Cienfuegos Bay ( es, Bahia de Cienfuegos) is a bay in the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
located in
Cienfuegos Province
Cienfuegos () is one of the provinces of Cuba. The capital city of the province is also called Cienfuegos and was founded by French settlers in 1819.
Overview
Until 2011 Cienfuegos was the smallest province in Cuba (excluding the city of Hava ...
on the southern coast of
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. It has served as a harbor for boats for many years. It has two of the most important ports in the country, one of which is the city of
Cienfuegos, the capital of the province.
History
On his second voyage to the Americas,
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
visited the bay in 1494. The first permanent settlements occurred in 1738. The
Jagua Fortress was erected by King
Philip V of Spain
Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...
in 1742 to protect the bay from pirates who prowled the Caribbean coast in those days. They used it as refuge at landfall, on their way to the city of Cienfuegos.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cienfuegos Bay
Bays of Cuba
Geography of Cuba
Geography of Cienfuegos Province