical divisions as areas under the influence of one or more major towns or a major city. However, this definition has become obsolete with the conurbation of several statistical divisions into a larger metropolitan areas. In Brazil, metropolitan areas are called metropolitan regions, each State defines its own legislation for the creation, definition and organization of a metropolitan region. The creation of a region is not intended for any statistical purpose, although the Brazilian Institute of Geography. Their main purpose is to allow for a management of public policies of common interest to all cities involved. They dont have political, electoral or jurisdictional power whatsoever, so living in a metropolitan region do not elect representatives for them. Statistics Canada defines a metropolitan area as an area consisting of one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core. To form a CMA, the area must have a population of at least 100,000. To be included in the CMA, adjacent municipalities must have a degree of integration with the core. As of the Canada 2011 Census, there were 33 CMAs in Canada, including six with a population over one million—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. In Denmark the only area is Greater Copenhagen, consisting of the Capital Region of Denmark along with the neighboring regions Region Zealand. Greater Copenhagen has an population of 1.25 million people
Metropolitan area
–
Greater Buenos Aires,
Argentina
Metropolitan area
–
Paris (
France), one of Europe's major centres
Metropolitan area
–
Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area,
Israel
Metropolitan area
–
Perth, Western Australia, an isolated metropolitan area
7.
Demonym
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A demonym is a word that identifies residents or natives of a particular place, which is derived from the name of that particular place. It is a neologism, previously gentilic was recorded in English dictionaries, e. g. the Oxford English Dictionary, thus a Thai may be any resident or citizen of Thailand, of any ethnic group, or more narrowly a member of the Thai people. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms, for example, a native of the United Kingdom may be called a British person, a Brit, or a Briton. In some languages, when a parallel demonym does not exist, in English, demonyms are capitalized and are often the same as the adjectival form of the place, e. g. Egyptian, Japanese, or Greek. Significant exceptions exist, for instance the adjectival form of Spain is Spanish, English widely includes country-level demonyms such as Ethiopian or Guatemalan and more local demonyms such as Seoulite, Wisconsinite, Chicagoan, Michigander, Fluminense, and Paulista. Some places lack a commonly used and accepted demonym and this poses a particular challenge to those toponymists who research demonyms. The word gentilic comes from the Latin gentilis and the English suffix -ic, the word demonym was derived from the Greek word meaning populace with the suffix for name. National Geographic attributes the term demonym to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson in a recent work from 1990 and it was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals. However, in What Do You Call a Person From, a Dictionary of Resident Names attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in his Names Names, A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon, which is apparently where the term first appears. Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in the English language, the most common is to add a suffix to the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. Cairo → Cairene Cyrenaica → Cyrene Damascus → Damascene Greece → Greek Nazareth → Nazarene Slovenia → Slovene Often used for Middle Eastern locations and European locations. Kingston-upon-Hull → Hullensian Leeds → Leodensian Spain → Spaniard Savoy → Savoyard -ese is usually considered proper only as an adjective, thus, a Chinese person is used rather than a Chinese. Monaco → Monégasque Menton → Mentonasque Basque Country → Basque Often used for French locations, mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of an ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of the Luba people would be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti and these demonyms are usually more informal and colloquial. In the United States such informal demonyms frequently become associated with mascots of the sports teams of the state university system. In other countries the origins are often disputed and these will typically be formed using the standard models above
Demonym
–
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary has not adopted the term "demonyn" for these adjectives and nouns
8.
Havana
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Havana is the capital city, largest city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet, the sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592, walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U. S. battleship Maine in Havanas harbor in 1898 was the cause of the Spanish–American War. Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one, Old Havana, Vedado and the suburban districts. The city is the center of the Cuban government, and home to various ministries, headquarters of businesses, the current mayor is Marta Hernández of the Communist Party of Cuba. In 2009, the city/province had the third highest income in the country, the city attracts over a million tourists annually, the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists, a 20% increase from 2005. Old Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, the city is also noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments. As typical of Cuba, Havana also features a tropical climate, in May 2015, Havana was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, Doha, La Paz, Durban, Beirut, and Kuala Lumpur. Most native settlements became the site of Spanish colonial cities retaining their original Taíno names, an alternate theory is that Habana is derived from the Middle Dutch word havene, referring to a harbour, etymologically related to the English word haven. All attempts to found a city on Cubas south coast failed, however, an early map of Cuba drawn in 1514 places the town at the mouth of this river. The town that became Havana finally originated adjacent to what was then called Puerto de Carenas, the quality of this natural bay, which now hosts Havanas harbor, warranted this change of location. Pánfilo de Narváez gave Havana – the sixth town founded by the Spanish on Cuba – its name, the name combines San Cristóbal, patron saint of Havana. Shortly after the founding of Cubas first cities, the served as little more than a base for the Conquista of other lands. Havana began as a port, and suffered regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates. The first attack and resultant burning of the city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores in 1555, ships from all over the New World carried products first to Havana, in order to be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships gathered in the bay also fueled Havanas agriculture and manufacture, since they had to be supplied with food, water. On December 20,1592, 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
Havana
–
Clockwise from top left:
El Capitolio,
Museum of the Revolution, view of
Malecón, lighthouse at
El Morro,
Havana Cathedral,
Plaza Vieja and the
Great Theatre of Havana
Havana
–
Coat of arms
Havana
–
17th century depiction of Havana
Havana
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French pirate
Jacques de Sores looting and burning Havana in 1555
9.
El Caney
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El Caney is a small village 4 miles to the northeast of Santiago, Cuba. It was known in centuries past as the site where Hernán Cortés received a vision supposedly ordering him to Christianize Mexico, the settlement was host to the Battle of El Caney on 1 July 1898. Manuel Fernández, Spanish military general San Juan Hill Siboney Daiquirí El Cobre
El Caney
–
Spanish earthworks and trenches at El Caney, 1899
10.
El Cobre, Cuba
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El Cobre is a town in Cuba, until recently the site of a large copper mine worked by slaves, free coloured people, and for a while by miners from Cornwall. The town is now mainly for a basilica in honour of the patron saint of Cuba. The town of El Cobre grew up around the Cobre mine and it is about 12 miles north west of Santiago Bay in the Sierra Maestra mountains. Copper was first mined there in 1532, the Spanish crown confiscated the mines in 1670 after the private contractor had failed to comply with the terms of his contract and had neglected them for years. 270 private slaves became the property of the king, and the town of El Cobre became a pueblo of kings slaves and free coloured people, a unique type of settlement in Cuba. By 1730 El Cobre was one of just fourteen officially recognised settlements on Cuba, in 1780 an attempt was made to return the mine to private hands and increase production. By that time El Cobre had 1,320 inhabitants, including 64% royal slaves and 34% free coloured people, 2% were the private slaves of the free coloured people. The men were engaged in subsistence agriculture, while mining was mainly undertaken by the women. For much of this period the Cobre mine was the source of copper on the island, supplying Cuba. The first great uprising of cimarrones, or escaped slaves, occurred in Cuba in the 18th century, the 6 metres Monumento al Cimarrón was designed by Alberto Lescay Merencio and completed in 1997 as part of the UNESCO initiative to make people more aware of slavery. The inconspicuous location on a hill above the mine, was chosen by a local babalao, the mine had been abandoned by 1830. The British El Compañía Consolidada de Minas del Cobre acquired the mine, an adjacent concession was acquired and opened by the British El Real de Santiago. Both companies turned to Cornwall for skilled labour and for engines to pump out the mines. A Protestant burial ground was opened since the Cornish, considered heretics, in 1902, the mine was purchased by William A. Chanler, a wealthy New York businessman and a veteran of the Spanish–American War. Profits were initially robust enough that Chanler was able to loan $35 million to the Cuban government, the mine was closed in 2001, laying off 325 workers. The quarry filled with water, which is high in minerals, today the town is mainly known for the Basílica Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre, the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity. Luisa Pérez de Zambrana, writer and translator
El Cobre, Cuba
–
Nuestra Señora del Cobre
El Cobre, Cuba
–
Basílica during its construction in 1926
El Cobre, Cuba
–
Lateral view
11.
Siboney, Cuba
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Siboney is a Cuban village and consejo popular located in the east of the city of Santiago de Cuba and belonging to its municipality. The village lies by the Caribbean Sea, near the road linking Santiago to Baconao, in 1898 Siboney and the nearby village of Daiquirí were locations where American forces came ashore in the Spanish–American War. The World War I transport ship USS Siboney was named for this town, Siboney was also the location of a farm where Fidel Castro and his men gathered shortly before the attack on the Moncada Barracks, which is widely regarded as the start of the Cuban Revolution. Compay Segundo, musician El Caney El Cobre
Siboney, Cuba
–
Siboney beach
12.
Caribbean Sea
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The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. The entire area of the Caribbean Sea, the islands of the West Indies. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 km2, the seas deepest point is the Cayman Trough, between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, at 7,686 m below sea level. The Caribbean coastline has many gulfs and bays, the Gulf of Gonâve, Gulf of Venezuela, Gulf of Darién, Golfo de los Mosquitos, Gulf of Paria, the Caribbean Sea has the worlds second biggest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. It runs 1,000 km along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, the name Caribbean derives from the Caribs, one of the regions dominant Native American groups at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. During the first century of development, Spanish dominance in the region remained undisputed, from the 16th century, Europeans visiting the Caribbean region identified the South Sea as opposed to the North Sea. The Caribbean Sea had been unknown to the populations of Eurasia until 1492, at that time the Western Hemisphere in general was unknown to Europeans. Following the discovery of the islands by Columbus, the area was colonised by several Western cultures. As of 2015 the area is home to 22 island territories, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Caribbean Sea as follows, On the North. In the Windward Channel – a line joining Caleta Point and Pearl Point in Haïti, in the Mona Passage – a line joining Cape Engano and the extreme of Agujereada in Puerto Rico. From Galera Point through Trinidad to Galeota Point and thence to Baja Point in Venezuela, note that, although Barbados is an island on the same continental shelf, it is considered to be in the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Caribbean Sea. The Caribbean Sea is an oceanic sea largely situated on the Caribbean Plate, the Caribbean Sea is separated from the ocean by several island arcs of various ages. The youngest stretches from the Lesser Antilles to the Virgin Islands to the north east of Trinidad, the larger islands in the northern part of the sea Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico lie on an older island arc. The geological age of the Caribbean Sea is estimated to be between 160 and 180 million years and was formed by a fracture that split the supercontinent called Pangea in the Mesozoic Era. It is assumed the proto-caribbean basin existed in the Devonian period, in the early Carboniferous movement of Gondwana to the north and its convergence with the Euramerica basin decreased in size. The next stage of the Caribbean Seas formation began in the Triassic, powerful rifting led to the formation of narrow troughs, stretching from modern Newfoundland to the west coast of the Gulf of Mexico which formed siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. In the early Jurassic due to powerful marine transgression, water broke into the present area of the Gulf of Mexico creating a vast shallow pool, the emergence of deep basins in the Caribbean occurred during the Middle Jurassic rifting. The emergence of these marked the beginning of the Atlantic Ocean
Caribbean Sea
–
Roadtown,
Tortola,
British Virgin Islands
Caribbean Sea
–
Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
–
Christopher Columbus landing on
Hispaniola in 1492.
Caribbean Sea
–
Tulum,
Maya city on the coast of the Caribbean in the state of
Quintana Roo (
Mexico)
13.
Sea port
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A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land. Port locations are selected to optimize access to land and navigable water, for commercial demand, Ports with deeper water are rarer, but can handle larger ships. Since ports throughout history handled every kind of traffic, support and storage facilities vary widely, may extend for miles, some ports have an important military role. One of the worlds oldest known artificial harbors is at Wadi al-Jarf on the Red Sea, along with the finding of harbor structures, ancient anchors have also been found. Guangzhou was an important port during the ancient times as far back as the Qin Dynasty, canopus was the principal port in Egypt for Greek trade before the foundation of Alexandria. Athens port of Piraeus was the base for the Athenian fleet, lothal is one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilisation, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarāt and dating from 3700 BCE. Ostia Antica was the port of ancient Rome with Portus established by Claudius, Ports often have cargo-handling equipment, such as cranes and forklifts for use in loading ships, which may be provided by private interests or public bodies. Often, canneries or other processing facilities will be located nearby, some ports feature canals, which allow ships further movement inland. Access to intermodal transportation, such as railroads and highways, is critical to a port, so that passengers, Ports with international traffic have customs facilities. Harbor pilots and tugboats may maneuver large ships in tight quarters when near docks, the terms port and seaport are used for different types of port facilities that handle ocean-going vessels, and river port is used for river traffic, such as barges and other shallow-draft vessels. An inland port is a port on a lake, river, or canal with access to a sea or ocean. An example of this is the St. Lawrence Seaway which allows ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean several thousand kilometers inland to Great Lakes ports like Duluth-Superior, a fishing port is a port or harbor for landing and distributing fish. It may be a facility, but it is usually commercial. A fishing port is the port that depends on an ocean product. In recent decades, regulations to save fishing stock may limit the use of a fishing port, a dry port is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. A warm-water port is one where the water does not freeze in wintertime, because they are available year-round, warm-water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interest. A seaport is further categorized as a port or a cargo port. Additionally, cruise ports are known as a home port or a port of call
Sea port
–
The
Port of New York and New Jersey grew from the original
harbor at the convergence of the
Hudson River and the
East River at the
Upper New York Bay.
