Bayamo is the capital city of the Granma Province 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 ...

and one of the largest cities in the Oriente region.

Overview

The community of Bayamo lies on a plain by the Bayamo River. It is affected by the violent Bayamo wind. One of the most important education institutions in the province is the

University of Granma The University of Granma ( es, Universidad de Granma, UDG) is a public university located in Bayamo, Cuba. See also *Education in Cuba * List of universities in Cuba *Bayamo *Granma Province Granma is one of the provinces of Cuba. Its capi ...

History

Established in 1513, Bayamo was the third of seven cities founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. Francisco Iznaga, a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

landowner in the western portion of Cuba during the first 30 years of the colonization of Cuba, was elected mayor in 1540. Iznaga was the originator of a powerful lineage that finally settled in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, where the Torre Iznaga (Iznaga Tower) is. His descendants fought for the independence of Cuba and for annexation to the U.S., from 1820 to 1900. During much of the 16th century it was one of the most important agricultural and commercial settlements of the island. Its inland situation gave it relative security against the pirates who infested

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

seas, and the misfortunes of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

were the fortunes of Bayamo. Down the

Cauto River The Cauto River or Río Cauto is the longest river in Cuba, as well as the longest river in the Caribbean. Located in the southeast of the island, it is one of two navigable rivers in Cuba, the other being the Sagua la Grande River. Overview The ...

, then open to the sea for vessels of 200 tons, and through Manzanillo, Bayamo drove a thriving contraband trade that made it the leading town of Cuba at the opening of the 17th century. A tremendous flood, in 1616, choked the Cauto with trees and wrecked vessels, cutting it off from direct access to the sea; but through Manzanillo it continued a great clandestine traffic with Curaçao,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, and other foreign islands throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Bayamo was then surrounded by fine plantations. In 1827 it acquired the status of

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

. In the war of 1868–1878 it was an insurgent stronghold. One of the most desperate conflicts of the war was fought nearby, and it was nearly destroyed by the opposing parties.

Demographics

In 2004, the municipality of Bayamo had a population of 222,118. With a total area of , it has a population density of .

Transportation

Bayamo is an under-recognized world leader in sustainable transportation. Per a UN study only about 15% of commuters rely on motorized transport and almost three times as many (39%) rely on about 500 licensed horse-drawn carriages generally following fixed routes. The rest of the non-pedestrian traffic is bicycle and bicycle taxi. Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Airport satisfies the city's commercial aviation needs; it has had service to Havana on Cubana Airlines.

Notable residents

* Francisco Vicente Aguilera (1821–1877), revolutionary * Ricardo Villaverde (1908–1999), surgeon and businessman * Conrado Roblejo Aguilera (born 1966), doctor * José Antonio Cedeño (born 1939), artist * Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (1819–1874), revolutionary * Perucho Figueredo (1818–1870), composer of the Cuban national anthem * Pablo Milanés (born 1943), singer *

Tomás Estrada Palma Tomás Estrada Palma (c. July 6, 1832 – November 4, 1908) was a Cuban politician, the president of the Cuban Republican in Arms during the Ten Years' War, and the first President of Cuba, between May 20, 1902, and September 28, 1906. His coll ...

(1832–1908), first president of Cuba * Felo Ramírez (1923-2017), radio presenter *

Rolando Uríos Rolando Uríos (born 27 January 1971) is a Cuban-Spanish handball player. He competed with Cuba in the men's tournament at the 2000 Summer Olympics and represented Spain at the men's tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer ...

(born 1971), handball player * Alexis Pantoja Perez (born 1969), painter * Sigmund Sobolewski (1923–2017), Polish Holocaust survivor * Sergio Pérez Barrero (Born 1953), Psychiatrist.

References

External links

{{Authority control Cities in Cuba Populated places in Granma Province Populated places established in 1513 1510s establishments in the Spanish West Indies 1510s in Cuba 1827 establishments in the Spanish Empire 1820s in Cuba