CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Carretera Central (Cuba)

highway in Cuba

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 21, 2025
Entity authorityQ686497 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Carretera Central (CC), meaning "Central Road", is a west-east highway spanning the length of the island of Cuba. The route is numbered N–1, with it being split into 6 regions, being 1–N–1, 2–N–1, 3–N–1, 4–N–1, 5–N–1, and 6–N–1.

History

Formal construction began in 1927 during the Gerardo Machado administration and its original layout of 1,139 km (707.7 mi) was completed in 1931. It runs along the island of Cuba from west to east, between Pinar del Río and Oriente. It is a two-way single road. It represented an extraordinary economic value during Machado and Fulgencio Batista's administrations. It facilitated faster transportation and effective inter-province commuting.

The road was originally signed N–1, with a prefix depending on the former province it was in, being 1–N–1 for Pinar del Río Province, 2–N–1 for La Habana Province, 3–N–1 for Matanzas Province, 4–N–1 for Santa Clara Province, 5–N–1 for Camagüey Province, and 6–N–1 for Oriente Province, although now the numbering system is largely unused, with most signs saying an abbreviated version of “Carretera Central”.

Route

Description

The Carretera Central starts in the village of La Fe, a hamlet of Sandino, in the western province of Pinar del Río, and links all major cities and province capitals except Cienfuegos. It runs about 1,435 km (892 mi) to Baracoa in the eastern Guantánamo province.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Carretera Central (Cuba)” as highway in Cuba. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1927, 1931—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Carretera, Central and Cuba can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as highway in Cuba. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 21, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q686497. The first chronological checks are 1927 and 1931.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Carretera Central (Cuba)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Carretera Central (Cuba) primary sources, Carretera Central (Cuba) archive and Carretera research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Carretera Central (Cuba)”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Carretera Central (Cuba)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.