Sea port
–
Seaport, a 17th-century depiction by
Claude Lorrain, 1638
Sea port
–
Shanghai Port is the
world's busiest container port
Sea port
–
Port of Hamburg
14.
Conquistador
–
Conquistadors /kɒŋˈkɪstəˌdɔːrz/ is a term used to refer to the soldiers and explorers of the Spanish Empire or the Portuguese Empire in a general sense. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, Oceania, Africa and Asia, conquering territory and they colonized much of the world for Spain and Portugal in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Portugal established a route to China in the early 16th century, sending ships via the southern coast of Africa, human infections gained worldwide transmission vectors for the first time, from Africa and Eurasia to the Americas and vice versa. The spread of diseases, including smallpox, flu and typhus. In the 16th century perhaps 240,000 Europeans entered American ports, by the late 16th century silver imports from America provided one-fifth of Spains total budget. The conquistadors were professional warriors, using European tactics, firearms and their units would often specialize in forms of combat that required long periods of training that were too costly for informal groups. Their armies were composed of Iberian and other European soldiers. Native allied troops were largely equipped with armament and armour that varied geographically. Some groups consisted of men without military experience, Catholic clergy which helped with administrative duties. These native forces often included African slaves and Native Americans and they not only fought in the battlefield but served as interpreters, informants, servants, teachers, physicians, and scribes. India Catalina and Malintzin were Native American women slaves who worked for the Spaniards, Castilian law prohibited foreigners and non-Catholics from settling in the New World. However, not all conquistadors were Castilian, many foreigners Hispanicised their names and/or converted to Catholicism to serve the Castilian Crown. For example, Ioánnis Fokás was a Castilian of Greek origin who discovered the strait that bears his name between Vancouver Island and Washington State in 1592, german-born Nikolaus Federmann, Hispanicised as Nicolás de Federmán, was a conquistador in Venezuela and Colombia. The origin of people in mixed expeditions was not always distinguished. Castilian law banned Spanish women from travelling to America unless they were married and accompanied by a husband, women who travelled thus include María de Escobar, María Estrada, Marina Vélez de Ortega, Marina de la Caballería, Francisca de Valenzuela, Catalina de Salazar. Some conquistadors married Native American women or had illegitimate children, European young men enlisted in the army because it was one way out of poverty. Catholic priests instructed the soldiers in mathematics, writing, theology, Latin, Greek, and history, Kings army officers taught military arts. An uneducated young recruit could become a leader, elected by their fellow professional soldiers
Conquistador
–
Conquistadors and their native
Tlaxcalan allies enter Tenochtitlan
Conquistador
–
The surrender of
Granada in 1492. The last
Moorish sultan of Granada,
Muhammad XII, before
Ferdinand and Isabella.
Conquistador
–
Christopher Columbus 's first landing in the Americas in 1492
Conquistador
–
Hernando De Soto and Spanish Conquistadores seeing the Mississippi River for the first time.
15.
Juan de Grijalba
–
Juan de Grijalva was a Spanish conquistador, and relation of Diego Velázquez. He went to Hispaniola in 1508 and to Cuba in 1511, Grijalva was one of the earliest to explore the shores of Mexico. According to Hernán Cortés,170 people went with him, but according to Pedro Mártir, the main pilot was Antón de Alaminos, the other pilots were Juan Álvarez, Pedro Camacho de Triana, and Grijalva. Other members included Francisco de Montejo, Pedro de Alvarado, Juan Díaz, Francisco Peñalosa, Alonso de Ávila, Alonso Hernández, Julianillo, Melchorejo and they embarked in the port of Matanzas, Cuba, with four ships in April 1518. After rounding the Guaniguanico in Cuba, Grijalva sailed along the Mexican coast, discovered Cozumel, the Río Grijalva in Mexico was named after him. He was also the first Spaniard to encounter Moctezuma IIs delegation, one of the natives joined them, being baptized as Francisco, and became an interpreter on Cortes expedition. Bernal Díaz del Castillo wrote about the travels of Juan de Grijalva in his book, hernan Cortes stayed at Juans home in Trinidad, Cuba, at the start of his Mexican expedition. He recruited men there, including the five Alvarado brothers and he was killed by natives in Honduras on 21 January 1527
Juan de Grijalba
–
Juan de Grijalva
16.
Hernando de Soto (explorer)
–
A vast undertaking, de Sotos North American expedition ranged throughout the southeastern United States searching for gold, and a passage to China. De Soto died in 1542 on the banks of the Mississippi River in what is now Guachoya, Arkansas or Ferriday and he was born in Jerez de los Caballeros, in the current province of Badajoz. However, three towns—Badajoz, Barcarrota and Jerez de los Caballeros—claim to be his birthplace and he spent time as a child at each place, and he stipulated in his will that his body be interred at Jerez de los Caballeros, where other members of his family were interred. The age of the Conquerors came on the heels of the Spanish reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from Islamic forces, Spain and Portugal were filled with young men seeking a chance for military fame after the Moors were defeated. With discovery of new lands to the west, they were attracted to whispers of glory, De Soto sailed to the New World with the first Governor of Panama, Pedrarias Dávila. In 1520 he participated in Gaspar de Espinosas expedition to Veragua, there he acquired an encomienda and a public office in Leon, Nicaragua. Brave leadership, unwavering loyalty, and ruthless schemes for the extortion of native villages for their chiefs became de Sotos hallmarks during the Conquest of Central America. He gained fame as an excellent horseman, fighter, and tactician, in 1530, de Soto became a regidor of León, Nicaragua. He led an expedition up the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula searching for a passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean to enable trade with the Orient, the richest market in the world. Failing that, and without means to further, de Soto, upon Pedro Arias Dávilas death. Bringing his own men on ships which he hired, de Soto joined Francisco Pizarro at his first base of Tumbes shortly before departure for the interior of present-day Peru, Pizarro quickly made de Soto one of his captains. When Pizarro and his men first encountered the army of the Inca Atahualpa at Cajamarca, when Pizarros men attacked Atahualpa and his guard the next day, de Soto led one of the three groups of mounted soldiers. De Soto was sent to the camp of the Incan army, during 1533, the Spanish held Atahualpa captive in Cajamarca for months while his subjects paid for his ransom by filling a room with gold and silver objects. During this captivity, de Soto became friendly with Atahualpa and taught him to play chess, by the time the ransom had been completed, the Spanish became alarmed by rumors of an Incan army advancing on Cajamarca. Pizarro sent de Soto with 200 soldiers to scout for the rumored army, while de Soto was gone, the Spanish in Cajamarca decided to kill Atahualpa to prevent his rescue. De Soto returned to report that he found no signs of an army in the area, after executing Atahualpa, Pizarro and his men headed to Cuzco, the capital of the Incan Empire. As the Spanish force approached Cuzco, Pizarro sent his brother Hernando, the advance guard fought a pitched battle with Incan troops in front of the city, but the battle had ended before Pizarro arrived with the rest of the Spanish party. The Incan army withdrew during the night, the Spanish plundered Cuzco, where they found much gold and silver
Hernando de Soto (explorer)
–
Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto (explorer)
–
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Hernando de Soto (explorer)
–
A proposed route for the de Soto Expedition, based on
Charles M. Hudson map of 1997.
Hernando de Soto (explorer)
–
Library of Congress ' engraving. The Spanish caption reads: "HERNANDO DE SOTO: Extremaduran, one of the discoverers and conquerors of Peru: he travelled across all of Florida and defeated its previously invincible natives, he died on his expedition in the year 1543 at the age of 42".
17.
Cathedral
–
A cathedral is a Christian church which contains the seat of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. The counterpart term for such a church in German is Dom from Latin domus ecclesiae or domus episcopalis, also Italian Duomo, Dutch Domkerk, when the church at which an archbishop or metropolitan presides is specifically intended, the term kathedrikos naos is used. In addition, both the Catholic Church and Orthodox churches have formed new dioceses within formerly Protestant lands for converts, consequently, it is not uncommon to find Christians in a single city being served by three or more cathedrals of differing denominations. In the Catholic tradition, the term cathedral correctly applies only to a church houses the seat of the bishop of a diocese. The abbey church of a territorial abbacy serves the same function, the Catholic Church also uses the following terms. A pro-cathedral is a parish or other church used temporarily as a cathedral, usually while the cathedral of a diocese is under construction, renovation and this designation applies only as long as the temporary use continues. A co-cathedral is a cathedral in a diocese that has two sees. A proto-cathedral is the cathedral of a transferred see. The cathedral church of a bishop is called the metropolitan cathedral. The term cathedral actually carries no implication as to the size or ornateness of the building, nevertheless, most cathedrals are particularly impressive edifices. The building is now under renovation and restoration for solemn dedication under the title Christ Cathedral in 2018, in the ancient world the chair, on a raised dais, was the distinctive mark of a teacher or rhetor and thus symbolises the bishops role as teacher. A raised throne within a hall was also definitive for a Late Antique presiding magistrate. The history of cathedrals starts in the year 313, when the emperor Constantine the Great personally adopted Christianity, in the third century, the phrase ascending the platform, ad pulpitum venire, becomes the standard term for Christian ordination. During the siege of Dura Europos in 256, a complete Christian house church, or domus ecclesiae was entombed in a bank, surviving when excavated. Otherwise the large room had no decoration or distinctive features at all, in 269, soon after Dura fell to the Persian army, a body of clerics assembled a charge sheet against the bishop of Antioch, Paul of Samosata, in the form of an open letter. Characteristically a Roman magistrate presided from a throne in a large, richly decorated and aisled rectangular hall called a basilica. The earliest of these new basilican cathedrals of which remains are still visible is below the Cathedral of Aquileia on the northern tip of the Adriatic sea. The three halls create a courtyard, in which was originally located a separate baptistery
Cathedral
–
São Paulo Cathedral, a representative modern cathedral built in Neo-Gothic style.
Cathedral
–
Interior of
St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral,
Memphis, Tennessee with a procession.
Cathedral
–
The cathedral of the
Pope as Bishop of Rome, Cathedral of St. John Lateran
Cathedral
–
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis
18.
Haiti
–
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti and formerly called Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican Republic, the region was originally inhabited by the indigenous Taíno people. Spain discovered the island on 5 December 1492 during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic, when Columbus initially landed in Haiti, he had thought he had found India or Asia. On Christmas Day 1492, Columbus flagship the Santa Maria ran aground north of what is now Limonade, the island was named La Española and claimed by Spain, which ruled until the early 17th century. Competing claims and settlements by the French led to the portion of the island being ceded to France. The development of plantations, worked by slaves brought from Africa. Upon his death in a prison in France, he was succeeded by his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the Haitian Revolution lasted just over a dozen years, and apart from Alexandre Pétion, the first President of the Republic, all the first leaders of government were former slaves. The Citadelle Laferrière is the largest fortress in the Americas, Henri Christophe – former slave and first king of Haiti, Henri I – built it to withstand a possible foreign attack. It has the lowest Human Development Index in the Americas, most recently, in February 2004, a coup détat originating in the north of the country forced the resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A provisional government took control with security provided by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, the name Haïti comes from the indigenous Taíno language which was the native name given to the entire island of Hispaniola to mean, land of high mountains. The h is silent in French and the ï in Haïti, is a mark used to show that the second vowel is pronounced separately. In English, this rule for the pronunciation is often disregarded, the name Haïti was restored by Haitian revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines as the official name of independent Saint-Domingue, as a tribute to the Amerindian predecessors. The Taíno name for the island was Haiti. The people had migrated over centuries into the Caribbean islands from South America, genetic studies show they were related to the Yanomami of the Amazon Basin. They also originated in Central and South America, after migrating to Caribbean islands, in the 15th century, the Taíno were pushed into the northeast Caribbean islands by the Caribs. In the Taíno societies of the Caribbean islands, the largest unit of organization was led by a cacique, or chief. The caciquedoms were tributary kingdoms, with payment consisting of harvests, Taíno cultural artifacts include cave paintings in several locations in the country. These have become symbols of Haiti and tourist attractions
Haiti
–
Burning of the town of
Cap-Français
Haiti
–
Flag
Haiti
–
Battle between
British troops in French service and the
Haitian rebels.
Haiti
–
Pétion and Dessalines swearing allegiance to one another before God; painting by
Guillon-Lethière
19.
