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The beneficial climate of the Isle of Pines near Cuba

HERNANDEZ, José de la Luz.
Memoir on the salubrity of the Isle of Pines.
Havana, 1857. Disbound, sewn. 56 pp.
€ 1,250
Rare first and only English edition of a pamphlet on the supposedly beneficial climate of the Isla de Pinos (now Isla de la Juventad) or Isle of Pines, an island south of Cuba. From the 1840s onwards, Dr. Hernández (1801-1890), a physician working and living on the island, had been promoting the healthful quality of the mineral waters of his hometown of Santa Fe, the island's capital. Furthermore, several experiments with patients had convinced him that the overall climate of the island was extremely salubrious. "Dr. Hernandez, especially refers to numerous cases as falling under his own immediate notice, in which tuberculosis of the lungs, scrofula, chronic inflammations, asthma, paralysis, ophtalmia, otitis, cystitis, epilepsy, and various nervous, uterine and cutaneous affections had been either very materially benefited or entirely cured by a prolonged residence upon the island, and a properly regulated use of its mineral waters, internally and externally" (BMJ).
When American (commercial) interest in the island rose in the early 20th century after Cuba's independence in 1898, Hernández's pamphlet was often cited in works promoting health tourism to the Isle of Pines. For general histories of the island, the pamphlet is of particular interest as it gives detailed information on the economy of the island - mostly agriculture and mining - in the 1850s.
With the name of the importer embossed on the title-page. Remains of the wrapper on the spine; first and last page soiled and with a few small tears. BMJ new series, CCII (10 Nov 1860), p. 883; WorldCat (11 copies); cf. Neagle, America's forgotten colony.
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Related Subjects:

Americas  >  Middle America & Caribbean Islands
History, law & philosophy  >  Economics, Numismatics & Trade
Medicine & pharmacy  >  Medicine & Pharmacy after 1700