It is extremely hazardous to make deposits and undertake obligations on the strength of a simple paper promising to convey property after the completion of a certain number of instalment payments. There are concerns offering Cuban lands for sale which have defective titles, only an equity interest, or perhaps no more than an option.

Land titles in Cuba are generally good and no money need be lost on account of them if proper care is taken in the preliminaries of purchase. A transfer costs more than it does in the States, but there is absolute security in it when properly executed. No real estate agent whose intentions are honest will object to a full investigation of the title he offers. There are many reputable agents in Habana and other cities, who have spent years in the study of Cuban properties. It will generally be better for the inexperienced purchaser to deal with one of these, and pay him his legitimate commission, than to do business directly with the owner. The real estate agent can often give valuable information and advice. In this matter, as in that of location, the important point is to investigate first and be sure of connecting with a desirable man.

CHAPTER XIV

THE CAPITAL OF CUBA

THE full name of the capital of Cuba is San Cristóbal de la Habana. In 1634 a royal decree conferred upon the City the sounding title: "Llave del Nuevo Mundo y Antemural de las Indias Occidentales," which signifies: Key of the New World and Bulwark of the West Indies. In emphasis, the coat of arms of the municipality bears a symbolic key and representations of the fortresses of Morro, Punta and Fuerza.

Habana is one of the several towns founded by the governor Diego Velasquez. He placed it upon the south coast, where the town of Batabano now stands. It was shortly removed to its present position and rapidly grew to be the chief centre of the Island and one of the most important places in the New World. The first century of its history was uneventful, save for the attacks of buccaneers, who twice sacked

it during that period. To guard against the danger from this source, La Fuerza, the oldest fortification in the City, was erected, near the close of the sixteenth century. Shortly afterwards, Philip the Second of Spain ordered the construction of the Punta and Morro forts, for the protection of the harbor, and at about the same time the official residence of the governor of the Island was transferred from Santiago de Cuba to Habana.

In 1650, the population of Habana was hardly more than three thousand, but in the following two or three decades it doubled, owing to a large immigration of Spaniards from Jamaica. During this period, the City rose to be the commercial centre of the Spanish-American possessions and the principal rendezvous of the royal fleets that carried on the trade monopoly between Spain and America. The walls enclosing the City were commenced in 1671 and finished thirty years later. The City was frequently threatened by English squadrons, and actually captured in 1762. At the close of the Seven Years' War Habana was restored to Spain in exchange for the Floridas. The short period of the British occupation, during which the port was thrown open, greatly