MATANZAS  , an important

city of Cuba, capital of Matanzas Province, situated on a large deep bay on the N. coast, about 54 M . (by rail) E. of Havana . Pop . (1907), 36,009 . There are railway outlets W., S. and E., and Matanzas is served by steam-ships to New York and by the coast steamers of the Herrera Line . The bay, unlike all the other better harbours of the island, has a broad mouth, 2 M. across, but there is good shelter against all winds except from the N.E . A coral reef lies across the entrance . Three rivers emptying into the bay—the San Juan, Canimar and Yumuri—have deposited much silt, necessitating the use of lighters in loading and unloading large ships . The city is finely placed at the head of the bay, on a low, sloping plain backed by wooded hills, over some of which the city itself has spread . The conical Pan de Matanzas (1277 ft.) is a striking land-mark for sailors . The San Juan and Yumuri rivers divide Matanzas into three districts . The Teatro Esteban, Casino Espanol and Government House are noteworthy among the buildings .

The broad Paseo de

Marti (Alameda de Versalles, Paseo de Santa Cristina) extends along the edge of the harbour, and is perhaps the handsomest parkway and boulevard in Cuba . At one end is a statue of Ferdinand VII., at the other a monument to 63 Cubans executed by the Spanish Government as traitors for bearing arms in the cause of independence . A splendid military road continues the Paseo to the Castillo de San Serverino (built in 1694-1695, reconstructed in 1773 and following years) . There are two smaller forts, established in the 18th century . Near Matanzas are two of the most noted natural resorts of Cuba: the valley of the Yumuri, and the caves of Bellamar . Commanding the Yumuri Valley is the hill called Cumbre, on which is the Hermitage of Monteserrate (1870), with a famous shrine . Matanzas is the second port of the island in commerce . Sugar and molasses are the chief exports . The city is the chief outlet for the sugar product of the province, which, with the province of Santa Clara, produces two-thirds of the crop of the island . There are many large warehouses, rum distilleries, sugar-mills and railway machine-shops . Matanzas is frequently mentioned in the annals of the 16th and 17th centuries, when its bay was frequented by buccaneers; but the city was not laid out until 1693 . In the next year it received an ayuntamiento (council) .

Its prosperity rapidly increased after the

establishment of free commerce early in the 19th century . In 1815 it was made a department capital . The mulatto poet, Gabriel de la Concepci6n Valdes, known as Placido (1809-1844), was born in Matanzas, and was executed there for participation in the supposed conspiracy of negroes in 1844, which is one of the most famous episodes in Cuban history . The hurricanes of 1844 and 1846 are the only other prominent local events . American commercial influence has always been particularly strong .