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Venezuelan Journey by Robert U. Simmons updated by Laura Barbas Rhoden Editor (1990): L. Curcio-Nagy Editor (1998): Valerie McGinley Marshall published by the Latin American Curriculum Resource Center The Roger Thayer Stone Center for Latin American Studies Slide Packet No. 7 1990; revised 1998 Tulane New Orleans, Lousiana Venezuelan Journey Regions of Venezuela most of the towns in this region. The main city is San Cristóbal, located in one of these Located on the northeastern coast of valleys near the Colombian border. South America, Venezuela is a country of geographic and human diversity. Six distinc- The Coastal Ranges are directly behind tive geographic regions exist in a territory the central section of the Venezuelan coast. roughly the size of the state of Montana, and They run parallel to the coast, parted in two the population enjoys one of the highest halves by the Unare River Basin. The valleys standards of living in Latin America. People of this region produce agricultural products live in each of the six regions: the coast, for urban consumption and export. The Segovia highlands, Andes, Coastal Ranges, capital city of Caracas lies in this region, and llanos (plains), and the Guayana region. industry centers about this metropolis. The coast of Venezuela stretches over The llanos lie south of the Coastal 900 miles along the waters of the Caribbean Ranges and are expanses of grasslands and Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Deltas at the river systems. The cattle industry dominates mouths of several rivers create swamps and this predominately rural region dotted with wetlands richly populated with wildlife, and small towns. The Orinoco River forms the rocky expanses and sandy beaches also southern border of the llanos. punctuate the shoreline. The main city of the coastal region is Maracaibo, the second- The Orinoco River divides the llanos largest city in Venezuela. Located on the from Guayana, a region further to the south. western side of Lake Maracaibo, the city is Accounting for almost half of Venezuela’s closely tied to the petroleum industry. The territory, Guayana consists of vast plains and Bolivar oil field is located under Lake an area of broken mountain systems called Maracaibo and produces more oil than any tepuis. The tepuis are noted for their sharp other. Some of the earliest offshore drilling vertical sides and plateau summits. The developed in this region, and the majority of topography of this region produces a number coastal industry is still petroleum-related. of spectacular waterfalls, including Angel Falls, the highest in the world. The southern The Segovia highlands are a region of half of Guayana is part of the Amazon River high plains and broken hills at the northeast- basin. Covered with tropical forests and ern tip of the Andes mountain range. The virtually uninhabited, the land is protected in region is hot and dry, and most of the vegeta- a series of state parks. There are no great tion is short and scrubby. The Segovia high- metropolitan centers in Guayana, though lands cover only 9300 square miles, and the Ciudad Bolivar does host a number of indus- main city is Barquisimeto. tries based on the mining of ore and bauxite. There is also an important business in the The northeastern extension of the Andes construction and maintenance of hydroelec- chain ends in Venezuela, where it forks into tric facilities. twin ranges surrounding Lake Maracaibo. In some locations, peaks exceed 16,000 feet, and the valleys in the range serve as sites for VENEZUELAN JOURNEY 1 History ing European demand for cacao and coffee. The increased economic activity required vast Before the arrival of the Europeans, amounts of labor, supplied by Africans trans- various indigenous groups inhabited the ported to the Americas and forced into sla- territory of Venezuela. These peoples had very. The slave trade reached its peak in the varying degrees of contact with the Spanish mid-1700s, but slavery endured in the terri- colonists that arrived after Columbus’ third tory until independence was won from Spain. voyage, and indigenous traditions persisted longer outside the Coastal Ranges. Spanish In the early 1700s, the Bourbon mon- presence was limited in the llanos, Andes, archs of Spain made an effort to promote and Guayana, and Indians in these places economic growth in order to secure more were able to resist European domination. revenue for the Spanish Crown. As part of this program, the Crown began to allocate In August 1498, Christopher Columbus charters to companies for economic develop- landed on the Peninsula of Piría and had his ment, and one of the most successful of these first encounter with the South American was the Caracas Company in Venezuela. continent. However, at the time, he thought Formed by Basque entrepreneurs in 1728, he had landed on another island in the Carib- the company was successful economically bean chain. The discovery of pearl beds led but faced hostility from the local