Digitized/Digital Books

San Antonio de los Baños is located in the southern part of the province of Havana. It is a land rich in hardwood trees on the banks of the Ariguanabo river. It gained strategic importance in 1760, at the time when the invasion of the British army was imminent. Trees from the area of San Antonio de los Baños were logged and sent to Havana to build warships for the protection of the city. A very astute man from the Canary Islands founded a tavern and market that helped in the permanent settlement of the population. This area was also very well known especially among the population of Havana, for its medicinal springs. As their popularity increased, the town originally named San Antonio Abad, became known as San Antonio de los Baños.

In 1794, as a result of the Revolution in Saint Domingue (Haiti) and the destruction of the coffee and sugar plantations on the island, many French families fled to Cuba and settled in San Antonio de los Baños, where they immediately began planting coffee. Unfortunately, as Napoleon invaded Spain, there was great resentment toward the French in the Spanish colonies, and those who had not been naturalized and sworn loyalty to the Spanish King were expelled from Cuba, and those who had were taken to Havana in custody. The coffee plantations of San Antonio de los Baños languished and were replaced by tobacco and other minor crops.

One of our members, Lupe Díaz, has patiently and with great effort created an index of names included in the three compendium of books about the history of San Antonio de los Baños: Estampas Antiguas de San Antonio de los Baños, Crónicas Históricas de San Antonio de los Baños, and Panoramas de Antaño.