The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Cienfuegos
(synfw´gs) (KEY) , city (1995 est. pop. 125,000), capital of Cienfuegos prov., central Cuba, a port on the Caribbean Sea. It is the marketing and processing center of a region producing sugarcane, tobacco, coffee, and rice; it also has rum distilleries and fish canneries. The city is Cubas leading sugar exporting port as well as a major fishing port. Founded in 1819 by French emigrants from Louisiana and named for one of the original founders, Cienfuegos was destroyed by a tropical storm in 1825 and later rebuilt.