H. Upmann & Co.

H. Upmann & Co. was a Bank based in Cuba, with a subsidiary branch in Bremen, Germany, it was founded in 1844 and presided over by Hermann Dietrich Upmann.

H. Upmann & Co. was very successful through the purchase of promissory notes in Madrid during the Cuban War of Independence.

As a representative of the Rothschilds and other important customers, H. Upmann & Co. transferred large quantities of gold and silver to its office in New York, which had been a financial center and trading hub with the Caribbean islands since the 18th century.

With the end of World War I, in 1918, Cuba's economic situation had worsened dramatically, especially after its great crash 1920 that brought unfathomable consequences to thousands of workers who lost their jobs.

Due to these difficulties, H. Upmann & Co. - like so many others - left in 1922 and was sold for a mere 30,000 pesos to the Habsburg Trust Havana Bank [5] Three years later, on September 3, 1925, Herman passed away and his brother Albert moved to the United States.