The history of Venezuela reflects events in areas of the Americas colonized by Spain starting 1522; amid resistance from indigenous peoples, led by Native caciques, such as Guaicaipuro and Tamanaco.
When was Venezuela colonized?
Spain’s colonization of mainland Venezuela started in 1522, establishing its first permanent South American settlement in the present-day city of Cumaná. In the 16th century, Venezuela was contracted as a concession by the King of Spain to the German Welser banking family (Klein-Venedig, 1528–1546).
When did Spain lose Venezuela?
In December 1819, the Congress of Angostura declared Gran Colombia an independent country. After two more years of war, which killed half of Venezuela’s white population, the country achieved independence from Spain in 1821 under the leadership of Simón Bolívar.
Who first settled in Venezuela?
Christopher Columbus first sighted the coast of Venezuela in 1498. About two decades later, the Spanish began to settle in the country. At the time of the settlement, there were as many as 400,000 Amerindians inhabiting the region.
Why did Spain colonize Venezuela?
Colonial Venezuela’s primary value to Spain was geographic: its long Caribbean coastline provided security from foreign enemies and pirates for the Spanish bullion fleet during its annual journey between Portobelo, in present-day Panama, and Cuba.
Who ruled Venezuela now?
| Nicolás Maduro | Incumbent | Assumed office 5 March 2013 Acting until 19 April 2013 Disputed with Juan Guaidó since 23 January 2019 | Vice President Jorge Arreaza Aristóbulo Istúriz Tareck El Aissami Delcy Rodríguez | Preceded by Hugo Chávez |
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Who gave Venezuela its name?
Origin of Venezuela
The name Venezuela is believed to have originated from the cartographer Amerigo Vespucci who, together with Alonso de Ojeda, led a 1499 naval expedition along the northwestern coast’s Gulf of Venezuela.
Why did Spain lose its empire?
Many different factors, including the decentralized political nature of Spain, inefficient taxation , a succession of weak kings, power struggles in the Spanish court and a tendency to focus on the American colonies instead of Spain’s domestic economy, all contributed to the decline of the Habsburg rule of Spain.
Why did the Spanish empire fall?
Gold and silver from her massive American empire fueled Spanish dreams to wrest control of Italy and the Netherlands from France, and to spread Catholicism all across the world. And yet, 300 years later, the Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American War, and with it, the Spanish colonial empire died.
How long did Spain own Venezuela?
Spain’s colonization of mainland Venezuela started in 1522 , establishing its first permanent South American settlement in the present-day city of Cumaná. The 16th century also saw an attempt at German colonization (Klein-Venedig, 1528–1546).
Who is famous from Venezuela?
- Hugo Chávez. Politician. ...
- Simón Bolívar. Politician. ...
- Rafael Trujillo. Politician. ...
- Nicolás Maduro. Politician. ...
- Pastor Maldonado. Racing driver. ...
- Carlos the Jackal. Man. ...
- Henrique Capriles Radonski. Politician. ...
- Carolina Herrera. Fashion Designer.
What language do they speak in Venezuela?
There are at least forty languages spoken or used in Venezuela, but Spanish is the language spoken by the majority of Venezuelans. The 1999 Constitution of Venezuela declared Spanish and languages spoken by indigenous people from Venezuela as official languages.
How many countries did Spain colonize?
| Rank Former Spanish Colonies Year Independence from Spain | 11 Ecuador 1820 | 12 El Salvador 1821 | 13 Equatorial Guinea 1968 | 14 Florida (United States) 1821 (Became a US territory, then a state in 1845) |
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Did Portugal colonize Venezuela?
Portugal colonized parts of South America (Brazil, Colónia do Sacramento, Uruguay, Guanare, Venezuela), but also made some unsuccessful attempts to colonize North America (Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia in Canada).
Why did Venezuela want independence?
Seven of the ten provinces belonging to the Captaincy General of Venezuela declared their independence and explained their reasons for this action, among them, that it was baneful that a small European nation ruled the great expanses of the New World, that Spanish America recovered its right to self-government after ...
Who is the rightful president of Venezuela?
| Juan Guaidó | Assumed office 5 January 2019 Disputed with Jorge Rodríguez since 5 January 2021 | Vice President Edgar Zambrano Juan Pablo Guanipa | Preceded by Omar Barboza | National Assembly Majority Leader |
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