No. Tons. Men. Cwt. qrs. lb. Gallons. Gallons lb.

Nevis.

Ni

Total from Montferrat and Nevis! 122 10,787 904 110,284 0 21

289,076 1313 140 92,4721

352 7

6

1363 3 5

214.141 16

SPANISH WEST-INDIES

CUBA.

CUBA is a large and very valuable island, and by far the most

important of all the Spanish Weft-Indies. On the east fide it begins at 20° 21′ north latitude, touches the tropic of Cancer on the north, and extends from 74 to 85° 15′ weft longitude. It lies fixty miles to the weft of Hifpaniola, twenty-five leagues north of Jamaica, one hundred miles to the east of Jucatan, and as many to the south of cape Florida, and commands the entrance of the gulphs both of Mexico and Florida, as alfo the windward paffages. By this fituation. it may be called the key of the West-Indies. It was difcovered by Columbus in 1492, who gave it the name of Ferdinando, in honour of king Ferdinand of Spain, but it quickly after recovered its ancient name of Cuba. The natives did not regard Columbus with a very favourable eye at his landing, and the weather proving very tempef tuous, he foon left this island, and failed to Hayta, now called Hifpaniola, where he was better received. The Spaniards, however, foon became masters of it. By the year 1511, it was totally conquered, and in that time they had destroyed, according to their own accounts, feveral millions of people. But the poffeffion of Cuba was far from answering the expectations of the Spanish adventurers, whofe avarice could be fatiated with nothing but gold. These monfters finding that there was gold upon the ifland, concluded that it must come from mines, and therefore tortured the few inhabitants they had left, in order to extort from them a difcovery of the places where these mines lay. The miferies endured by these poor crea

VOL. IV.

tures