XVIII Century - Colonial Era (1701-1800)
| 1700 | The first available baptismal certificate is dated May 20, 1700,
even though the book had some pages missing. It is the baptism of Antonio,
from the Congo, a slave of Don Martín de Soto, being his godfather another slave, Marcos Zepero. Father Agama was Parish Priest of Güines for 39 years. The cemetery was next to the original hermitage, already converted into a church, following the Spanish custom that later on, was abandoned for being unhealthy. |
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| 1735 | Brother Gerónimo Valdés followed Bishop Compostela in the Diocese of Cuba and he was followed
by Juan Lazo de la Vega y Cancino.
This last one visited San Julián Parish on January 11, 1735. He traveled through the valley and observed the crops of the residents in Los Güines Corral.He decided to change the parish to the corral whose lands were crossed by the waters of a river, with a principal artery going from east to west through the territory full of tobacco plantations with palisades and many huts with their palm fronds roofs. He ordered a church building to be constructed from his own pocket that according to the inventory existing in the parish archives: “is all built of wood, 16 varas (i.e., 13.36 meters, one“vara” is equivalent to 0.835 meters) long and seven wide (i.e., 5.85 meters) and its sacristy being 6 varas long (i.e., 5.01 meters), a high room upstairs, everything very decent. A main altar composed of a picture of Our Lady of Conception, a mister San Julián. A bell weighing around 4 arrobas (i.e., ) 46 kilograms, one“arroba” is equivalent to 11.5 kilograms), partly purchased by Father Juan Thomas Álvarez Fonseca from his own money.” Father Agama was not pleased with the change of place for the parish and Bishop de la Vega replaced him, appointing as temporary Parish Priest Father Don Simón de Thorres, and a little time later as proprietary Parish Priest Don Juan Tomás Álvarez Fonseca who remained as Güines Parish Priest until 1761. 1737 |
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Two years later in 1737, Bishop de la Vega again visited the parish on January 14 and the church was already finished. It was made out of cedar with mastic columns.
He blessed the new church and named the parish San Julián and Saint Francis Xavier of Güines because he was devoted to the Basque
Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552). Consequently the emerging town enjoyed the protection of two patron saints. |
1748 |
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The increasing amount of people attracted to the banks of the Mayabeque River for the cultivation of tobacco, the principal source of wealth of the area, compelled Governor Güemes Horcasitas
to create the position of watchman of tobacco plantations although this was not its true name. On August 2, 1748, Governor Caxigal in an order, confirmed Captain Francisco de Agama from the Jurisdiction
of San Julián of Güines, in his commission granted by Güemes: “To take care and watch over the labors involving the tobacco… with great care and attention so
the peasants can live in peace and pacific subjection, due to the quantity of persons living in this Jurisdiction.” The tobacco grown in the Jurisdiction of Güines was already famous by the
middle of the XVIII Century.
1755 |
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His Illustrious Bishop, Dr. Pedro Agustín Morell de Santa Cruz de Lora, noticed in 1755: “It was a shame not to establish a town in this country, because it is
very bountiful and agreeable. It produces the famous tobacco that is distinguished from all others with the name Los Güines.” Already in the middle of the century, around the modest San Julián
church founded in 1735, about 40 huts were grouped together as the beginning of an urban center. |
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The tobacco growers used the waters of the Mayabeque River to irrigate their crops, in a hint of what would later become, the Irrigation Community of Güines. Bishop Morell explained:
“The terrain is so flat that almost no slope to any part can be detected. A river called La Vija runs through it. Its waters are extremely clear, thin and healthy, not only drunk but also taken
in baths by a great multitude of people from this capital. Channels that turn among all of them irrigate the existing tobacco plantations in its banks. Its inhabitants enjoy great robustness and the nights are clear and fresh.
