Republished from Peoples of All Nations by Educational Book Company (1923).

THE Venezuelan coast was discovered by Columbus on August 1, 1498, and explored in the following year by Alonso de Ojeda, who gave the country the name of “Little Venice,” from the fact that on one of the inlets he discovered a village built on piles.

Venezuela became the Captaincy-general of Carácas, and the Spanish conquest was complete by A.D. 1600. The country was administered by a succession of viceroys for about two centuries, ending with Vicente Emparan. On April 19, 1810, this official was deposed by Simon Bolivar, himself a native of Carácas. The Declaration of Independence was issued in that city on July 5, 1811, and a decade of warfare with the Spanish power ensued. This was ended by Bolivar’s great victory of Carabobo (June 24, 1821), though Spain did not formally acknowledge Venezuela’s independence until 1845. A Republican Constitution was enacted on June 13, 1814.

For some years Venezuela constituted, with Colombia and Ecuador, the Republic of Colombia; but, largely owing to the influence of General José Paez, the Venezuelans broke away from the union in 1829 to become a separate Republic. Paez was practically dictator from 1830 to 1849, in which year he was expelled by General José Tadeo Monagas. The latter, with his brother José Gregorio, ruled the country until 1858, one of their decrees enacting the abolition of native slavery (1854).

Their overthrow was the signal for civil war, and General Juan Falcón established himself as dictator (1863-68). His regime was one of misgovernment and bloodshed until his expulsion. In 1869 Antonio Guzman Blanco established himself as dictator, and his rule lasted for twenty years. He contrived that a partisan of his own should always be returned to the presidential chair, until in 1889 a counterrevolution broke out; Blanco and his own nominee, Rojas Paul, were driven out, and a popular election returned Andueza Palacio as president.

A partial reform of the constitution included the extension of the presidential term from two to four years. In an attempt to apply this extension to himself, Palacio came into conflict with a faction headed by General Crespo as president for four years. His term of office was chiefly memorable for a serious dispute with Great Britain.

For many years the frontiers of British Guiana and Venezuela had been in dispute, and in 1895 matters culminated in the arrest by Venezuelan officials of two British Guiana police officers. Following this, President Crespo invoked the assistance of the United States in any possible quarrel with Great Britain, and the American President (Grover Cleveland) informed Congress, in a message of December 18, 1895, that any attempt by England to settle the boundary problem without arbitration would be regarded seriously by the U.S. government.

This declaration was the cause of intense excitement in Venezuela, where a boycott of British goods was declared and diplomatic relations were broken off. Relations were resumed in 1897, and two years later the boundary question was settled by arbitration and an indemnity paid by Venezuela to the arrested British Guiana officials. Meanwhile, an attempt to overthrow Crespo, instigated by Blanco’s old partisan, Rojas Paul, was frustrated in 1895 after considerable bloodshed. Crespo resigned office in 1898, to meet with a tragic fate. His successor, Señor Andrade, proved unpopular, and Crespo, while leading the government forces in an attempt to restore order, was killed. In 1900 Andrade was deposed, and a dictatorship was reimposed by General Castro (1900-8). A reversion to the former state of chaos took place, speculation was rife, and in 1903 Great Britain, Germany, and Italy found it necessary to take joint naval action against Venezuela in the interest of bondholders belonging to their respective nationalities.

The Venezuelan seaboard was blockaded, but eventually the Hague Tribunal decided that about £700,000 should be paid in settlement of the British, Italian, and German claims. Castro now refused the United States request for a revision of the so-called “Olcott Award” for the Orinoco Steamship Company, and in 1906 forbade the French Minister to land, claiming that he had broken the guarantee laws; France thereupon severed relations.

In 1908, a peremptory demand by Castro to the Netherlands government, on the ground that Venezuelan refugees had found asylum in the island of Curacoa, was answered by a Dutch naval demonstration. This destroyed Castro’s so-called fleet and blockaded the ports. At the close of 1908, the dictator quitted Caracas for Europe on the plea of ill-health, and a revolution which broke out in the capital resulted, in 1910, in the election as president of General Juan Vicente Gómez. Under his administration tranquillity was restored to Venezuela, and far better economic and other conditions prevailed. The troubles incidental to the Great War of 1914-18 were surmounted, and the Republic preserved a correct attitude throughout the struggle.

Venezuela: Facts and Figures

The Country
Venezuela is bounded north by the Caribbean Sea, south by Brazil, east by British Guiana, and west by Colombia. In the west are the Andes and their extension eastwards along the Caribbean coast, which is fringed by some 70 islands. Running across the country from the south-west is the Orinoco with more than 400 affluents. To the north of this river are great open plains, while to the south of it is a great tropical forest. Climate varies considerably owing to the differing altitudes of the land configuration. Total area estimated it about 600,000 square miles; estimated population 2,400,000.

Government and Constitution
Congress holds legislative authority and comprises a Senate and Chamber of Deputies, the Senate having forty members, two for every state, chosen for three years, while there is a deputy for every 35,000 inhabitants in each state, chosen for three years, a surplus of 15,000 entitling a state to a second deputy. Executive power is in the hands of the President, elected for seven years, in cooperation with a Cabinet.

Commerce and Industries
Of the three districts into which the country is geographically divided the first is agricultural, and produces cocoa, coffee, cotton, maize, and sugar-cane, giving employment to about one-fifth of the population; the second provides land suitable for stock-raising; while the third, a forest region, yields balata, a rubber-like gum, vanilla, and rubber. Gold is mined south-east of Ciudad Bolivar, and coal, salt, and asphalt are worked. Pearl-fishing is carried on round the island of Margarita. The most important industries are the manufacture of cotton, fibre sacks, glass, and matches. Among the chief exports are coffee, cocoa, hides, and gold, the total exports for 1920-21 being valued at £4,708,961, while imports for same year reached a total of £7,560,080. Standard coin, the silver bolivar; nominal value 9½d.