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Europe and America and the Indies

British Conquest of Cuba--American Revolution and Cuban Insurrections--Americans Interested in Cuban Affairs--The Lopez and Virginius Massacres--Terrible Scenes of Bloodshed--Cuban Martyr's Letter to his Wife. ONE of the most remarkable things in the history of Cuba is the length of time that it was but sparsely populated, and that the value of the Island, on account on the surpassing riches of its soil, was, if not unknown, surprisingly unappreciated.

The West Indies, as territories disputed by European powers, were conspicuous in the record of the eighteenth century, and before that they had for a century and a half been famous for pirates, innumerable harbors favoring the concealment of lawless wanderers; and the Spanish treasure ships were attractive prey. There were fierce hatred and jealousy of Spain by England and France, and it was their theory, as the Spaniards had not acquired through Columbus a title to the New World, that the commerce of Spain was to be appropriated by others whenever opportunity offered. The Spanish protected their ships as well as they could, and one of the long-standing orders was that vessels on their way from Mexico to Spain should stop at Havana; and the situation of that city was so commanding, her growth was out of proportion to the general progress of the Island, and her relative importance steadily increased.