VERY RARE 1896 Cuba $.50 A-UNC Peso Colonial Currency!!
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VERY RARE 1896 Cuba $.50 A-UNC Peso Colonial Currency!!
**You are acquiringAuthentic and Original ALMOST UNCIRCULATED1896 FIFTY CENTof the $.50 denomination!SERIAL NUMBERS WILL DIFFERVisit our eBay stores at: CineMart International or Cuban Collectibles N Things or www.collectcuba.com or GRANNY'S TREASURE ISLANDColonial CubaCuba was discovered on October 27, 1492 by Christopher Columbus. The original name given to the island was "Juana", in honor of Juana la Loca (Crazy Juana) who was queen of Spain at the time of its discovery. The name Cuba came from the name "Cubanacan", which is what the natives of the island, the Tainos, called it. In 1509, Sebastian de Ocampo circumnavigated the island and was the first to discover its shape. The island was permanently colonized in 1511. Its first governor was Diego Velazquez (not to be mistaken with the painter) and its first capital was Baracoa, where Columbus first landed on the island. During the rest of the 1500s, Cuba becomes a launching point for many explorers and conquistadors. This is where Juan Ponce de Leon sailed from to discover Florida and where Hernan Cortes also came from before conquering Mexico. http://www.pierluigisurace.it/imagerie/images/aatw/DOT_Cuba_II_Trinidad_Colonial_Plaza_1.jpg Cuba's main industries at the time were tobacco and sugar. Both of these industries continued to develop and grow up to and during the 1700s. However, the Spanish Crown's monopoly on tobacco led to several rebellions by the farmers in 1717, 1720, and 1723. In 1728, the University of Havana was founded http://www.cigarclub.pl/10588638.jpg In January 1762, King George III of England, after discovering that the Spaniards were helping the French in the French-Indian War, declared war on Spain and seized Havana. In exchange for Havana, one of their most important and profitable ports, Spain gave England the territory of Florida in the Treaty of Versailles 1763. The 19th century marked the time of independence for many colonies in the Western Hemisphere. After a slave revolt, the French colony of Haiti not only declared independence, but also became a black republic after nearly 200,000 white Haitians immigrated to Cuba. Fearing the same fate as Haiti, Spain once again declared its absolute reign over the colony and the colonists began to grow more and more intolerant. During the 1830s and 1840s, the gap between Peninsulares (Spanish-born colonists) and Creoles (those born in the colonies) only grew more. Creoles demanded representation in government and access to higher seats in office. Their dissatisfaction towards excessive taxes, restrictions to free trade, and exclusion from government continued to increase through the 1850s and 60s and would culminate into the War for Independence. Within five years Spanish authorities had divided the island into seven municipal divisions, including Havana (La Habana), Puerto Príncipe, Santiago de Cuba, and Sancti Spíritus. Each municipality had its own cabildo, or town council, governing its legal, administrative, and commercial affairs. From 1515, elected representatives of each cabildo formed a body that defended local interests before the royal council, especially on such matters as slave trading and the semifeudal encomienda system, which granted conquistadors control over the Indians in specified areas and the right to exact tribute from them. A bishopric, subordinate to Santo Domingo, was founded at Baracoa in 1518 but later moved to Santiago de Cuba. The island's limited gold deposits discouraged early settlement. However, the colony became a staging ground for the exploration of the North American mainland. Such expeditions as that of Hernán Cortés, which attracted 400 Spaniards and 3,000 Indians, depleted the colonial population. The remaining Spanish colonists continued to exploit Indians through the encomienda, but by 1550 the system was no longer feasible because the Indian population had been decimated by European diseases, ongoing social dislocation, maltreatment, and emigration. By 1570 most residents of the Spanish towns in Cuba comprised a mixture of Spanish, African, and Indian heritages, largely because of the paucity of Spanish females among the immigrants and the military nature of the conquest. Colonial society reflected the stratification of the metropolis, although no sharp divisions had yet developed between Spanish-born and American-born citizens, as would later become commonplace. Until the end of the 16th century, African slaves seemed to enjoy a higher social standing than the indigenous people, probably owing to their cultural affinity to the conquerors. Throughout the 17th century, colonial life was made more difficult by the ravages of hurricanes, epidemics, pirates, and attacks by rival European countries trying to establish bases in the Caribbean. By 1700, however, peace had returned, and the population reached about 50,000. Havana's status grew commercially and strategically because of the flota (“fleet”) system of regularly scheduled maritime trade between Spain and its American colonies. In addition, ranching, smuggling, and tobacco farming occupied the colonists. The colony's administrative costs depended, however, on irregular subsidies from New Spain until 1808. Powered by eBay Turbo Lister | ||||||||||||||
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