To conclude, so much they want to praise its beauty and amenity that they compare it to an earthly paradise.“
1761 |
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In 1761, when Parish Priest Father Juan Tomás Álvarez Fonseca died, Bachelor Don Antonio Sánchez de Orbea temporarily occupied the parish priesthood of Güines and then Bachelor Don Esteban Conde
as proprietary Parish Priest of Güines replaced him on August 2, 1761, lasting 5 years until May 2, 1766. |
1763 |
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Since the Spanish Restoration began in 1763, a new interest existed to better economically exploit Cuba, and Güines, due to its proximity to Havana, was one of the more attractive areas. |
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In 1763 the church was provided with a small bell with the inscription: “Santa Maria, ora pronobis.” |
1766 |
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In 1766, Bishop Morell in another visit to Güines, founded the hospital that he called Of the Pure and Immaculate Conception that he installed in a house purchased from Don Miguel de Ayala
y Fernández de Velasco, due to the need to take care of so many sick people from the timber cuts in the forests of the jurisdiction. |
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In that same year, Bachelor Don José Domingo de Castro was appointed on May 2, Güines temporary Parish Priest, being there for only 3 months until August 18, 1766, when Don Juan de Dios Alonso y Rodríguez
Orta was installed as proprietary Parish Priest of Güines Parish, taking office on November 23, 1766 and continued as Güines Parish Priest for 23 years, until January 8, 1789. |
1768 |
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On October 15, 1768, a violent hurricane called of Santa Teresa because it hit on the Saint’s day, devastated the area, causing serious damage to the church. The Holy Sacrament had to be
removed from the church and placed in Don Miguel Ayala’s house. The Parish Priest at that time, Don Juan de Dios Alonso Rodríguez Orta, stated that more than 40 houses, big and small, came down, the hospital suffered a
lot of damage, the forests were destroyed and the river flooded, so the crops and products already gathered, were lost. |
1769 |
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This hurricane gave Father Alonso Rodríguez Orta an opportunity to think about the construction of a new church. That’s why on Friday, March 3, 1769, he blessed the foundations of the new projected church,
with the approval of Bishop Morell and in the presence of neighbors and other authorities, the work started. |
1773 |
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Four years later, on October 22, 1773, the Main Altar was inaugurated, which had been sculpted by Valentín Sánchez, and Holy Mass was celebrated next to it. |
1775 |
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It was in 1775 that Governor Don Felipe de Fondesviela y Ondeano, Marquis de la Torre, visited the Jurisdiction. He received the residents in the church where Francisco de Gama Navarrete and Pedro de Ayala, as attorneys-in-fact
of the farmers and tobacco growers of the area, delivered to him on August 29, a petition to the King of Spain Carlos III, through his office, so the title and grace of Villa would be granted in the center of
Los Güines site, due to its natural advantages and its agricultural progress. Villa is a city with privileges different than those of villages, towns and settlements, with Town Council and Municipal
Corporation. The title of Villa is granted by the King and it has the right to use a Seal. They proudly wrote about the river El Español, Vigía o La Catalina—the Mayabeque River recovered
from the native toponymy—“whose very healthy waters… easily and abundantly bathe and irrigate… [its lands] perfectly flat… without flooding risks… so fertile that… copious
yields are obtained of all the products of the country and especially the famous tobacco of superior quality… .” |
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In exchange for the granting of the title of Villa to the town, the residents promised to build in accordance to a new plan and system and the neighbors offered the King, through Marquis de la Torre,
“20,000 pounds of beaten up ‘verdín’ tobacco that would be delivered in four years.”
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Governor Marquis de la Torre supported the project, “because no other piece of land exists in all… [the island] healthier, more fertile or more beautiful,
to which it was added the increasing number of residents… established and the gathering of the houses they were building, in the vicinity of the parish church.” The town was, the Marquis continues, “
easy to enter and exit because of its good roads so it can increase the interior traffic of the Island’s population.” |
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The Jurisdiction in 1775 had a population of 365 residents and 2,340 persons. There were 364 houses in the town itself. The tobacco plantations were 266 and they only occupied one fifth of the territory and controlled the economy
according to figures submitted to the Captain General. |
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Also in 1775 and 1785 Governor Count of Ricla and the victorious General Bernardo de Gálvez were granted public lands near Güines, due to the value of this area because of its proximity to the capital. |
1777 |
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On July 6, 1777 around 4 o’clock in the morning, a strong earthquake hit Güines. It lasted almost 2 minutes and was felt throughout the area. |
1778 |
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On April 16, 1778, Maundy Thursday, the new tabernacle was used for the first time with the attendance of the religious brotherhood whose Majordomo was Captain Simón Ayala. |
1779 |
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On March 1779, Bishop Santiago José Hechavarría Elguezúa, Diocesan Bishop, visited the parish where he remained for 4 days confirming 1,600 residents.