William Rufus Shafter
–
William Rufus Shafter was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who received Americas highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Fair Oaks. Shafter also played a prominent part as a general in the Spanish–American War. Fort Shafter, Hawaii, is named for him, as well as the city of Shafter, California, Shafter was born in Galesburg, Michigan on October 16,1835. He worked as a teacher and farmer in the preceding the Civil War. Shafter served as a 1st lieutenant the Union Armys 7th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment at the battles of Balls Bluff and he was wounded at the Battle of Fair Oaks and later received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the battle. He led a charge on the first day of the battle and was wounded towards the close of days fighting. In order to stay with his regiment he concealed his wounds, on August 22,1862 he was mustered out of the volunteer service but returned to the field as major in the 19th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was captured at the Battle of Thompsons Station and spent 3 months in a Confederate prison, in April 1864 after his release he was appointed colonel of the 17th Regiment of U. S. Colored Troops and led the regiment at the Battle of Nashville, by the end of the war, he had been promoted to brevet brigadier general of volunteers. He stayed in the army when the war ended. During his subsequent service in the Indian Wars, he received his Pecos Bill nickname and he led the 24th Infantry, another United States Colored Troops regiment, in campaigns against the Cheyenne, Comanche, Kickapoo and Kiowa Indians in Texas. While commander of Fort Davis, he started a controversial court-martial of second lieutenant Henry Flipper, in May 1897 he was appointed as a brigadier general. Just before the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, Shafter was commander of the Department of California, Shafter was an unlikely candidate for command of the expedition to Cuba. He was aged 63, weighed over 300 pounds and suffered from gout, nevertheless, he received a promotion to Major General of Volunteers and command of the Fifth Army Corps being assembled in Tampa, Florida. One possible reason for his being given this command was his lack of political ambitions, Shafter appeared to maintain a very loose control over the expedition to Cuba from the beginning, commencing with a very disorganized landing at Daiquiri on the southern coast of Cuba. Confusion prevailed over landing priorities and the chain of command, during the disembarkation, Shafter sent forward Fifth Corps Cavalry Division under Joseph Wheeler to reconnoiter the road to Santiago de Cuba. In a complete disregard of orders, Wheeler brought on a fight which escalated into the Battle of Las Guasimas, Shafter apparently did not realize the battle was even underway nor did he say anything to Wheeler about it afterward. A plan was developed for the attack on Santiago
William Rufus Shafter
–
William Rufus Shafter
William Rufus Shafter
–
Shafter's headstone at San Francisco National Cemetery
William Rufus Shafter
20.
William T. Sampson
–
William Thomas Sampson was a United States Navy rear admiral known for his victory in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War. He was born in Palmyra, New York, and entered the United States Naval Academy on September 24,1857, after graduating first in his class four years later, he served as an instructor at the Academy, teaching physics. In 1864, he became the officer of the monitor Patapsco of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and engaged in sweeping torpedoes off Charleston. He survived the loss of that ironclad on January 15,1865, when she struck a torpedo, exploded and he then commanded the Alert, the training ship Mayflower, and the Swatara while on duty at the Naval Academy. During the next years, he was Assistant to the Superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory, then Officer-in-Charge of the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, on September 9,1886, he became Superintendent of the Naval Academy. He was promoted to Captain on April 9,1889, reported to the Mare Island Navy Yard to fit out the protected cruiser San Francisco, and assumed command when she was commissioned on November 15,1889. He was detached in June 1892 to serve as Inspector of Ordnance in the Washington Navy Yard and was appointed Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance on January 28,1893 and he assumed command of the battleship Iowa on June 15,1897. On February 17,1898, he was made President of the Board of Inquiry to investigate the destruction of the Maine, on March 26,1898, he assumed command of the North Atlantic Squadron, with the temporary rank of Rear Admiral. The United States declared war against Spain on April 25,1898, Rear Admiral Sampson, in flagship New York, put to sea from Key West. After this preliminary bombardment, Sampson helped lead an attack on San Juan, along with General William Shafter. On July 1, following the invasion, Sampson returned to Cuba, reinforcing the blockades in Santiago. On May 29, Elements of Sampsons command spotted Admiral Ceveras squadron moving into Santiago harbor, on the morning of July 3,1898, Cerveras fleet came out of the harbor. Sampson was ashore at a conference with General Shafter, making plans for an attack on Santiago. The next day, Rear Admiral Sampson sent his famous message, The Fleet under my command offers the nation as a Fourth of July present, Sampsons message omitted any mention of Schleys leadership in the battle, leading to a controversy as to who was responsible for the victory. Schley appealed for a court of inquiry, which he got in 1901, in the Navy, the quarrel was so divisive that the rank-and-file identified themselves as either a Schley man or a Sampson man. The court of inquiry heard testimony in support of Schley by his own men and, despite criticism of Schley. After the Battle of Santiago Bay, Sampson was appointed Cuban Commissioner on August 20,1898 and he became Commandant of the Boston Navy Yard in October 1899 and transferred to the Retired List on February 9,1902. Sampson was a companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Yale University in October 1901, during celebrations for the bicentenary of the university
William T. Sampson
–
William Thomas Sampson
William T. Sampson
–
Rear Admiral William T. Sampson during the Spanish–American War
William T. Sampson
–
Rear Admiral William T. Sampson, from p. 73 of Cannon and Camera by John C. Hemment
William T. Sampson
21.
Cuban Revolution
–
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt conducted by Fidel Castros 26th of July Movement and its allies against the right-wing authoritarian government of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. The revolution began in July 1953, and continued sporadically until the rebels finally ousted Batista on 1 January 1959, the 26th of July Movement later reformed along communist lines, becoming the Communist Party in October 1965. Castro’s organized attack set up on the end of Santiago de Cuba against the military barracks ended in despair. The Cuban Revolution had powerful domestic and international repercussions, in particular, it transformed Cubas relationship with the United States. Efforts to improve diplomatic relations have gained momentum in recent years, in the immediate aftermath of the revolution, Castros government began a program of nationalization and political consolidation that transformed Cubas economy and civil society. The revolution also heralded an era of Cuban intervention in military conflicts, including the Angolan Civil War. Although Batista had been relatively progressive during his first term, in the 1950s he proved far more dictatorial, Batista developed a powerful security infrastructure to silence political opponents. In the months following the March 1952 coup, Fidel Castro, then a lawyer and activist, petitioned for the overthrow of Batista. However, Castros constitutional arguments were rejected by the Cuban courts, after deciding that the Cuban regime could not be replaced through legal means, Castro resolved to launch an armed revolution. Striking their first blow against the Batista government, Fidel and Raúl Castro gathered 123 Movement fighters, on 26 July 1953, the rebels attacked the Moncada Barracks in Santiago and the barracks in Bayamo, only to be decisively defeated by government soldiers. The staged attack was in hope to spark a revolt against Batista’s government. He had around 150 factory and farm workers, after an hour of fighting the rebel leader fled to the mountains. Due to the large number of men, Hunt revised the number to be around 60 members taking at the opportunity to flee to the mountains along with Castro. Among the dead was Abel Santamaría, Castros second-in-command, who was imprisoned, tortured, numerous key Movement revolutionaries, including the Castro brothers, were captured shortly afterwards. In a highly political trial, Fidel spoke for four hours in his defense, ending with the words Condemn me. Through Castro’s defense he used nationalism, the representation and beneficial programs for the non-elite Cubans, Fidel was sentenced to 15 years in the Presidio Modelo prison, located on Isla de Pinos, while Raúl was sentenced to 13 years. However, in 1955, under political pressure, the Batista government freed all political prisoners in Cuba. Fidels Jesuit childhood teachers succeeded in persuading Batista to include Fidel, soon, the Castro brothers joined with other exiles in Mexico to prepare for the overthrow of Batista, receiving training from Alberto Bayo, a leader of Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War
Cuban Revolution
–
Revolutionary leaders
Che Guevara (left) and
Fidel Castro (right) in 1961.
Cuban Revolution
–
Raúl Castro (left), with his arm around his second-in-command,
Ernesto "Che" Guevara, in their Sierra de Cristal mountain stronghold in
Oriente Province, Cuba, in 1958.
Cuban Revolution
–
Map of Cuba showing the location of the arrival of the rebels on the
Granma in late 1956, the rebels' stronghold in the
Sierra Maestra, and Guevara and Cienfuegos's route towards
Havana via
Las Villas Province in December 1958.
Cuban Revolution
–
Fidel Castro (far left) and
Che Guevara (centre) lead a memorial march in Havana on 5 May 1960, for the victims of the
La Coubre freight ship explosion.
22.
Moncada Barracks
–
The Moncada Barracks was a military barracks in Santiago de Cuba, named after the General Guillermón Moncada, a hero of the War of Independence. On 26 July 1953, the barracks was the site of an attack by a small group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro. This armed attack is widely accepted as the beginning of the Cuban Revolution, the date on which the attack took place,26 July, was adopted by Castro as the name for his revolutionary movement which eventually toppled the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. Almost all of Fidel Castros followers were Partido Ortodoxo Youth rank, only four of the 160 rebels were university graduates and most had only a primary education. Of the 137 insurgents whose ages are known, the age was 26. Nine rebels were in their teens,96 were in their twenties,27 in their thirties, the Afro Cuban composition of the group was limited to 2 blacks and 12 mulattos, partly because most biracial Cubans identified with Batista, who was of mixed blood. Castro avoided recruiting among intellectuals, who were more apt to challenge his ideas, Fidel Castro decided that army uniforms were needed for the Moncada attack. He discussed this with Calabazar cell leader Pedro Trigo Lopez, who suggested approaching his relative Florentino Fernandez Leon, Fernandez agreed and received $200 to purchase surplus uniforms, weapons, and ammunition. He then pilfered from the hospital laundry most of the blue uniforms needed to attire the rebels. The night before the attack, the men gathered at a farm in Siboney, the men left the farm at 4,45 am on 26 July 1953, planning to attack at dawn. The date of the attack was chosen because the fiestas in Santiago are held on 25 July. On 26 July 1953, at 6,00 am, Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl led a group of approximately 135 rebels in an attack on the second largest military garrison, commanded by Col. Alberto del Rio Chaviano. The group formed a sixteen-automobile caravan in order to give the appearance of being a delegation headed by an officer sent from western Cuba. The caravan of automobiles became separated by the time it arrived at the barracks, furthermore, many of the rebels who would have taken part in the attack were left behind for a lack of weapons. In Castros autobiography, he claims that he drove his car into a group of soldiers at the gate who had realized an attack was in progress. The men in the cars behind him jumped out of their cars, believing they were inside the barracks, according to Castro, this was the fatal mistake in the operation. The net result of events was the rebels being outnumbered more than 10 to 1. Fifteen soldiers and three policemen were killed and 23 soldiers and five wounded during the attack
Moncada Barracks
–
The Moncada Barracks in 2013 after extensive renovation
Moncada Barracks
–
In memory of the attacks (in
Cienfuegos).
23.
Fidel Castro
–
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then as President from 1976 to 2008. Politically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist, he served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1961 until 2011. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party socialist state, industry and business were nationalized, born in Birán, Oriente as the son of a wealthy Spanish farmer, Castro adopted leftist anti-imperialist politics while studying law at the University of Havana. After a years imprisonment, he traveled to Mexico where he formed a revolutionary group, returning to Cuba, Castro took a key role in the Cuban Revolution by leading the Movement in a guerrilla war against Batistas forces from the Sierra Maestra. After Batistas overthrow in 1959, Castro assumed military and political power as Cubas Prime Minister, adopting a Marxist–Leninist model of development, Castro converted Cuba into a one-party, socialist state under Communist Party rule, the first in the Western Hemisphere. Policies introducing central economic planning and expanding healthcare and education were accompanied by control of the press. These actions, coupled with Castros leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983 and Cubas medical internationalism, following the Soviet Unions dissolution in 1991, Castro led Cuba into its Special Period and embraced environmentalist and anti-globalization ideas. In the 2000s he forged alliances in the Latin American pink tide—namely with Hugo Chávezs Venezuela—and signed Cuba up to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, in 2006 he transferred his responsibilities to Vice-President Raúl Castro, who was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly in 2008. Castro is a world figure. His supporters view him as a champion of socialism and anti-imperialism whose revolutionary regime advanced economic, critics view him as a dictator whose administration oversaw human-rights abuses, the exodus of a large number of Cubans, and the impoverishment of the countrys economy. He was decorated with various awards and significantly influenced various individuals. In 1960 Castro was bestowed with the Grand Slam Silver Trophy in the prestigious Ernest Hemingway International Billfishing Tournament after he caught a sailfish, Castro was born out of wedlock at his fathers farm on August 13,1926. His father, Ángel Castro y Argiz, was a migrant to Cuba from Galicia, aged six, Castro was sent to live with his teacher in Santiago de Cuba, before being baptized into the Roman Catholic Church at the age of eight. Being baptized enabled Castro to attend the La Salle boarding school in Santiago, in 1945 he transferred to the more prestigious Jesuit-run El Colegio de Belén in Havana. Although Castro took an interest in history, geography and debating at Belén, he did not excel academically, in 1945, Castro began studying law at the University of Havana. Admitting he was illiterate, he became embroiled in student activism. In 1947, Castro joined the Party of the Cuban People, a charismatic figure, Chibás advocated social justice, honest government, and political freedom, while his party exposed corruption and demanded reform. Though Chibás came third in the 1948 general election, Castro remained committed to working on his behalf, in later years anti-Castro dissidents accused him of committing gang-related assassinations at the time, but these remain unproven
Fidel Castro
–
Castro on a visit to Washington D.C. in 1959
Fidel Castro
–
Castro intended to overthrow the presidency of General
Fulgencio Batista (left, with
U.S. Army Chief of staff Malin Craig, in 1938).
