Provinces of Cuba

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Image:Cuba Provinces-numbers.png

Cuba consists of 14 provinces, plus one special municipality.

Cuba's Special Municipality is the Isla de la Juventud (Island of Youth), known until the 1970s as the Isla de Pinos or Isle of Pines (also previously "Evangelista", "Isle of Santiago" and "Isle of Parrots").

[edit] History

Prior to 1976, Cuba was divided into the following provinces (from west to east):

Pinar del Río
La Habana
Matanzas
Las Villas (called "Santa Clara" before 1940)
Camagüey (called "Puerto Príncipe" before 1899)
Oriente (called "Santiago de Cuba" before 1905)

These provinces correspond to the following areas on the map; Pinar del Rio (item 2), La Habana (items 1, 3, 4), Matanzas (5), Las Villas (approximately 6, 7, and 8 on map), Camaguey (roughly 9 and 10) and Oriente (11, 12, 13, 14 and 15). The present subdivisions closely resemble those of Spanish military provinces during the Cuban Wars of Independence in which the most troublesome areas were subdivided.