port city, east-central Cuba. It lies on a peninsula jutting out into the sheltered Nuevitas Bay, into which Christopher Columbus sailed to land in the area in 1492. Despite frequent pirate raids in the colonial era, the settlement prospered. Its economic base is now varied: sugarcane, molasses, coffee, sisal, and fruits from the agricultural hinterland are shipped to Nuevitas by railroad and highway. The city's industrial products include lumber, rope, fertilizer, coffee, textiles, soap, and furniture. Sugar refineries and a thermoelectric plant are located nearby. Pop. (2002) 38,995.