Fidel Castro
–
Fidel Castro under arrest after the Moncada attack
Fidel Castro
–
Fidel's brother Raúl (left) and friend Guevara (right).
24.
Bacardi
–
Bacardi Limited is the largest privately held, family-owned spirits company in the world. Originally known for its eponymous Bacardi white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in 1862, and family-owned for seven generations, Bacardi employs 6,000 people, manufactures at 29 facilities in 16 markets on four continents, Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited. The company sells in excess of 200 million bottles per year, the companys sales in 2007 were US$5.5 billion, up from $4.9 billion in 2006. In recent years sales have stagnated, with the company recording US$4.6 billion in 2014 and it laid off 10% of its North American workforce in 2015. Bacardi Limited is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, and has a 16-member board of directors led by the original founders great-great grandson, along with other leading alcohol producers, Bacardi is part of a producers commitments organization which aims to reduce harmful drinking. Facundo Bacardí Massó, a Spanish wine merchant, was born in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain, in 1814, during this period, rum was cheaply made and not considered a refined drink, and rarely sold in upmarket taverns. Facundo began attempting to tame rum by isolating a proprietary strain of yeast still used in Bacardi production and this yeast gives Bacardi rum its flavour profile. After experimenting with several techniques he hit upon filtering the rum through charcoal, in addition to this, Facundo aged the rum in white oak barrels, which had the effect of mellowing the drink. The final product was the first clear, or white rum in the world. Moving from the stage to a more commercial endeavour, he and his brother José set up a Santiago de Cuba distillery they bought in 1862. In the rafters of this building lived fruit bats – the inspiration for the Bacardi bat logo and this logo was pragmatic considering with high illiteracy rate in the 19th century, it enabled customers to easily identify the product. The 1880s and 90s were turbulent times for Cuba and the company, Emilio Bacardi, Don Facundos eldest son, was repeatedly imprisoned and was exiled from Cuba for having fought in the rebel army against Spain in the Cuban War of Independence. Emilios brothers, Facundo and José, and his brother-in-law Henri Schueg, the women in the family were exiled in Kingston, Jamaica. After the Cuban War of Independence and the US occupation of Cuba, The Original Cuba Libre, in 1899 US General Leonard Wood appointed Emilio Bacardi Mayor of Santiago de Cuba. In 1912, Emilio Bacardi travelled to Egypt, where he purchased a mummy for the future Emilio Bacardi Moreau Municipal Museum in Santiago de Cuba. In Santiago, his brother Facundo M. Bacardí continued to manage the company along with Schueg, the New York plant was soon shut down due to Prohibition, yet during this time Cuba became a hotspot for US tourists. In 1922 Emilio opened a new distillery in Santiago, in 1930 Schueg opened the Art Deco Bacardi building in Havana and the third generation of the Bacardí family entered the business
Bacardi
–
The
Bacardi Building in Havana, Cuba
Bacardi
–
The "Cathedral of Rum" at the Bacardi distillery in
Cataño,
Puerto Rico, near
San Juan
Bacardi
–
The Bacardi building on
Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, the US headquarters of Bacardi
25.
Facundo Bacardi Masso
–
Don Facundo Bacardí Masso was a Spanish businessman. In 1862 he founded the eponymous Bacardi rum distillery, Bacardí was born in Sitges, son of a family of bricklayers. He followed his brothers to Cuba, finding employment in their general store in Santiago. Over time, he saved up his own capital, and in 1844 he established his own mercantile shop, just three months earlier he had married Amalia Moreau, a woman from a very prosperous family of Franco-Haitian descent. Both would prove to be sources of capital for Facundos business ventures, in 1848, María in 1851, José in 1857, and Amalia Jr. in 1861. An earthquake followed by an epidemic devastated Santiago in 1852, claiming Juan and María and sending Facundo. Upon his return, Facundo found his store looted and business conditions in Santiago poor in the wake of the disaster and amid a global slump in sugar, Facundos business wasnt able to recover, and it was bankrupt in 1855. Soon after, Facundo began to experiment with the process of distilling rum, previously, rum was a crude, low quality beverage. Facundo, with the help of a French Cuban named José León Boutellier, in 1862 the partners acquired a distillery and constituted the firm Bacardí, Boutellier, and Company, using capital supplied by Facundos younger brother José. Having started in retailing, Bacardi understood how to sell things and he began to sign each shipment of rum with a bold Bacardí M, in addition, he used the now iconic bat as the brands image. In 1874, the firm was reorganized, Facundo bought out his younger brother José, and his sons contributed some of their own capital and bought out most of Boutelliers stake as he declined in health. The new company was named simply Bacardí and Company, the firm gained growing renown as its rum was sold throughout Cuba and even the wider world after winning prizes in international exhibitions. In 1877 Facundo retired, turning management of the company over to his sons Emilio Facundo Jr. the ensuing period of Cuban history was politically tumultuous, as the society struggled against Spanish imperialism. Facundo was generally pro-Spanish, which restrained the liberal tendencies of his respectful sons. However, Emilio in particular became highly involved in politics while running the business. During one of many sweeps by the loyalist security services, Emilio, Facundo was released but Emilio was eventually imprisoned for four years, during which the business was operated by the remaining brothers with Facundo providing strategic advice from the prison. Facundo lived to see Emilio released and the business to grow in fame, although not yet in financial strength
Facundo Bacardi Masso
–
Facundo Bacardí
26.
Compay Segundo
–
Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz Telles, known professionally as Compay Segundo, was a Cuban trova guitarist, singer and composer. Compay Segundo, so called because he was always second voice in his partnerships, was born in Siboney, Cuba. His first engagement was in the Municipal Band of Santiago de Cuba, directed by his teacher, in 1934, after a spell in a quintet, he moved to Havana, where he also played the clarinet in the Municipal Band. He also learned to play the guitar and the tres, which became his usual instruments, Compay Segundo also invented the armónico, a seven-stringed guitar-like instrument, to fill the harmonic jump between the Spanish guitar and the tres. In the 1950s he became known as the second voice and tres player in Los Compadres. Los Compadres were one of the most successful Cuban duos of their time, greater international fame came later, in 1997, with the release of the Buena Vista Social Club album, a hugely successful recording which won several Grammy awards. Compay Segundo appeared in the film of the title, made subsequently by Wim Wenders. Segundos most famous composition is Chan Chan, the track on the Buena Vista Social Club album. Chan Chan was recorded by Segundo himself various times as well as by countless other Latin artists, other compositions are Sarandonga, La calabaza, Hey caramba, Macusa, Saludo Compay. These are all sones, and this differentiates him from the more usual trova musicians, however, it seems his interests went much further, I have danzones, waltzes, sones. Because Ive learned from those who know how to preserve the tradition of the music, I play music the way it was played in yesteryear. I started out playing the son corto, as Miguel Matamoros used to say, The son is short and sweet. Back in the day, theyd start out playing son at seven in the evening, at a fiesta he sang to President Fidel Castro, who took his pulse and joked about his vitality despite his 90-plus years. He asked when he found himself at the Vatican City, performing Chan Chan before Pope John Paul II and he explained his longevity simply, mutton consommé and a drink of rum. He predicted that he would live to be 115, but died of kidney failure in Havana,20 years short of his ambition. In 2007, the 100th anniversary of Segundos birth was celebrated with a concert of his compositions performed by an orchestra in Havana with some of his musicians and sons. k. a. Official site of Buena Vista Social Club Grupo Compay Segundo Biography with photos of Compay Segundo in lahuellasonora. com Compay Segundo at Find a Grave Compay Segundo discography at discogs. com
Compay Segundo
–
Compay Segundo at the
Hotel Nacional de Cuba with a standing ovation, Havana. October 2002
Compay Segundo
–
The tomb of Compay Segundo at the Cementerio de Santa Ifigenia in
Santiago de Cuba. March 2014
27.
Eliades Ochoa
–
Eliades Ochoa is a Cuban guitarist and singer from Loma de la Avispa, Songo La Maya in the east of the country near Santiago de Cuba. He began playing the guitar when he was six and in 1978 he was invited to join Cuarteto Patria and he plays the guitar, tres and also a variant of the guitar, with two additional strings. His involvement with the Buena Vista Social Club and the Wim Wenders film of the name, has led him to worldwide fame. In 2010 he recorded an album with a number of Cuban and Malian musicians, including Toumani Diabaté, eliades Ochoa y el Cuarteto Patria Buena Vista Social Club CubÁfrica Cuidadito Compay gallo. com
Eliades Ochoa
–
Ochoa performing live May 2009 Photo: Juan Gonzales Andres
28.
Buena Vista Social Club
–
The original Buena Vista Social Club held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s. The recording, named Buena Vista Social Club after the Havana institution, became a success. The success of both the album and film sparked a revival of interest in traditional Cuban music and Latin American music in general, some of the Cuban performers later released well-received solo albums and recorded collaborations with stars from different musical genres. The Buena Vista Social Club was a club located in the populous Marianao neighborhood. Buena Vista means good view in Spanish, according to Juan Cruz, a former master of ceremonies at the Salon Rosado Benny Moré nightclub in Havana, the club was located on Calle 31 between 46 and 48. When musicians Ry Cooder, Compay Segundo and a crew attempted to identify the location of the club in the 1990s. The club was run along the lines of a Cabildo, a community dating back to Spanish colonialism. According to American guitarist Ry Cooder, Prominent musicians who performed at the club during the 1930s and 1940s include bassist Cachao López and this had an immediate impact on the livelihoods of local entertainers. Consequently, the cultural and social centers were abolished, including the Afro-Cuban mutual aid Sociedades de Color in 1962, private festivities were limited to weekend parties and organizers funds were confiscated. The measures meant the closure of the Buena Vista Social Club, the emergence of pop music and salsa, a style derived from Cuban music but developed in the United States, meant that son music became even less common. Groups such as Los Van Van and Irakere established modern forms of Cuban music, paving the way for new rhythms, Cubas dance music had already inspired a change from the older son-style dances, as younger Cubans broke free of step-oriented dances. On Cooders arrival, it transpired that the musicians from Mali had not received their visas and were unable to travel to Havana, Cooder and Gold changed their plans and decided to record an album of Cuban son music with local musicians. A search for additional musicians led the team to singer Manuel Puntillita Licea, pianist Rubén González and octogenarian singer Compay Segundo, the sessions also produced material for the subsequent release, Introducing. Rubén González, which showcased the work of the Cuban pianist. One of the songs featured on the album was Buena Vista Social Club, a song written by Orestes López. The song spotlighted the piano work of Rubén González and it was recorded after Cooder heard González improvising around the musical theme before a days recording session. After playing the piece, González explained to Cooder the history of the social club, when searching for a name for the overall project, manager Nick Gold chose the songs title. According to Cooder, Upon release on 17 September 1997, the CD became a word of mouth hit. It sold more than five copies and won a Grammy award in 1998
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
–
Guitarist
Eliades Ochoa who sang "El Carretero" on the record. In the film, Ochoa is shown playing the song whilst walking alongside a deserted railtrack.
Buena Vista Social Club
–
Film director
Wim Wenders, who shot the documentary
Buena Vista Social Club in 1999
Buena Vista Social Club
–
Compay Segundo saying goodbye to the audience at the
Hotel Nacional de Cuba, Havana. October 2002
29.
