Other towns are _Valverde_, formerly _Mao_, 30 miles northwest of
Santiago; _Janico_, 14 miles southwest of Santiago, _Esperanza_, 27
miles northwest of Santiago; and _Canton Pena_, also called
_Tamboril_, 7 miles east of Santiago and having such close social
relations with that city as to be regarded as a suburb of the same.
PROVINCE OF PUERTO PLATA
_Puerto Plata_, 150 miles northwest of Santo Domingo, is the most
important port of the north of the Republic. Columbus is said to have
made the plans for the streets of the town; as early as 1499 there
were settlers here; and in 1502 the city was formally founded by order
of Ovando. It enjoyed prosperity during the first years of the colony,
but in 1543 was attacked by pirates and thereafter rapidly went to
decay. The stringent laws which restricted the commerce of the island
to certain ports of the mother country encouraged contraband trade and
the place became the headquarters for smugglers. The government
endeavored to stop smuggling in 1606 by the brilliant expedient of
destroying the town and moving all the inhabitants to Monte Plata, far
in the interior of Santo Domingo province.
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