Amazing fact: Treasure Island exists in the real world too!
If you are a bookworm, you must have read Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure novel Treasure Island. It is a coming-of-age story based on pirates and buried treasure and set in a fictional marooned island somewhere around England’s Bristol Channel. But, does this fictional location have a real counterpart? Well, the answer is yes. It’s in Cuba and is known as Isla de la Juventud.
Isla de la Juventud at a glance
Also known as the Isle of the Youth, the Treasure Island of Cuba was once a pirate hideout, a US colony and a Spanish haven, but is now an ecological hotspot harbouring diverse flora and fauna. It is the nation’s largest offshore island that lies 60 miles south off the mainland. It can be distinguished by its striking comma shape. It is part of the Canarreos Archipelago that comprises of 350 islands.
History of the Treasure Island
As it turns out, the Treasure Island of Cuba was first traced by none other than the famous Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in 1494 during his second voyage in search of the New World. He had named the island La Evangelista and claimed it for the Spanish monarchy who were sponsoring his world tours.
Until the late 19th century, the Treasure Island was under the Spanish rule and had been given various other names such as Isle of Pines (for its plethora of palm and pine trees) and Isle of Parrots (for being the only home to Cuban Amazon or the rose-throated Cuban parrot). However, at the end of Spanish-American War in 1895, the island was claimed by USA. But this status was short-lived as within three more years, Cuban War of Independence was raged and the country, along with the island, became a democratic republic with the turn of the century. This is when the native Cubans named it the Treasure Island and even promoted that it was the buried gold in the region that financed all their revolts against foreign invaders. However, historians believe that the name can be traced back to the rich biodiversity of the island.
But there’s something more interesting here. Legends have it that in the 1850s, two pirates named Francis Drake and Henry Morgan and their group ransacked Spanish Crown’s treasure fleet stationed at the island. These ships were full of gems, silver and spices that they acquired from all across the South American continent, not just Cuba or this island. However, since the pirates had found the treasure upon this island, they named it the Treasure Island or the Island of Pirates.
Presidio Modelo: A prison in the Cuban Treasure Island
This is a key attraction for tourists who visit the Cuban Treasure Island in present day. It was originally a panopticon prison where only a single security guard watched over all inmates but in such a manner that they did not realise that they were being watched. It is located on the island’s capital and largest city Nueva Gerona. However, it is historically famous as it was here that the late Cuban Communist leader Fidel Castro was imprisoned in 1953 for rising up against the then Cuban military dictator Fulgencio Batista. This incident in turn had triggered the Cuban Revolution and made the Treasure Island the hotspot of protests. Later, in 1967, Presidio Modelo ceased to be a penitentiary and was converted into a national monument. Its hospital rooms were also turned into eerie museums.
A unique biodiversity
The rarest of rare Caribbean animals call the Cuban Treasure Island their home. For instance, the red-throated parrot or the Cuban Parrot is native to the island apart from the critically endangered Cuban crocodile and American crocodile. It also has palm, pine and citrus groves, mangroves, swamps, limestone forests, morning glory and casuarina vines, caves with prehistoric carvings, marble hills, and white sand beaches. The island also harbours several vulnerable and protected wildlife including tiger sharks, sea turtles, green turtles, Antillean manatee, hammerheads, elkhorn coral, staghorn coral, moray eel, princess parrotfish, exotic birds and butterflies.
Official naming of the island
Considering the island had numerous names in the past, it was getting hard for everyone to keep track. With this in mind, Fidel Castro officially changed the name to Isla de la Juventud in August 1978. It was because he felt that Cuban Revolution was possible because of the nation’s youth who operated from the island and altered its significance. In fact, he opened several schools and universities on it to further the education of the new generation. Till 1990s, the institutions had remained open but the legacy continues till today.