Son (music)
–
Son cubano is a genre of music and dance that originated in the highlands of eastern Cuba during the late 19th century. It is a genre that amalgamates elements of Spanish and African origin. Among its fundamental Hispanic components are the style, lyrical metre. On the other hand, its characteristic clave rhythm, call and response structure, around 1909 the son reached Havana, where the first recordings were made in 1917. This marked the start of its expansion throughout the island, becoming Cubas most popular, while early groups had between three and five members, during the 1920s the sexteto became the genres primary format. By the 1930s, many bands had incorporated a trumpet, becoming septetos, and in the 1940s a larger type of ensemble featuring congas and piano became the norm, the cojunto. Besides, the son became one of the ingredients in the jam sessions known as descargas that flourished during the 1950s. The international presence of the son can be traced back to the 1930s when many bands toured Europe and North America, similarly, radio broadcasts of son became popular in West Africa and the Congos, leading to the development of hybrid genres such as Congolese rumba. In the 1960s, New Yorks music scene prompted the rapid success of salsa, in Spanish, the word son, from Latin sonus, denotes a pleasant sound, particularly a musical one. In eastern Cuba, the term began to be used to refer to the music of the highlands towards the late 19th century, to distinguish it from similar genres from other countries, the term son cubano is most commonly used. In Cuba, various qualifiers are used to distinguish the variants of the genre. These include son montuno, son oriental, son santiaguero and son habanero, Son singers are generally known as soneros, and the verb sonear describes not only their singing but also their vocal improvisation. The adjective soneado refers to songs and styles which incorporate the tempo and syncopation of the son, generally, there is an explicit diffenrece between styles that incorporate elements of the son partially or totally, as evidenced by the distinction between bolero soneado and bolero-son. The term sonora refers to conjuntos with smoother trumpet sections such as Sonora Matancera and Sonora Ponceña, although the history of Cuban music dates back to the 16th century, the son is a relatively recent musical invention whose precursors emerged in the mid-to-late 19th century. Musicologists agree that the ancestors of the son appeared in Cubas Oriente Province. These forms flourished in the context of rural parties such as guateques, where bungas were known to perform, such early guitars are thought to have given rise to the tres some time around 1890 in Baracoa. The addition of a section composed of percussion instruments such as the bongó. Due to the very little historiographical and ethnomusicological research devoted to the son and this fallacy stemmed from the apocryphal origin story of a folk song known as Son de Má Teodora
Son (music)
–
Sexteto Habanero 1920.
Son (music)
–
Sexteto Habanero 1925.
Son (music)
–
Sexteto Boloña 1926.
Son (music)
–
Sexteto Occidente, New York 1926 back:
María Teresa Vera (guitar),
Ignacio Piñeiro (double bass), Julio Torres Biart (tres); front: Miguelito Garcia (clave), Manuel Reinoso (bongo) and Francisco Sánchez (maracas)
30.
Salsa (dance)
–
Salsa is a popular form of social dance that originated in the Caribbean. The name salsa has been described as a dance since the mid-1970s, the use of the term for the dance started in New York. Salsa, like most music genres has gone through a lot of variation through the years and incorporated elements of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean dances such as Guaguanco and Pachanga. Different countries of the Caribbean and Latin America have distinct salsa styles of their own, such as Cuban, Cali Colombia, Puerto Rican, L. A. there is some controversy surrounding the origins of the word salsa. Some claim that it was based on a cry shouted by musicians while they were playing their music, others believe that the term was created by record labels to better market their music, who chose the word salsa because of its spicy and hot connotations. Still others believe the term came about because salsa dancing and music is a mixture of different styles, in many styles of salsa dancing, as a dancer shifts their weight by stepping, the upper body remains level and nearly unaffected by the weight changes. Weight shifts cause the hips to move, arm and shoulder movements are also incorporated. The Cuban Casino style of salsa dancing involves significant movement above the waist, with up-and-down shoulder movements, the arms are used by the lead dancer to communicate or signal the follower, either in open or closed position. The open position requires the two dancers to one or both hands, especially for moves that involve turns, putting arms behind the back, or moving around each other. In the closed position, the leader puts the right hand on the followers back, in the original Latin America form, the forward/backward motion of salsa is done in diagonal or sideways with the 3-step weight change intact. This circular style is inspired by Cuban Son, specifically to the beat of Son Montuno in the 1920s, however, as it is a popular music, it is open to improvisation and thus it is continuously evolving. Modern salsa styles are associated and named to the geographic areas that developed them. There are often devotees of each of these styles outside of their home territory, characteristics that may identify a style include, timing, basic steps, foot patterns, body movement, turns and figures, attitude, dance influences and the way that partners hold each other. The point in a musical bar music where a larger step is taken. Latin American styles originate from Puerto Rico, Cuba and surrounding Caribbean islands, Salsa dance socials are commonly held in night clubs, bars, ballrooms, restaurants, and outside, especially if part of an outdoor festival. Salsa dancing is a dance that can be found in most metropolitan cities in the world. Festivals are held annually, often called a Salsa Congress, in various host cities aimed to attract variety of salsa dancers from other cities and countries. The events bring together to share their passion for the dance, build community
Salsa (dance)
–
Salsa dancing in
Cali,
Colombia
Salsa (dance)
–
Students from
Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City perform at Culture Week
Salsa (dance)
–
Dancing Salsa in Mexico
Salsa (dance)
–
International Salsa Congress, 2004 at
Bangalore
31.
Carnival
–
Carnival is a Western Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide. Carnival typically involves a public celebration and/or parade combining some elements of a circus, masks, people wear masks and costumes during many such celebrations, allowing them to lose their everyday individuality and experience a heightened sense of social unity. Excessive consumption of alcohol, meat, and other foods proscribed during Lent is extremely common, the term Carnival is traditionally used in areas with a large Catholic presence. However, the Philippines, a predominantly Roman Catholic country, does not celebrate Carnival anymore since the dissolution of the Manila Carnival after 1939, in Slavic Eastern Orthodox nations, Maslenitsa is celebrated during the last week before Great Lent. In German-speaking Europe and the Netherlands, the Carnival season traditionally opens on 11/11 and this dates back to celebrations before the Advent season or with harvest celebrations of St. Martins Day. Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is the biggest in the world, followed jointly by Barranquilla, Colombia, alternative names are used for regional and local celebrations. The origin may be from the Italian word carne or carrus, the former suggests an origin within Christianity, while the alternative links to earlier religions. Folk etymologies state that the word comes from the Late Latin expression carne vale, the word carne may also be translated as flesh, producing a farewell to the flesh, a phrase embraced by certain carnival celebrants to embolden the festivals carefree spirit. However, this interpretation is not supported by philological evidence, the Italian carne levare is one possible origin, meaning to remove meat, since meat is prohibited during Lent. Other scholars argue for the origin from the Roman name for the festival of the Navigium Isidis, the festival consisted of a parade of masks following an adorned wooden boat, possibly source of the floats. From the anthropological point of view, carnival is a ritual, in which social roles are reversed. Winter was thought of as the reign of the winter spirits, Carnival can thus be regarded as a rite of passage from darkness to light, from winter to summer, a fertility celebration, the first spring festival of the new year. Traditionally, a carnival feast was the last opportunity for people to eat well. Until spring produce was available, people were limited to the necessary meals during this period. On what nowadays is called vastenavond, all the winter stores of lard, butter. The selected livestock had already been slaughtered in November and the meat would be no longer preservable, all the food that had survived the winter had to be eaten to assure that everyone was fed enough to survive until the coming spring would provide new food sources. Several Germanic tribes celebrated the returning of the daylight, the winter would be driven out, to make sure that fertility could return in spring
Carnival
–
Masquerade at the
Carnival of Venice.
Carnival
–
Carnival celebrations in the
Southern Netherlands, 1490
Carnival
–
Carnival in Rome circa 1650
Carnival
–
Games during the carnival at
Rio de Janeiro, c. 1822
32.
Conga (music)
–
The term conga refers to the music groups within Cuban comparsas and the music they play. Comparsas are large ensembles of musicians, singers and dancers with a costume and choreography which perform in the street carnivals of Santiago de Cuba. The instrumentation differs between congas santiagueras and congas habaneras, Congas and comparsas have a long history which dates back to the 19th century, with musical traditions being passed down from one generation to the next. The older comparsas are derived from cabildos de nación or other groups, whereas the later ones. The music of the congas has become a genre itself, being introduced into Cuban popular music in the early 20th century by such as Eliseo Grenet and Armando Oréfiche. They have been present for decades in the repertoire of many conjuntos, Cuban big bands and descarga ensembles, also having an influence on genres such as salsa. The conga drum, also known in Cuba as tumbadora, took its name from the congas de comparsa, the history of the conga is obscure and its origins remain largely unknown. Tumba is mentioned in connection with mamarrachos as early as 1847, a word that may be synonymous with tumba is the word tango, mentioned as early as 1856. Unfortunately, most 19th-century writers were extremely negative towards Afro-Cuban culture, Congo was the word used to designate African slaves brought to Cuba from the Congo region of Africa. According to the rules of Spanish grammar, congo became a masculine noun/adjective and this Spanish noun/adjective pair has been used in Cuba to designate anything pertaining to the above-mentioned African slaves and their culture. Therefore, some have assumed that conga was originally an adjective, however, the word conga may also derive from either maconga or nkunga in the language of the Congo. Ortiz also states that the drum called bokú is. typical of the congos, goodman mentions the “comparsa conga” in conjunction with a carnaval figure known as “el Rey del Congo”, which seems to confirm a kongo ethnic connection to the conga. Also, the word bokú means “drum” in Kikongo, in the early years after the establishment of the Republic of Cuba in 1902, there were numerous decrees by successive mayors of Santiago de Cuba banning African drums and tangos. Apparently, these decrees were not faithfully enforced, “In spite of the prohibitive proclamation, the tumbas echoed loudly everywhere, including in the most central and heavily-traveled areas. And together with the raucous and uncouth sound of the African tumba, the well-known arrolladera displayed its contortions. ”According to Pérez, “Although the prohibition of African manifestations was reiterated, the comparsas were permitted. ”Opponents to the conga in print outnumbered defenders. The conga was a thing of the illiterate Afro-Cuban working people, while the writers of editorials, from today, it is only 18 days until the carnaval starts. How it torments me to think there are still so many days to go. That the sound of the conga nourishes me, the sound of the frying pans gives me life, several days prior to the beginning of rehearsals, I went to see a doctor, I felt overwhelmed, sad, pensive
Conga (music)
–
The conga Paso Franco playing in the streets of Santiago
33.
Haitian Voodoo
–
Haitian Vodou is a syncretic religion practiced chiefly in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. Practitioners are called vodouists or servants of the spirits, Vodouists believe in a distant and unknowable Supreme Creator, Bondye. According to Vodouists, Bondye does not intercede in human affairs, religious practices of contemporary Vodou are descended from, and closely related to, West African Vodun as practiced by the Fon and Ewe. In Haiti, whereas a small number of Roman Catholics combine their faith with aspects of Vodou. Vodou is a Haitian Creole word that referred to only a small subset of Haitian rituals. Two of the major speaking populations of Ayizo are the Ewe and these two peoples composed a sizable number of the early enslaved population in St Dominique. These terms also refer to the religion as a whole, outside of Haiti, the term Vodou refers to the entirety of traditional Haitian religious practice. Originally written as vodun, it is first recorded in Doctrina Christiana, in the following centuries, Vodou was eventually taken up by non-Haitians as a generic descriptive term for traditional Haitian religion. There are many used orthographies for this word, today, the spelling Vodou is the most commonly accepted orthography in English. The spelling voodoo, once common, is now generally avoided by Haitian practitioners and scholars when referring to the Haitian religion. Vodou is popularly described as not simply a religion, but rather an experience that ties body, the concept of tying that exists in Haitian religious culture is derived from the Congolese tradition of kanga, the practice of tying ones soul to something tangible. This tying of soul is evident in many Haitian Vodou practices that are still exercised today, Vodouisants believe in a Supreme God called Bondye, from the French bon good + Dieu God. When it came in contact with Roman Catholicism, the Supreme Creator was associated with the Christian God, since Bondye is considered unreachable, Vodouisants aim their prayers to lesser entities, the spirits known as loa, or mistè. The most notable loa include Papa Legba, Erzulie Freda, Simbi, Kouzin Zaka and these loa can be divided into 21 nations, which include the Petro, Rada, Congo, and Nago. Each of the loa is associated with a particular Roman Catholic saint, for example, Legba is associated with St. Anthony the Hermit, and Damballa is associated with St. Patrick. The loa also fall into groups who share a surname, such as Ogou, Ezili. For instance, Ezili is a family, Ezili Danto and Ezili Freda are two individual spirits in that family, vodous moral code focuses on the vices of dishonor and greed. There is also a notion of relative propriety—and what is appropriate to someone with Dambala Wedo as their head may be different from someone with Ogou Feray as their head, for example, one spirit is very cool and the other is very hot
Haitian Voodoo
–
Vodou altar during a celebration for
Papa Guédé in
Boston. This altar has offerings to three nations (nanchons) of
loa: at top right are offerings to
Rada spirits; at top left are those for the
Petwo family; and those at bottom are for
Guédé.
Haitian Voodoo
–
Vodou paraphernalia,
Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Haitian Voodoo
–
A large sequined Vodou "drapo" or flag by the artist George Valris, depicting the
veve, or symbol, of the loa Loko Atison.
Haitian Voodoo
–
Vodou ceremony,
Jacmel,
Haiti.
34.
