Angela ---
For the past forty years the embargo on Cuba has so atrophied
development that much of the downtown area of Habana was left
undisturbed. It is the largest collection of 16th century buildings
in the WORLD --- a much greater area than even Venice. [I don't think
anyone claims Varadero as an historic architectural gem.]
Habana was more important than Kingston.
Cuba is bigger than ALL of the rest of the insular Caribbean,
combined, AND it was the portal to all of the Spanish possessions in
the new world --- don't imagine that little places like St. Lucia or
Antigua could have compared in richness with Habana.
The Spaniards were richer in the 16th century (from looting
all of the Western Hemisphere) than the English were in the 17th to
20th centuries (from growing a little cotton or indigo or sugar), so
they could afford to build bigger and better.
The English built more wooden Empire Style buildings that
have subsequently been eaten by termites --- or burned up. See
Georgetown Guyana or Paramimbo, Suriname, for examples of what
Kingston could have looked like if there had been no 20th century
development. But go quickly because the termites are still munching
. . .
bruce potter
============================
At 5:37 PM +0100 4/13/04, Angela Allison wrote:
>I friend of my just returned from a holiday in Cuba. He went to
>Varadero and Havana and was impressed by the state of the
>architecture left behind by the Spaniards. He says that by comparison
>the English did very little in Jamaica and its other possessions
>around the Caribbean. Does anyone know if any studies have been
>done on this?
>
>Many thanks
>
>Angela Allison
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