Captaincy General of Cuba
1607–1898 Spanish possession in the Caribbean / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Captaincy General of Cuba (Spanish: Capitanía General de Cuba) was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire created in 1607 as part of Habsburg Spain attempt to better defend and administer its Caribbean possessions. The reform also established captaincies general in Puerto Rico, Guatemala and Yucatán.
Captaincy General of Cuba | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1607–1898 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms
(19th century) | |||||||||
| Anthem: Marcha Real (Royal March) | |||||||||
.svg) Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1794, with the Captaincy General of Cuba shown in purple | |||||||||
| Status | Colony of the Spanish Empire | ||||||||
| Capital | Havana | ||||||||
| Official languages | Spanish | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
• 1759–1788 | Charles III | ||||||||
• 1886–1898 | Alfonso XIII Maria Christina of Austria (Regent) | ||||||||
| Captain General | |||||||||
• 1764–1779 | Count of Ricla | ||||||||
• 1887–1898 | Ramón Blanco y Erenas | ||||||||
| Historical era | Early modern Europe | ||||||||
• Administrative reorganisation | 1607 | ||||||||
| December 10 1898 | |||||||||
| Currency | Spanish dollar, Spanish peseta | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Cuba | ||||||||
.svg)
The restructuring of the Captaincy General in 1764 was the first example of the Bourbon Reforms in America. The changes included adding the provinces of Florida and Louisiana and granting more autonomy to these provinces. This later change was carried out by the Count of Floridablanca under Charles III to strengthen the Spanish position vis-a-vis the British in the Caribbean. A new governor-captain general based in Havana oversaw the administration of the new district. The local governors of the larger Captaincy General had previously been overseen in political and military matters by the president of the Audiencia of Santo Domingo. This audiencia retained oversight of judicial affairs until the establishment of new audiencias in Puerto Príncipe (1800) and Havana (1838).
In 1825, as a result of the loss of the mainland possessions, the Spanish government granted the governors-captain generals of Cuba extraordinary powers in matters of administration, justice and the treasury and in the second half of the 19th century gave them the title of Governor General.