Ships, traders, storage, garrison spending, and repair work made Havana a prosperous convoy hub. Its large sheltered harbour had a narrow, defensible entrance and a compact landward approach, making it well suited to fortification. Routes associated with Manila, Macau, Veracruz, Lima, and Panama ultimately fed the Havana-Seville Atlantic circuit. That concentrated Spanish axis differed from Portugal's more dispersed network of Asian, Brazilian, and European ports. Published figures differ, so the route diagram is most useful for understanding the network's shape rather than exact traffic volumes. For the Royal Navy, Spain's concentration made Havana both the key rampart of the Spanish West Indies and a clearly identifiable point through which imperial wealth had to pass.
Chapter · 9:22-13:55
Havana's harbour economy and global trade routes
Havana became a fortified commercial metropolis because Spanish routes from the Americas and Pacific converged there before crossing the Atlantic.