Oriente Province

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Oriente Province
Provincia de Oriente
Province of Oriente
Coat of arms of Oriente Province
SeatSantiago de Cuba
Population
 (2015)
 • Metropolitan region3,965,783
 • Urban
2,616,226
 • Rural
1,349,557
Demonymorientales
Cuba's provinces as shown on a 1910s map

Oriente ([oˈɾjente], "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country. The area is divided into five different provinces.

The origins of Oriente started in the 1607 division of Cuba into a western and eastern administration.[1] The eastern part of the country was governed from Santiago de Cuba. In 1807, Cuba was divided into three departamentos: Occidental, Central and Oriental. This lasted until 1851. At that time, the central department was merged into the West. In 1878, Cuba was divided into six provinces. Oriente was renamed to Santiago de Cuba Province until the name was changed back to Oriente in 1905. Fidel and Raúl Castro were born in a small town in Oriente province (Birán). In 1976, the province was split into five different provinces. They are Las Tunas Province, Granma Province, Holguín Province, Santiago de Cuba Province, and Guantánamo Province. This change was made by Cuban Law Number 1304 of July 3, 1976,[2] and remains in place to this day.

References[change | change source]

  1. Domingo, Alfredo Mateo (1977). Historia de la división político-administrativa de la isla de Cuba, 1607-1976 (in Spanish). Editorial Arte y Literatura. p. 69.
  2. Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, Vol. II, published by the United Nations, New York, 1991