Baroque
–
The style began around 1600 in Rome and Italy, and spread to most of Europe. The aristocracy viewed the dramatic style of Baroque art and architecture as a means of impressing visitors by projecting triumph, power, Baroque palaces are built around an entrance of courts, grand staircases, and reception rooms of sequentially increasing opulence. However, baroque has a resonance and application that extend beyond a reduction to either a style or period. It is also yields the Italian barocco and modern Spanish barroco, German Barock, Dutch Barok, others derive it from the mnemonic term Baroco, a supposedly laboured form of syllogism in logical Scholastica. The Latin root can be found in bis-roca, in informal usage, the word baroque can simply mean that something is elaborate, with many details, without reference to the Baroque styles of the 17th and 18th centuries. The word Baroque, like most periodic or stylistic designations, was invented by later critics rather than practitioners of the arts in the 17th, the term Baroque was initially used in a derogatory sense, to underline the excesses of its emphasis. In particular, the term was used to describe its eccentric redundancy and noisy abundance of details, although it was long thought that the word as a critical term was first applied to architecture, in fact it appears earlier in reference to music. Another hypothesis says that the word comes from precursors of the style, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola and he did not make the distinctions between Mannerism and Baroque that modern writers do, and he ignored the later phase, the academic Baroque that lasted into the 18th century. Long despised, Baroque art and architecture became fashionable between the two World Wars, and has remained in critical favour. In painting the gradual rise in popular esteem of Caravaggio has been the best barometer of modern taste, William Watson describes a late phase of Shang-dynasty Chinese ritual bronzes of the 11th century BC as baroque. The term Baroque may still be used, usually pejoratively, describing works of art, craft, the appeal of Baroque style turned consciously from the witty, intellectual qualities of 16th-century Mannerist art to a visceral appeal aimed at the senses. It employed an iconography that was direct, simple, obvious, germinal ideas of the Baroque can also be found in the work of Michelangelo. Even more generalised parallels perceived by some experts in philosophy, prose style, see the Neapolitan palace of Caserta, a Baroque palace whose construction began in 1752. In paintings Baroque gestures are broader than Mannerist gestures, less ambiguous, less arcane and mysterious, more like the stage gestures of opera, Baroque poses depend on contrapposto, the tension within the figures that move the planes of shoulders and hips in counterdirections. Baroque is a style of unity imposed upon rich, heavy detail, Baroque style featured exaggerated lighting, intense emotions, release from restraint, and even a kind of artistic sensationalism. There were highly diverse strands of Italian baroque painting, from Caravaggio to Cortona, the most prominent Spanish painter of the Baroque was Diego Velázquez. The later Baroque style gradually gave way to a more decorative Rococo, while the Baroque nature of Rembrandts art is clear, the label is less often used for Vermeer and many other Dutch artists. Flemish Baroque painting shared a part in this trend, while continuing to produce the traditional categories
Baroque
–
The Triumph of the Immaculate by
Paolo de Matteis
Baroque
–
The Church of
Sant'Andrea al Quirinale, designed by
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Baroque
–
Brooch of an African,
Walters Art Museum
Baroque
–
Aeneas Flees Burning Troy,
Federico Barocci, 1598
35.
Neoclassical architecture
–
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century. In its purest form, it is a style derived from the architecture of classical antiquity, the Vitruvian principles. In form, Neoclassical architecture emphasizes the wall rather than chiaroscuro, Neoclassical architecture is still designed today, but may be labelled New Classical Architecture for contemporary buildings. In Central and Eastern Europe, the style is referred to as Classicism. Many early 19th-century neoclassical architects were influenced by the drawings and projects of Étienne-Louis Boullée, the many graphite drawings of Boullée and his students depict spare geometrical architecture that emulates the eternality of the universe. There are links between Boullées ideas and Edmund Burkes conception of the sublime, the baroque style had never truly been to the English taste. The most popular was the four-volume Vitruvius Britannicus by Colen Campbell, the book contained architectural prints of famous British buildings that had been inspired by the great architects from Vitruvius to Palladio. At first the book featured the work of Inigo Jones. Palladian architecture became well established in 18th-century Britain, at the forefront of the new school of design was the aristocratic architect earl, Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, in 1729, he and William Kent, designed Chiswick House. This House was a reinterpretation of Palladios Villa Capra, but purified of 16th century elements and this severe lack of ornamentation was to be a feature of the Palladianism. In 1734 William Kent and Lord Burlington designed one of Englands finest examples of Palladian architecture with Holkham Hall in Norfolk, the main block of this house followed Palladios dictates quite closely, but Palladios low, often detached, wings of farm buildings were elevated in significance. This classicising vein was also detectable, to a degree, in the Late Baroque architecture in Paris. This shift was even visible in Rome at the redesigned façade for S, by the mid 18th century, the movement broadened to incorporate a greater range of Classical influences, including those from Ancient Greece. The shift to neoclassical architecture is conventionally dated to the 1750s, in France, the movement was propelled by a generation of French art students trained in Rome, and was influenced by the writings of Johann Joachim Winckelmann. The style was adopted by progressive circles in other countries such as Sweden. A second neoclassic wave, more severe, more studied and more consciously archaeological, is associated with the height of the Napoleonic Empire, in France, the first phase of neoclassicism was expressed in the Louis XVI style, and the second in the styles called Directoire or Empire. The Scottish architect Charles Cameron created palatial Italianate interiors for the German-born Catherine II the Great in St. Petersburg, indoors, neoclassicism made a discovery of the genuine classic interior, inspired by the rediscoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum. These had begun in the late 1740s, but only achieved an audience in the 1760s
Neoclassical architecture
–
The
Cathedral of Vilnius
Neoclassical architecture
–
Woburn Abbey, an excellent example of English Palladianism, designed by
Burlington's student
Henry Flitcroft in 1746.
Neoclassical architecture
–
Altes Museum, built by
Karl Friedrich Schinkel in
Berlin.
Neoclassical architecture
–
Château de Malmaison, 1800, room for the
Empress Joséphine, on the cusp between
Directoire style and
Empire style
36.
Americas
–
The Americas, also collectively called America, encompass the totality of the continents of North America and South America. Together they make up most of the land in Earths western hemisphere, along with their associated islands, they cover 8% of Earths total surface area and 28. 4% of its land area. The topography is dominated by the American Cordillera, a chain of mountains that runs the length of the west coast. The flatter eastern side of the Americas is dominated by river basins, such as the Amazon, St. Lawrence River / Great Lakes basin, Mississippi. Humans first settled the Americas from Asia between 42,000 and 17,000 years ago, a second migration of Na-Dene speakers followed later from Asia. The subsequent migration of the Inuit into the neoarctic around 3500 BCE completed what is regarded as the settlement by the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The first known European settlement in the Americas was by the Norse explorer Leif Ericson, however, the colonization never became permanent and was later abandoned. The voyages of Christopher Columbus from 1492 to 1502 resulted in permanent contact with European powers, diseases introduced from Europe and Africa devastated the indigenous peoples, and the European powers colonized the Americas. Mass emigration from Europe, including numbers of indentured servants. Decolonization of the Americas began with the American Revolution in 1776, the population is over 1 billion, with over 65% of them living in one of the three most populous countries. As of the beginning of the 2010s, the most populous urban agglomerations are Mexico City, New York, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, all of them megacities. The name America was first recorded in 1507 in the Cosmographiae Introductio, apparently written by Matthias Ringmann and it first applied to both North and South America by Gerardus Mercator in 1538. Amerigen means land of Amerigo and derives from Amerigo and gen, America accorded with the feminine names of Asia, Africa, and Europa. When conceived as a continent, the form is generally the continent of America in the singular. However, without a context, singular America in English commonly refers to the United States of America. In some countries of the world, America is considered a continent encompassing the North America and South America subcontinents, the first inhabitants migrated into the Americas from Asia. Habitation sites are known in Alaska and the Yukon from at least 20,000 years ago, beyond that, the specifics of the Paleo-Indian migration to and throughout the Americas, including the dates and routes traveled, are subject to ongoing research and discussion. Widespread habitation of the Americas occurred during the glacial maximum
Americas
–
CIA political map of the Americas in
Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection
Americas
–
The Americas
Americas
–
Parkin Site, a Mississippian site in Arkansas, circa 1539.
Americas
–
World map of
Waldseemüller (Germany, 1507), which first used the name America (in the lower-left section, over South America)
37.
Citadel
–
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a fortress, castle, or fortified center, the term is a diminutive of city and thus means little city, so called because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. It is positioned to be the last line of defense, should the enemy breach the other components of the fortification system, a citadel is also a term of the third part of a medieval castle, with higher walls than the rest. It was to be the last line of defense before the keep itself, some of the oldest known structures which have served as citadels were built by the Indus Valley Civilization, harappan, where the citadel represented a centralised authority. The main citadel in Indus Valley was almost 12 meters tall, the purpose of these structures, however, remains debated. Though the structures found in the ruins of Mohenjo-daro were walled, rather, they may have been built to divert flood waters. The most well-known is the Acropolis of Athens, but nearly every Greek city-state had one – the Acrocorinth famed as a strong fortress. In a much later period, when Greece was ruled by the Latin Empire, rebels who took power in the city but with the citadel still held by the former rulers could by no means regard their tenure of power as secure. One such incident played an important part in the history of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire, the Hellenistic garrison of Jerusalem and local supporters of the Seleucids held out for many years in the Acra citadel, making Maccabean rule in the rest of Jerusalem precarious. When finally gaining possession of the place, the Maccabeans pointedly destroyed and razed the Acra, a city where the citadel held out against an invading army was not considered conquered. In the Philippines The Ivatan people of the islands of Batanes often built fortifications to protect themselves during times of war. They built their so-called idjangs on hills and elevated areas. These fortifications were likened to European castles because of their purpose. Usually, the entrance to the castles would be via a rope ladder that would only be lowered for the villagers. In time of war the citadel in many cases afforded retreat to the living in the areas around the town. For example, during the Dutch Wars of 1664-67, King Charles II of England constructed a Royal Citadel at Plymouth, barcelona had a great citadel built in 1714 to intimidate the Catalans against repeating their mid-17th- and early-18th-century rebellions against the Spanish central government. A similar example is the Citadella in Budapest, Hungary, the Citadelle of Québec still survives as the largest citadel still in official military operation in North America. It is home to the Royal 22nd Regiment of Canada, citadels since the mid 20th century, are commonly military command and control centres built to resist attack commonly aerial or nuclear bombardment. The Military citadels under London such as the underground complex beneath the Ministry of Defense called Pindar is one such example
Citadel
–
In this seventeenth-century plan of the fortified city of
Casale Monferrato the citadel is the large star-shaped structure on the left.
Citadel
–
Vauban 's citadel of
Neuf Brisach (France)
Citadel
–
The
Citadel of Aleppo,
Syria.
Citadel
–
The Citadel of
Gondershe, Somalia was an important city in the Medieval
Ajuran Empire.
38.
Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca
–
The Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca is a fortress on the coast of the Cuban city of Santiago de Cuba. About 6 miles southwest of the city centre, it overlooks the bay, antonelli design was adapted to the situation of the fortress on the steep sides of the promontory reaching into the bay. It was constructed on a series of terraces, there were four main levels, supplies would be delivered by sea and then stored in the large warehouse, which was cut directly into the rock, or transported up to the top level which housed the citadel. Construction of the citadel took 62 years, starting in 1638 and finally being completed in 1700, some of the structures from the earlier fortification were later incorporated into the main structure. The fear of attacks was well-founded. After they departed, the Spanish government ordered the reconstruction of the part of the fortress. In 1678 it frustrated the attack of a French squadron and in 1680 fought off another attack by 800 men led by Franquesma, the second-in-command of the Antilles filibusters. Between 1675 and 1692 the fortress was damaged by a series of earthquakes and it was again used as a fortress in 1898 when the United States fleet attacked Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War. During the 20th century the Rock fell into decay, but it was restored during the 1960s by Francisco Prat Puig, the fortress was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997, cited as the best preserved and most complete example of Spanish-American military architecture. World Heritage List, San Pedro de la Roca Castle, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba,400 Years of Architectural Heritage. Monumentos Nacionales, Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca del Morro
Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca
–
Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca
39.
