1607-17??
In 1607 Cuba was reorganized administratively. The Island was divided into two jurisdictions; La Habana and Santiago. Initially, both had equal rank, but in military matters, Santiago eventually was to depend on the capitania general of La Habana. In 1733 a Royal Cedula of Felipe V ordered that the eastern jurisdiction of Santiago de Cuba would be subordinated in all matters to the capitán general of La Habana1.
1772-?
In 1772, the Eastern (Oriental) Department was subdivided into 9 jurisdictions: almost at the center of the Island, Puerto Principe and Nuevitas; more to the east, Bayamo, Manzanillo, Holguin and Jiguani; to the southeast, Santiago (also named Cuba), Guantanamo and Baracoa2.
1827-1878
In 1827 the Spanish Colonial Government divided Cuba into three administrative
Departments:
- Occidental (Western)
- Central (Central)
- Oriental (Eastern)
1878-1899
In 1878 (or 1879 according to another reference), after the Ten Years
War, the Spanish Colonial Government divided Cuba into six administrative
Provinces. This division into Provinces was done "to adapt the territorial
division of the Island to that existent in the [Spanish] Peninsula and
to facilitate the election of deputies to the [Spanish] Cortes"
The six new Provinces, from West to East, were:
- Pinar del Río
- La Habana
- Matanzas
- Santa Clara
- Puerto Príncipe
- Santiago de Cuba
1899-1905
In 1899 the name of the Province of Puerto Príncipe was changed
to Camagüey. The six provinces thus became:
- Pinar del Río
- La Habana
- Matanzas
- Santa Clara
- Camagüey
- Santiago de Cuba
1905-1940
In 1905 the Provincial Council of Santiago de Cuba changed the name of
the Province of Santiago de Cuba to Oriente. The six Provinces thus became:
- Pinar del Río
- La Habana
- Matanzas
- Santa Clara
- Camagüey
- Oriente
1940-1978
In the Constitution of 1940, the name of the Province of Santa Clara
was changed to Las Villas. The six provinces thus became:
- Pinar del Río
- La Habana
- Matanzas
- Las Villas
- Camagüey
- Oriente
1978-present
The present communist government of Cuba in June 1978, a century after
the six traditional provinces were created, passed a law splitting the
Province of La Habana into the Provinces of La Habana, Ciudad de La Habana
(City of Habana) and the Special Municipality of Isla de la Juventud;
split the Province of Las Villas into the Provinces of Villa Clara, Cienfuegos
and Sancti Spirítus (and moved the Zapata peninsula to the Province
of Matanzas); split the Province of Camagüey into the Provinces of
Ciego de Ávila and Camagüey; and split the Province of Oriente
into the Provinces of Las Tunas, Granma, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba
and Guantánamo. The fourteen resulting Provinces are currently:
-
Provinces
- Pinar del Río
- La Habana
- Ciudad de La Habana (City of La Habana)
- Matanzas
- Villa Clara
- Cienfuegos
- Sancti Spíritus
- Ciego de Ávila
- Camagüey
- Las Tunas
- Granma
- Holguín
- Santiago de Cuba
- Guantánamo
-
Special Municipality
- Isla de la Juventud
Our address and telephone listings, for practical reasons, reflect these
current administrative subdivisions.
References:
1. Historia de la Isla de Cuba - Carlos Marquez Sterling & Manuel Marquez Sterling, La Moderna Poesia, Miami, FL 1975, ISBN: 0-88345-251-0.
2. Franceses en el Suroeste de Cuba - Carlos Padron, Ediciones Union, Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba 2005, ISN: 959-209-685-6.
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