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On July 25, 1779, fliers and town criers announced throughout town, the war between Spain and France. |
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The local initiative to request the title of Villa made in 1775 as described before, was well received in glowing terms by a Royal Edict of Carlos III of September 30, 1779 to the Governor, in which it is stated:
“Contemplating on one part how useful it is to the State that America would populate itself and convert to civilization and good Government its vast lands; and on the other the good dispositions of the Jurisdiction…
[of Güines] I have resolved to grant it the grace of Villa. And so it will be verified according to my royal intentions, I hereby order and command you
to visit the town personally and in case that you can not do it, send a person at your satisfaction, who, without causing expenses or burdens to the residents, would be in charge to identify and survey the lands and to point out the commons, meadows
and private ones, in accordance to the laws of those dominions, and once it has been accomplished without resistance, you shall notify the residents of the Jurisdiction of San Julián of Güines, so they will build and construct, at their
own expense, or by levying taxes without interfering or being detrimental to my Royal Treasury, comfortable and decent Government houses, a safe jail and a meat shop, with as much comfort and hygiene as possible, and once these requisites are fulfilled,
you will notify me, so the title of Villa will be granted, that the residents should come and request it.” |
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On October 10, 1779, the priest Juan de Dios Alonso y Rodríguez Orta installed a new bell weighing 30 arrobas (i.e., 345 kilograms) cast in Cruz
or Our Lady of Mercy sugar mill with money, gold and silver pieces collected from the residents, being José Miguel de Rojas, the master foundryman, giving the name of San Julián to the bell. |
1784 |
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The foundation’s slow process continued on September 1784 when a Military Commission started to measure the sixty caballerías
(i.e., 805.2 hectares) allocated to the Jurisdiction and the determinations of commons in useful terms, according to the provisions of Law 13, Title 7 of Book 4 of the Laws of the Indies.
The town’s blueprints made by this Commission presided by Brigadier Don Luis Huet, Director Engineer of Havana, generously calculated the territorial needs of the Royal Edict dated September 30, 1779 allocating 5
caballerías (i.e., 67.1 hectares) for the Villa itself;
10 caballerías (i.e., 134.2 hectares) for meadows or grazing grounds;
40 caballerías (i.e., 536.8 hectares) for private grounds and
5 caballerías (i.e., 67.1 hectares) for commons. He prepared a blueprint with the suggestion
that the land to be urbanized should be taken from the residents who owned it. These owners refused, requesting instead, not money, but other public lands. |
1786 |
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The Royal Edict of December 16, 1786, which ordered to try to obtain the approval of the residents to guarantee the performance of the basic municipal improvements, approved this project from Engineer Huet. Such work required 27,245 pesos and because the
average total appraisal of the property of the residents was 657,825 pesos, it was determined that the suggestion to tax them 4% of their capitals was excessive.
1788 |
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Ignacio de Gama y Navarrete, a delegate of the residents of Güines, wrote to the King on June 6, 1788 that 550 families requested the formal granting of the title of Villa, which was hindered by:
“the particular designs of a powerful and numerous family, interested in leaving without effect such request.” |
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They were Miguel and Simón de Ayala, father and son, owners in part of lands delineated by Engineer Huet for the Villa itself and who demanded positions in the Town Council and payment in cash for their property.
As a curious historical note of this event, in a letter to King Carlos III, dated October 13, 1787, it is said: “The neighborhood Sir, is composed in great part, of pusillanimous and gullible men that only know their work in
the fields which are the tobacco sown land in which they busy themselves with remarkable advantages to the Royal Treasury and from where they are distracted by the persecutions of Don Simón, helped by Don Pío, Don Pedro and Don Dimas de Ayala,
his relatives, and by Captain of the Jurisdiction Nicolás Rodríguez de Lino.” This letter requested Don Simón, the Notary, to be punished, because yelling in a high voice, he called the residents:
“dogs, mulattoes, liars and thieves.” |
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Miguel de Ayala was the Major Notary of the Government of Havana and the owner of five farms Güines, Nombre de Dios (God’s Name), Vigía (Sentinel),
Yamaraguas and San Antón which, according to the accusation, he fraudulently acquired. |
1788 |
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Ignacio de Gama y Navarrete assured the King in his letter of June 6, 1788, that the sugar and selected tobacco yields: “could be improved and increased utilizing the waters of the river that runs through it;
this river could also be made navigable, at a small cost, to carry timber to the Havana shipyards, due to the fact that the principal timber cuts are within the boundaries of this new Villa; it eases the communication from the capital to other towns and it
could render assistance to all of them in case of need, as it happened with the siege of Havana by the British arms… serving as a refuge to many families and as protection to the wealth of Your Royal Treasury and of private persons, with other numerous
advantages.” |
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The Council sided with the residents on the Ayalas’ claims, because it decided that, “the particular interest should yield to the common benefit,” although it agreed to compensate the lands that this
powerful family was losing, with other public lands. |
1789 |
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On September 4, 1789, Father Don Agustín José de Hermosilla was appointed proprietary Parish Priest of Güines, and he remained as such for 35 years until January 6, 1824 when he died. |
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Two new Royal Edicts dated May 14 and October 6, 1789, favored the plan, but without obtaining results. Finally, Governor Don Luis de las Casas, very much interested in the development of the sugar industry which was beginning to take hold in
Güines—the illustrious Governor would end up becoming a sugar mill owner in the future jurisdiction—ordered Don Nicolás Calvo, Knight of the Order of Carlos III, in 1791, to bring the project of the new Villa
up to date and in particular to solve the problem created by the demand of substantial common lands included in the blueprints of Engineer Huet.
