havana cuba
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City Research
Havana Cuba
Capital of both Cuba and of Ciudad de la Habana province, it is the largest city and chief port of the West Indies. Havana is one of the oldest cities in the Americas. It is also the political, economic, and cultural center of Cuba. An important hub of air and maritime transportation, the city of Havana is the focal point of Cuban commerce, exporting sugar, tobacco, and fruits and importing mainly foodstuffs, cotton, and machinery and technical equipment.
Havana's main industries include shipbuilding, assembly plants, rum distilleries, sugar refineries, and factories making the famous Havana cigars. Fortunately for the city, tourism has been greatly revived in the 1990s as Cuba redirected its economic model from central planning toward a mixed economy.
Havana possesses one of the best natural harbors in the Caribbean and has long been strategically and commercially important. The city's hot, humid climate is moderated by sea winds. The original settlement, called San Cristbal de la Habana, was founded in 1515 by the Spanish explorer Diego de Velzquez on Cuba's southern coast but was relocated to the site of present-day Havana in 1519. Spanish treasure galleons assembled in Havana's harbor for their return voyage to Spain, and the city tempted many English, French, and Dutch buccaneers...