Trinidad (Spanish pronunciation: [tɾiniˈðað]) is a town in the province of Sancti Spíritus, central Cuba. Together with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, because of its historical importance as a center of the sugar trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. Trinidad is one of the best-preserved cities in the Caribbean from the time when the sugar trade was the main industry in the region.
Trinidad was founded on December 23, 1514[1] by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar under the name Villa de la Santísima Trinidad.[citation needed]
Hernán Cortés recruited men for his expedition from Juan de Grijalva's home in Trinidad, and Sancti Spíritus, at the start of his 1518 expedition. This included Pedro de Alvarado and his five brothers. After ten days, Cortes sailed, the alcayde Francisco Verdugo failing to prevent Cortes from leaving, despite orders from Diego Velázquez.[2]: 49–52
The Narvaez Expedition landed at Trinidad in 1527 en route to Florida. Caught in a hurricane, the expedition lost two ships, twenty horses and sixty men to the violent storm.
Add new comment