Bayamo [bah-yah-maw]

Bayamo

[bah-yah-maw]

Bayamo, city (1995 est. pop. 132,000), Granma prov., SE Cuba. It is a manufacturing and transportation center. Cattle raising and sugar refining are the main industries. Founded in 1513, Bayamo was an inland port until the 19th cent. A former center of revolutionary movements, it gave its name to the Cuban national anthem, el Himno Bayamés. Both the Ten Years War (1868-78) and the successful revolt of 1895 began in Bayamo. Carlos Manual de Céspedes and Tomás Estrada Palma were born in the city.

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Licensed from Columbia University Press

Bayamo

Bayamo is the capital city of the Granma Province of Cuba, and one of the largest cities in the Oriente region.

The community of Bayamo lies on a plain by the Bayamo River. It is affected by the violent Bayamo wind.

The municipality is divided into the barrios of Arroyo Blanco, Barrancas, Bueycito, Cauto, Cayamas, Cristo, Dátil, Guamo, Guisa, Hornos, Julia, Laguna Blanca, La Sal, San Juan and Veguita.

The main secondary education institution is the University of Granma.

History

Bayamo was the third of the seven cities founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, and was established on November 5, 1513. 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 then infested West Indian seas, and the misfortunes of Santiago were the fortunes of Bayamo. Down the Cauto River, then open to the sea for vessels of 200 tons, and through Manzanillo, Bayamo drove a thriving contraband trade that made it at the opening of the 17th century the leading town of Cuba.

A tremendous flood, in 1616, choking the Cauto with trees and wrecked vessels, cut if off from direct access to the sea; but through Manzanillo it continued a great clandestine traffic with Curaçao, Jamaica, 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. In the war of 1868–1878 it was an insurgent stronghold; near it was fought one of the most desperate conflicts of the war, and it was nearly destroyed by the opposing parties.