CHAPTER I.

The Island of Cuba--Early colonists--Island aborigines--First importation of slaves--Cortez and his followers--Aztecs--The law of races--Mexican aborigines--Valley of Mexico--Pizarro--The end of heroes--Retributive justice--Decadence of Spanish power--History of Cuba--The rovers of the gulf--Havana fortified--The tyrant Velasquez--Office of Captain-general--Loyalty of the Cubans--Power of the captain-general--Cupidity of the government--The slave-trade--The British take Havana--General Don Luis de las Casas--Don Francisco de Arranjo--Improvement, moral and physical, of Cuba, 9