away from Santiago to Yucatan with a part of V e lasquez’s
fleet, to become the conqueror of Mexico.
A t the time of this first invasion, the island was
very populous and divided into nine tribal communities,
each under its own cacique. These were
rapidly “ improved off the face of the earth after
the vigorous manner adopted in Hispaniola. The
last of the chiefs to hold out, and the only one who
made much resistance, was Hatuei in the eastern
section of the island, who had heard of the atrocities
across the channel and fought desperately. He was
burned alive for refusing to be baptised, because it
would send him to the same heaven where “ good
Spaniards ’ ’ went. He preferred to avoid their company
at the risk of perpetual burning. T he first
settlement toward the west was made on the south
coast on Broa Bay east of Batabano, and called San
Cristobal in honour of the discoverer; but the ground
was unfavourable, and the settlement was moved
around to the north coast at the entrance to the
Chorrera, or “ watercourse,” where is now the
Torre de Chorrera, popularly called the ” Buccaneers’
F o r t .” T h e full name of the place was Cristobal
de la Habana, and when it made another move
eastward and established itself on the peninsula
between the Carenas basin and the sea, it came to
be called simply L a Habana, which the English
transformed successively into “ Havannah,” ” Ha-
vanna,” and H Havana.” I t has been sometimes
assumed that this meant haven in the original, but
it meant nothing of the kind, and the better opinion
is that it is a corruption of Savannah.