colonists. to an interest in the coast, and by 1500 The Basques held a monopoly that excluded rumors of gold inland led conquistadors to all others, not only peninsulares (Spanish begin extensive exploration of the coast and people born in Spain) but also criollos (Span- river regions. In the 1499 expedition of the ish people born in the Americas). In 1749, a Gulf of Venezuela, Alonso de Ojeda saw rebellion against the company was native houses supported over the water by squelched, but the company eventually lost poles and was reminded of Venice. The new its monopoly in 1789. However, the conflict region thus received its present name of that arose among the inhabitants regarding Venezuela. the company left a legacy of resistance that would later prove important in the indepen- From 1528 to 1546 Venezuela was in the dence movement. charge of German bankers. King Charles of Spain and Francis I of France were engaged Francisco de Miranda led the first major in a bidding competition for the title of Holy independence movement in 1806. Miranda Roman Emperor, and in exchange for funds, was an exceptional individual and an ac- Charles gave the Germans an indefinite lease quaintance of George Washington, Alexander on Venezuela. The Germans soon began Hamilton, William Pitt, and Catherine the large-scale exploration of the interior of Great. He served as Major General in revolu- Venezuela in search of economic opportuni- tionary France in 1792 against the forces of ties. Austria and Prussia and was one of the earliest proponents of the ideology of pan- By 1600, after countless expeditions Americanism. However, both of his attempts that encountered resistant indigenous to liberate Venezuela ended in failure. peoples and hostile physical conditions, Europeans returned to the established cen- Soon, though, the rise of Napoleon ters on or near the coast. Agriculture be- dramatically altered the political situation in came the main source of income for the Europe, creating in the process favorable colonists, and the region supplied the grow- conditions for Latin American independence. 2 VENEZUELAN JOURNEY When Napoleon invaded Spain and usurped ernment instability in 1870 led to the rule of the throne of Ferdinand VII, Venezuelan Liberal Antonio Gúzman Blanco; he remained nationals formed a junta loyal to the deposed in power until 1888. Following the over- king and governed the colony in his name. throw of this dictator, Liberal-Conservative During this time of political uncertainty, conflicts continued until a band of revolution- Miranda returned with the blessing of the aries descended from the Andes in 1899. A junta, and Bolívar accompanied him to stir period of authoritarian rule began, and a the independence movement in Venezuela. succession of military figures governed until 1958 with only one interruption. Simón Bolívar expressed at an early age a radical ideology contrary to the conserva- The central figure of the authoritarian tive one espoused by his wealthy Caracas period was Juan Vicente Gómez, known as family. He was well educated, and many of the “tyrant of the Andes.” He exercised his teachers contributed to his revolutionary despotic rule from 1908 until his death in views. On his third trip to Europe, Bolívar 1935. During the Gómez era, Venezuela met Francisco de Miranda in London, and the underwent a transformation from an agricul- two men shared enthusiasm for Spanish tural economy to an industrial, petroleum- American independence. Bolívar later be- based society. Organized labor also became came commander of two abortive attempts to important during this period, and the first liberate Venezuela from Spanish rule. major oil strike occurred in 1922. Though these first efforts were failures, Bolívar did eventually lead the successful After Gómez’s death, Rómulo Betancourt expedition of 1821. He then set out from created and built the Democratic Action Venezuela to liberate the rest of the conti- Party (AD), Venezuela’s first modern, mass- nent from colonial rule and eventually based political party. The party introduced brought independence to Colombia, Peru, major reforms during its time in office be- Ecuador, and Bolivia. tween 1945 and 1948. Opposition grew, however, and the military overthrew the AD Bolívar envisioned a unified Latin in office. America named the “Gran Colombia,” but this never materialized, and the “Liberator” A bleak period of political persecution, ultimately lost all the political power he had corruption, and repression followed under enjoyed in the regions he freed from Spanish the dictatorship of Pérez Jiménez. Massive rule. Ambitious local politicians had less protests in 1958 forced Pérez Jiménez to flee lofty aspirations than Bolívar, and their from power and inaugurated the vibrant territorial interests conflicted with his grand democracy that characterizes Venezuela plans. The years following independence today. became a period of strife and political turbu- lence as various regional leaders competed Venezuela continues to enjoy the ben- for supremacy.