UNESCO
–
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Paris. It is the heir of the League of Nations International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, UNESCO has 195 member states and nine associate members. Most of its offices are cluster offices covering three or more countries, national and regional offices also exist. UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs, education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and it is also a member of the United Nations Development Group. UNESCO and its mandate for international cooperation can be traced back to a League of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, on 18 December 1925, the International Bureau of Education began work as a non-governmental organization in the service of international educational development. However, the work of predecessor organizations was largely interrupted by the onset of World War II. On 30 October 1943, the necessity for an organization was expressed in the Moscow Declaration, agreed upon by China, the United Kingdom, the United States. This was followed by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference proposals of 9 October 1944, a prominent figure in the initiative for UNESCO was Rab Butler, the Minister of Education for the United Kingdom. At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was introduced and signed by 37 countries, the Preparatory Commission operated between 16 November 1945, and 4 November 1946—the date when UNESCOs Constitution came into force with the deposit of the twentieth ratification by a member state. The first General Conference took place between 19 November to 10 December 1946, and elected Dr. Julian Huxley to Director-General and this change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor, the CICI, in how member states would work together in the organizations fields of competence. In 1956, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO claiming that some of the organizations publications amounted to interference in the racial problems. South Africa rejoined the organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, UNESCOs early work in the field of education included the pilot project on fundamental education in the Marbial Valley, Haiti, started in 1947. This project was followed by missions to other countries, including, for example. In 1948, UNESCO recommended that Member States should make free primary education compulsory, in 1990, the World Conference on Education for All, in Jomtien, Thailand, launched a global movement to provide basic education for all children, youths and adults. Ten years later, the 2000 World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, UNESCOs early activities in culture included, for example, the Nubia Campaign, launched in 1960. The purpose of the campaign was to move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after construction of the Aswan Dam, during the 20-year campaign,22 monuments and architectural complexes were relocated. This was the first and largest in a series of campaigns including Mohenjo-daro, Fes, Kathmandu, Borobudur, the organizations work on heritage led to the adoption, in 1972, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Committee was established in 1976 and the first sites inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978, since then important legal instruments on cultural heritage and diversity have been adopted by UNESCO member states in 2003 and 2005
UNESCO
–
UNESCO offices in
Brasília
UNESCO
–
UNESCO
UNESCO
–
UNESCO Institute for Water Education in
Delft
UNESCO
–
The Garden of Peace, UNESCO headquarters, Paris. Donated by the Government of Japan, this garden was designed by American-Japanese sculptor artist Isamu Noguchi in 1958 and installed by Japanese gardener Toemon Sano.
40.
World Heritage List
–
A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some form of significance. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the interests of humanity. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture, under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage, since then,192 state parties have ratified the convention, making it one of the most adhered to international instruments. As of July 2016,1052 sites are listed,814 cultural,203 natural, in 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO to assist their countries to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched an appeal to the Member States for an International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the campaign, which ended in 1980, was considered a success. The project cost $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 countries, the projects success led to other safeguarding campaigns, saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the United States initiated the idea of cultural conservation with nature conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, the Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of June 2016, it has been ratified by 192 states, including 188 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, a country must first list its significant cultural and natural sites, the result is called the Tentative List. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on the Tentative List, next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File. The Nomination File is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and these bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list, up to 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so there is now only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of outstanding value and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Thus, the Geneva Convention treaty promulgates, Article 53, PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS AND OF PLACES OF WORSHIP. There are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 States Party, of these,814 are cultural,203 are natural and 35 are mixed properties
World Heritage List
–
Site #252:
Taj Mahal, an example of cultural heritage site
World Heritage List
–
Logo of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
World Heritage Committee
World Heritage List
–
Site #156:
Serengeti National Park, an example of natural heritage site
World Heritage List
–
Site #274:
Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, an example of mixed heritage site
41.
Architecture
–
Architecture is both the process and the product of planning, designing, and constructing buildings and other physical structures. Architectural works, in the form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements, Architecture can mean, A general term to describe buildings and other physical structures. The art and science of designing buildings and nonbuilding structures, the style of design and method of construction of buildings and other physical structures. A unifying or coherent form or structure Knowledge of art, science, technology, the design activity of the architect, from the macro-level to the micro-level. The practice of the architect, where architecture means offering or rendering services in connection with the design and construction of buildings. The earliest surviving work on the subject of architecture is De architectura. According to Vitruvius, a building should satisfy the three principles of firmitas, utilitas, venustas, commonly known by the original translation – firmness, commodity. An equivalent in modern English would be, Durability – a building should stand up robustly, utility – it should be suitable for the purposes for which it is used. Beauty – it should be aesthetically pleasing, according to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to fulfill each of these three attributes as well as possible. Leon Battista Alberti, who elaborates on the ideas of Vitruvius in his treatise, De Re Aedificatoria, saw beauty primarily as a matter of proportion, for Alberti, the rules of proportion were those that governed the idealised human figure, the Golden mean. The most important aspect of beauty was, therefore, an inherent part of an object, rather than something applied superficially, Gothic architecture, Pugin believed, was the only true Christian form of architecture. The 19th-century English art critic, John Ruskin, in his Seven Lamps of Architecture, Architecture was the art which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by men. That the sight of them contributes to his health, power. For Ruskin, the aesthetic was of overriding significance and his work goes on to state that a building is not truly a work of architecture unless it is in some way adorned. For Ruskin, a well-constructed, well-proportioned, functional building needed string courses or rustication, but suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say, This is beautiful, le Corbusiers contemporary Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. The notable 19th-century architect of skyscrapers, Louis Sullivan, promoted an overriding precept to architectural design, function came to be seen as encompassing all criteria of the use, perception and enjoyment of a building, not only practical but also aesthetic, psychological and cultural
Architecture
–
Brunelleschi, in the building of the dome of
Florence Cathedral in the early 15th-century, not only transformed the building and the city, but also the role and status of the architect.
Architecture
–
Section of
Brunelleschi 's dome drawn by the architect
Cigoli (c. 1600)
Architecture
–
The
Parthenon,
Athens,
Greece, "the supreme example among architectural sites."
(Fletcher).
Architecture
–
The
Houses of Parliament, Westminster, master-planned by
Charles Barry, with interiors and details by A.W.N. Pugin
42.
Renaissance
–
The Renaissance was a period in European history, from the 14th to the 17th century, regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It started as a movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe. This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science, Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete. Although the invention of movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century. In politics, the Renaissance contributed to the development of the customs and conventions of diplomacy, the Renaissance began in Florence, in the 14th century. Other major centres were northern Italian city-states such as Venice, Genoa, Milan, Bologna, the word Renaissance, literally meaning Rebirth in French, first appeared in English in the 1830s. The word also occurs in Jules Michelets 1855 work, Histoire de France, the word Renaissance has also been extended to other historical and cultural movements, such as the Carolingian Renaissance and the Renaissance of the 12th century. The Renaissance was a movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched for realism, however, a subtle shift took place in the way that intellectuals approached religion that was reflected in many other areas of cultural life. In addition, many Greek Christian works, including the Greek New Testament, were back from Byzantium to Western Europe. Political philosophers, most famously Niccolò Machiavelli, sought to describe life as it really was. Others see more competition between artists and polymaths such as Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello, and Masaccio for artistic commissions as sparking the creativity of the Renaissance. Yet it remains much debated why the Renaissance began in Italy, accordingly, several theories have been put forward to explain its origins. During the Renaissance, money and art went hand in hand, Artists depended entirely on patrons while the patrons needed money to foster artistic talent. Wealth was brought to Italy in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries by expanding trade into Asia, silver mining in Tyrol increased the flow of money. Luxuries from the Eastern world, brought home during the Crusades, increased the prosperity of Genoa, unlike with Latin texts, which had been preserved and studied in Western Europe since late antiquity, the study of ancient Greek texts was very limited in medieval Western Europe. One of the greatest achievements of Renaissance scholars was to bring this entire class of Greek cultural works back into Western Europe for the first time since late antiquity, Arab logicians had inherited Greek ideas after they had invaded and conquered Egypt and the Levant. Their translations and commentaries on these ideas worked their way through the Arab West into Spain and Sicily and this work of translation from Islamic culture, though largely unplanned and disorganized, constituted one of the greatest transmissions of ideas in history
Renaissance
–
David, by
Michelangelo (
Accademia di Belle Arti,
Florence) is a masterpiece of Renaissance and world art.
Renaissance
–
Renaissance
Renaissance
–
Leonardo da Vinci 's
Vitruvian Man (c. 1490) shows clearly the effect writers of Antiquity had on Renaissance thinkers. Based on the specifications in
Vitruvius '
De architectura (1st century BC), Leonardo tried to draw the perfectly proportioned man.
Renaissance
–
Portrait of a young woman (c. 1480-85) (
Simonetta Vespucci) by
Sandro Botticelli
43.
Baconao
–
Baconao Park is a large park region, located about 60 kilometers away from the city of Santiago de Cuba, with a total surface of 848.57 km2. The name Baconao is related to the name of a native who lived in the south of Cuba during the pre-Columbian period. Legend mentions a magical tree, called bacona, that allowed the child to play music from the lagoons snails and this little Cuban was known for his fishing and swimming skills, as well as playing Batos. The child used to sit under the tree to play music from his snail. Everybody in the village was fascinated, and thought that the ability to play the music was a gift from the magical tree, therefore, they began to call the child Baconao. One day, the boy left the village for a trip. The villagers believed that the childs magic returned to the trees, and as time passed, in 1987, it was declared a World Heritage Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO. The park contains a variety of attractions beside wildlife refuges and coffee plantations, Great Rock The Great Rock is a large rock of volcanic origin, measuring 51 m long,25 m high, and 30 m wide. Its estimated weight is more than 63 thousand tons and it is possible to climb 459 stone steps to the summit of the rock, and stand 1,234 meters above sea level for a panoramic view. It is said that on a night one can see the lights of Jamaica. Prehistoric Valley In the Valle de la Prehistoria visitors encounter dozens of life-size model dinosaurs sculpted in stone, farm The farm is the place where the attackers of the Moncada Barracks led by Fidel Castro, spent the night prior to the attack on July 26,1953. Museum of History of Terrestrial Transport The museum displays over 2,500 small-scale car replicas, aquarium The aquarium is 30 m deep, and has a submarine tunnel, and a Dolphinarium. Baconao Lagoon The lagoon has an area of 4 km2, there is also a reproduction of a Taíno Village, and a restaurant specialized in seafood
Baconao
–
Reconstruction of Taino village
Baconao
Baconao
–
Prehistoric Valley exhibit
Baconao
–
View of Great Rock / Gran Piedra
44.
Seaport
–
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land. Port locations are selected to optimize access to land and navigable water, for commercial demand, Ports with deeper water are rarer, but can handle larger ships. Since ports throughout history handled every kind of traffic, support and storage facilities vary widely, may extend for miles, some ports have an important military role. One of the worlds oldest known artificial harbors is at Wadi al-Jarf on the Red Sea, along with the finding of harbor structures, ancient anchors have also been found. Guangzhou was an important port during the ancient times as far back as the Qin Dynasty, canopus was the principal port in Egypt for Greek trade before the foundation of Alexandria. Athens port of Piraeus was the base for the Athenian fleet, lothal is one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilisation, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarāt and dating from 3700 BCE. Ostia Antica was the port of ancient Rome with Portus established by Claudius, Ports often have cargo-handling equipment, such as cranes and forklifts for use in loading ships, which may be provided by private interests or public bodies. Often, canneries or other processing facilities will be located nearby, some ports feature canals, which allow ships further movement inland. Access to intermodal transportation, such as railroads and highways, is critical to a port, so that passengers, Ports with international traffic have customs facilities. Harbor pilots and tugboats may maneuver large ships in tight quarters when near docks, the terms port and seaport are used for different types of port facilities that handle ocean-going vessels, and river port is used for river traffic, such as barges and other shallow-draft vessels. An inland port is a port on a lake, river, or canal with access to a sea or ocean. An example of this is the St. Lawrence Seaway which allows ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean several thousand kilometers inland to Great Lakes ports like Duluth-Superior, a fishing port is a port or harbor for landing and distributing fish. It may be a facility, but it is usually commercial. A fishing port is the port that depends on an ocean product. In recent decades, regulations to save fishing stock may limit the use of a fishing port, a dry port is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. A warm-water port is one where the water does not freeze in wintertime, because they are available year-round, warm-water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interest. A seaport is further categorized as a port or a cargo port. Additionally, cruise ports are known as a home port or a port of call
Seaport
–
The
Port of New York and New Jersey grew from the original
harbor at the convergence of the
Hudson River and the
East River at the
Upper New York Bay.
Seaport
–
Seaport, a 17th-century depiction by
Claude Lorrain, 1638
Seaport
–
Shanghai Port is the
world's busiest container port
Seaport
–
Port of Hamburg
45.
