Main tourist center of the island, Havana was founded in 1519 by the Spaniards as the Villa de San Cristóbal de La Habana.For several centuries was a strategic point for Spain by the nature of their port town and its privileged geographical location at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico, which gave a weight in trade and communications between the Old and New World under the name "The Key of the Gulf".

The city was the subject of countless attacks by corsairs and pirates, attracted by the wealth that was accumulated in the vessels of the bay, for onward shipment to the mainland, forcing the Spanish authorities to build a defense system without equal in the Americas surrounding the city with a large wall.