1793 |
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In his report of October 23, 1793, Calvo rejects the need of 55 caballerías (i.e., 738.1 hectares)
of public lands, because if it is demanded: “there will be many residents to whom the erection of the new Villa would be too burdensome,” because there are neither
public lands nor pockets to compensate those expropriated. Calvo adds eloquently, that it was not a town in new land typified by the Laws of the Indies: “In this Island, already there is not even one Indian,
and not even a small amount of land without its legitimate owner. So, then, all the Jurisdiction of Güines belongs to different white peasants, and each of them has his small parcel of land from where he draws the sustenance for his family.” |
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Calvo would estimate 5 caballerías (i.e., 67.1 hectares) enough—taken without compensation
for the future Town Council—for the founding: One half caballería (i.e., 6.71 hectares) for the main
square and community constructions and 4.5 caballerías (i.e., 60.39 hectares) for government houses,
commons and meadows. After describing the scenery, Calvo would foresee the beauty of the future Villa: “This is a hot country and so much more when the land that you live in, is not that high. It is much cooler
in the forests than in the plains. There is no doubt that the land set aside for the Villa of Güines is the more appropriate that you could pretend, but it has to be stated that it is a plain of more
than 6 flat leagues (i.e., 10,786.44 hectares) surrounded by forests, where you could feel the heat a bit more.
It looks to me that the new Villa will be very healthy and beautiful, if you could build its streets 12 varas wide
(i.e., 10.02 meters) as they are planned, and besides, from one sidewalk to the other you would allocate 4
varas (i.e., 3.34 meters) so each of the residents could built porches in front
of their houses for pedestrians, so the sun would not bother them nor the rains would impede their endeavors and their pleasant times in society.”
Calvo would recommend in his report that in order to facilitate the foundation, the required public buildings should be rented instead of built with local funds. |
1796 |
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The Deputies from Güines, Ignacio de Herrera y Arriaga, Pedro de Jesús Hernández, Diego Gómez Montes and Francisco Enríquez, supported Calvo’s propositions, but still on March 12, 1796, Governor Las Casas informed Madrid
that in 20 years only the land had been cleared, despite all the expenses in legal paperwork. |
1797 |
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The exceptional fertility of the red clay soils of the Havana-Matanzas Plain, at the end of the XVIII Century, still covered by extensive forests, transformed Güines into the center of the coffee and sugar expansion from the beginning of the prosperity that
started then in the Island. This same agricultural wealth and the general importance of the region, made the Count of Santa Clara conceive the idea of channeling the river, for the purpose of establishing a fluvial way that would allow the export of products. This idea
had been originally proposed to the King by Ignacio de Gama y Navarrete in his June 6, 1788 letter to the monarch. In effect, in 1797, Engineers Don Francisco and Don José Lamur, did the necessary surveys. The canalization was never carried out. |
1798 |
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The Count of Santa Clara was governing Cuba when a Royal Edict dated February 24, 1798 accepted Calvo’s plan. The King was particularly pleased with: “the spaciousness of the streets, because it looked to be a detail of great importance
when first founding new towns, and because they did not do it then, many towns cry without consolation when they grow, among them that capital (i.e., Havana).”
This 1798 Royal Edict ordered the construction of the Town Council in the new Villa and the distribution of lots in which houses made of mortar or palm fronds would be built. Those who received lots should define its boundaries with ditches on
its four sides “to avoid disputes and usurpations.” |
The tobacco which was the sustenance of the first farmers of the Jurisdiction in 1775 (i.e., 266 tobacco plantations and 1,712 inhabitants) soon was surpassed by sugar cane, which, starting in Güines,
would extend through the new lands of its jurisdiction, whose boundaries would include from the Jurisdiction of Alacranes on the East, to Guara on the West, with an area calculated to be the equivalent of 2,415 square kilometers.
While the traditional tobacco crop was reduced to Güines’ vicinity, during the last years of the XVIII Century, modern sugar mills started to be constructed in the lands being cleared, because, according to Pezuela, “this is one of the first
territories which was grabbed… by the seasonally migratory cultivation of the sugar cane, but with the passing of the years, the tired soils would be abandoned and it would advance toward more distant locations within the jurisdiction.”
The irrigation system allowed the intensive cultivation of market garden vegetables in lands near the town, particularly after the French Engineer Bailly perfected the same. That was one of the principal reasons of the region’s flourishing, which was one of Cuba’s
highest agriculturally yielding areas.
Translated by the staff of Círculo Güinero de Los Ángeles Continue to: XIX Century - Colonial Era and Beginning of the Republican Era (1801-1900) |