Sierra Maestra
–
Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. The Sierra Maestra itself is located mainly in Santiago de Cuba Province, some view it as a series of connecting ranges, which joins with others extending to the west. The Sierra Maestra is the highest area of Cuba and it is rich in minerals, especially copper, manganese, chromium, and iron. At 1,974 m, Pico Turquino is the ranges highest point, after Fidel Castro returned to Cuba in 1956 from exile in Mexico, he and the few other survivors from the failed 1953 attack on Moncada Barracks hid out in Sierra Maestra. There they succeeded in expanding their 26th of July Movement, starting a revolution throughout the region, the ivory-billed woodpecker, now possibly extinct, was last seen in the Sierra Maestra in 1998. Geography of Cuba Turquino National Park Notes Sources Achenbach, Joel and Peter Essic 2006 The next big one and special supplement, nation Geographic 209, 120-147 and map. Despatch From the Embassy in Cuba to the Department of State, no.656 Havana, February 18,1958 http, //www. latinamericanstudies. org/cable/cable-2-18-58. htm Carney, Bob revised July 11,2005 Explorations, Gulf of Mexico, Background Geological Setting. Tierras y Glorias de Oriente Editorial Hermes Havana p.155, Castro Medel, Osviel and Aldo Daniel Naranjo 2003490 aniversario Ciudad India y Rebelde. La Demajagua http, //www. lademajagua. co. cu/infgran778. htm Cazanas X. Barrabi H. Melgarejo J. C. Luna J. A. Cuba S. Melgarejo J. C. Alfonso P. Lewis J. Melgarejo J. C. Proenza J. A, mattietti Kysar G. Rico-Gray V. Gama L. and Giddings L.2001 Floristic affinities between the Yucatán peninsula and some karstic areas of Cuba. Journal of Biogeography 28 535-542 Duarte Oropesa, José1989 Historiología Cubana, ISBN 0-89729-490-4, All volumes ISBN 84-399-2580-8 Enamorado, Calixto 1917 Tiempos. Guevara, Ernesto Che 1958 Pino del Agua, II, new York ISBN 0-8154-1144-8 Kueny, J. A.1998 An assessment of protected karst landscapes in the Caribbean Caribbean Geography 9. Lescaille Durand, Lisván 2003 Puede ser el cacique Guamá, Cuba Una identità in movimento http, //freeweb. supereva. com/carlo260/guama. html. p Marrero, Levi 1981 5th edition Geografia de Cuba La Moderna Poesia, Coral Gables Florida. Maso, Calixto C.1998 Historia De Cuba, 3rd Edition Miami ISBN 0-89729-875-6 McGuire, Bill 2005 Global disaster paves way for global thinking. Mora, Pedro 2003 Aniversario 45 de Pino del Agua II, verde Olivo http, //www. venceremos. cubaweb. cu/Textos/importante_golpe_dela_guerrilla_verde_olivo. htm Morán Arce, Lucas 1980 La revolución cubana, 1953–1959, Una versión rebelde. Imprenta Universitaria, Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico, ISBN B0000EDAW9 MVC2005 Investiga Cuba restos de meteorite Notimex. El Universal Viernes 11 de noviembre de 2005 El Universal Online, La Demajagua 3 de noviembre de 2004 http, //www. lademajagua. co. cu/bayamo. htm Goreau, P. D. E.1983 Tectonic Evolution of the North Central Caribbean Plate Margin. Sponsor, National Science Foundation, Washington, D. C, report, WHOI-83-34 Rojas-Consuegra, R.2005 Paleobiogeografía de los Rudistas reportados en el territorio cubano
Sierra Maestra
–
Sierra Maestra near the border of Granma and Santiago de Cuba provinces.
Sierra Maestra
–
Pico Torquino in the Sierra Maestra, Cuba's highest mountain, 1974 meters
46.
Tropical savanna climate
–
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a type of climate that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories Aw and As. This latter fact is in direct contrast to a monsoon climate. In essence, a savanna climate tends to either see less rainfall than a tropical monsoon climate or have more pronounced dry seasons. There are generally four types of tropical climate,1. Distinct wet and dry seasons of relatively equal duration, most of the regions annual rainfall is experienced during the wet season and very little precipitation falls during the dry season. A lengthy dry season and a short wet season. This version features seven or more dry season months and five or less wet season months, there are variations within this version, On one extreme, the region receives just enough precipitation during the short wet season to preclude it from a semi-arid climate classification. This drier variation of the savanna climate is typically found adjacent to regions with semi-arid climates. On the other extreme, the features a lengthy dry season followed by a short. However, regions with this variation of the climate do not experience enough rainfall during the wet season to qualify as a monsoon climate. A lengthy wet season and a short dry season. This version features seven or more wet season months and five or less dry season months, a dry season with a noticeable amount of rainfall followed by a rainy wet season. Tropical savanna climates are most commonly found in Africa, Asia, the climate is also prevalent in sections of Central America, northern Australia and southern North America, specifically in sections of Mexico and the state of Florida in the United States. Most places that have this climate are found at the margins of the tropical zone. Similarly, the Caribbean coast, eastward from the Gulf of Urabá on the Colombia – Panamá border to the Orinoco river delta and this condition extends to the Lesser Antilles and Greater Antilles forming the Circumcaribbean dry belt. The length and severity of the dry season diminishes inland, at the latitude of the Amazon river—which flows eastward, East from the Andes, between the arid Caribbean and the ever-wet Amazon are the Orinoco river llanos or savannas, from where this climate takes its name. Sometimes As is used in place of Aw if the dry season occurs during the time of higher sun and this is the case in parts of Hawaii, East Africa, Sri Lanka and coastal regions of Northeastern Brazil, for instance. The difference between summer and winter in such locations is usually so slight that a distinction between an As and Aw climate is a quibble
Tropical savanna climate
–
Worldwide zones of Tropical savanna climate (Aw).
47.
Precipitation
–
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, graupel, Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapor, so that the water condenses and precipitates. Thus, fog and mist are not precipitation but suspensions, because the vapor does not condense sufficiently to precipitate. Two processes, possibly acting together, can lead to air becoming saturated, Precipitation forms as smaller droplets coalesce via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud. Short, intense periods of rain in scattered locations are called showers, moisture that is lifted or otherwise forced to rise over a layer of sub-freezing air at the surface may be condensed into clouds and rain. This process is active when freezing rain is occurring. A stationary front is often present near the area of freezing rain, provided necessary and sufficient atmospheric moisture content, the moisture within the rising air will condense into clouds, namely stratus and cumulonimbus. Eventually, the droplets will grow large enough to form raindrops. Lake-effect snowfall can be locally heavy, thundersnow is possible within a cyclones comma head and within lake effect precipitation bands. In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation, on the leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exist due to the dry air caused by compressional heating. The movement of the trough, or intertropical convergence zone. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 cubic kilometres of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 cubic kilometres of it over the oceans and 107,000 cubic kilometres over land. Given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres, Climate classification systems such as the Köppen climate classification system use average annual rainfall to help differentiate between differing climate regimes. Precipitation may occur on celestial bodies, e. g. when it gets cold, Mars has precipitation which most likely takes the form of frost. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 km3 of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 km3 of it over the oceans, given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres. Mechanisms of producing precipitation include convective, stratiform, and orographic rainfall, Precipitation can be divided into three categories, based on whether it falls as liquid water, liquid water that freezes on contact with the surface, or ice
Precipitation
–
A thunderstorm with heavy precipitation
Precipitation
–
Long-term mean precipitation by month
Precipitation
–
Late-summer
rainstorm in
Denmark
Precipitation
–
Lenticular cloud forming due to mountains over Wyoming
48.
Antonio Maceo Airport
–
Antonio Maceo Airport is an international airport located in Santiago, Cuba. The airport has a drawing of Che Guevara on one of its outside walls, Pope John Paul II flew to this airport during his last visit to Cuba, flying round-trip between here and José Martí International Airport in Havana. Likewise, Pope Benedict XVI, during the papal visit to Cuba, flew here for Mass and other activities, from his visit to León and Guanajuato in Mexico. The airport is basically a turbo-prop centre, nevertheless, Jet aircraft also fly to this airport. On October 2,1959, a Viscount of Cubana de Aviación was hijacked on a flight from Havana to Antonio Maceo Airport, the aircraft landed at the Miami International Airport. On 4 November 2010, Aero Caribbean Flight 883, an ATR 72-212, the aircraft was flying from Santiago de Cuba to Havana when it went down. 28 foreigners were reported to be among the passengers, media related to Antonio Maceo Airport at Wikimedia Commons Puerto Rico-Cuba flights resume after decades Departures Arrivals
Antonio Maceo Airport
–
Antonio Maceo Airport
49.
Port Au Prince
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Port-au-Prince is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The citys population was estimated at 987,310 in 2015 with the area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is defined by the IHSI as including the communes of Port-au-Prince, Delmas, Cite Soleil, Tabarre, Carrefour, and Pétion-Ville. The city of Port-au-Prince is on the Gulf of Gonâve, the bay on which the city lies and it was first incorporated under French colonial rule in 1749. The citys layout is similar to that of an amphitheatre, commercial districts are near the water, the city was catastrophically affected by a devastating earthquake in 2010, with large numbers of structures damaged or destroyed. Haitis government estimated the toll to be 230,000. It is said that a captain named de Saint-André named the area in 1706, after he sailed into the bay in a ship named Le Prince, hence Port-au-Prince to mean, Port of the Le Prince. However, the port and the region continued to be known as Hôpital. It was later renamed back to Port-au-Prince by Jacques I, Emperor of Haiti, when Haiti was divided between a kingdom in the north and a republic in the south, Port-au-Prince was the capital of the republic, under the leadership of Alexandre Pétion. Henri Christophe renamed the city Port-aux-Crimes after the assassination of Jacques I at Pont Larnage, prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the island of Hispaniola was inhabited by people known as the Taíno, who arrived in approximately 2600 BC in large dugout canoes. They are believed to come primarily from what is now eastern Venezuela, by the time Columbus arrived in 1492 AD, the region was under the control of Bohechio, Taíno cacique Xaragua. He, like his predecessors, feared settling too close to the coast, such settlements would have proven to be tempting targets for the Caribes, instead, the region served as a hunting ground. The population of the region was approximately 400,000 at the time, with the arrival of the Spaniards, the Amerindians were forced to accept a protectorate, and Bohechio, childless at death, was succeeded by his sister, Anacaona, wife of the cacique Caonabo. The Spanish insisted on larger tributes, eventually, the Spanish colonial administration decided to rule directly, and in 1503, Nicolas Ovando, then governor, set about to put an end to the régime headed by Anacaona. He invited her and other leaders to a feast. Anacaona was spared, only to be hanged publicly some time later, through violence and murders, the Spanish settlers decimated the native population. Not long thereafter, Ovando founded Santa Maria del Puerto, the latter was first burned by French explorers in 1535, then again in 1592 by the English. These assaults proved to be too much for the Spanish colonial administration, around 1650, French pirates, or flibustiers, running out of room on the Île de la Tortue began to arrive on the coast, and established a colony at Trou-Borded
Port Au Prince
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Port-au-Prince Pòtoprens
Port Au Prince
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Aerial view, 3D computer generated image. January 27, 2010.
Port Au Prince
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Early map of
Hispaniola and
Puerto Rico, circa 1639.
50.
Santo Domingo
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Santo Domingo, officially Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic and the largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. In 2010, its population was counted as 965,040, the city is coterminous with the boundaries of the Distrito Nacional, itself bordered on three sides by Santo Domingo Province. Santo Domingo is the site of the first university, cathedral, castle, monastery, the citys Colonial Zone was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Santo Domingo was called Ciudad Trujillo, from 1936 to 1961, after the Dominican Republics dictator, Rafael Trujillo, following his assassination, the city resumed its original designation. Santo Domingo is the cultural, financial, political, commercial and industrial center of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo also serves as the chief seaport of the country. The citys harbor at the mouth of the Ozama River accommodates the largest vessels, temperatures are high year round, with a cool breeze around winter time. At the time, the territory consisted of five chiefdoms, Marién, Maguá, Maguana, Jaragua. These were ruled respectively by caciques Guacanagarix, Guarionex, Caonabo, Bohechío, dating from 1496, when the Spanish settled on the island, and officially from 5 August 1498, Santo Domingo became the oldest European city in the Americas. Bartholomew Columbus founded the settlement and named it La Nueva Isabela, in 1495 it was renamed Santo Domingo, in honor of Saint Dominic. Santo Domingo came to be known as the Gateway to the Caribbean, in June 1502, Santo Domingo was destroyed by a major hurricane, and the new Governor Nicolás de Ovando had it rebuilt on a different site on the other side of the Ozama River. The original layout of the city and a portion of its defensive wall can still be appreciated today throughout the Colonial Zone. Diego Colon arrived in 1509, assuming the powers of Viceroy, in 1512, Ferdinand established a Real Audiencia with Juan Ortiz de Matienzo, Marcelo de Villalobos, and Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon appointed as judges of appeal. In 1514, Pedro Ibanez de Ibarra arrived with the Laws of Burgos, rodrigo de Alburquerque was named repartidor de indios and soon named visitadores to enforce the laws. In 1586, Francis Drake captured the city and held it for ransom, an expedition sent by Oliver Cromwell in 1655 attacked the city of Santo Domingo, but was defeated. The English troops withdrew and took the less guarded colony of Jamaica, in 1697, the Treaty of Ryswick included the acknowledgement by Spain of Frances dominion over the Western third of the island, now Haiti. From 1795 to 1822 the city changed several times along with the colony it headed. The city was ceded to France in 1795 after years of struggles, it was captured by Haitian rebels in 1801, recovered by France in 1802. In 1821 Santo Domingo became the capital of an independent nation after the Criollo bourgeois within the country, led by José Núñez de Cáceres, the nation was unified with Haiti just two months later
Santo Domingo
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Santo Domingo (2011).
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
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Arrival of
Christopher Columbus.
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Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil
Naples, Italy[15]
Oakland, California, United States
Rosario, Argentina[16]
Santiago de Cuba
