Havana extends mostly westward and southward from the bay with the same name, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbours: Marimelena, Guanabacoa and Atarés. The sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few km west of the bay. Founded by the conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar in 1514 or 1515, it was originally a trading port and suffered regular attacks by by buccaneers, pirates, and French corsairs, but subsequently, due to its strategic location, it served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the continent becoming a stopping point for the treasure laden Spanish Galleons on the crossing between the New World and Spain. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592, and walls as well as forts were built to protect it.
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