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History of Venezuela
Venezuela, situated on the northern coast of South America, supports a wide range of extreme habitats
including the Andes mountain range, the Amazon Basin rainforest, the Los Llanos grassland plains, the
Orinoco Delta wetlands and the idyllic Caribbean coast.
History of Venezuela Timeline
1498 Christopher Columbus discovers the Gulf of Paria.
Italian explorer Christopher Columbus discovers the Gulf of Paria on his third trip to the Americas in 1498. He
considers the shallow inland sea off the east coast of Venezuela to be paradise, and coins the phrase "Land of
Grace" which is still used for the region today.
1499 Expedition to Venezuela.
The following year the Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda leads an expedition to the same coast without
Columbus' permission. The region is named Venezuela, either because the stilt houses are reminiscent of a
"little Venice" or because the natives call it "Veneciuela".
1775 Expansion of colonies. Spanish settlers start to push inland along the Orinoco River where they meet
organized resistance from the Makiritare in 1775. Trade is based on native coffee, cocoa, maize and manioc
and large parts of the Los Llanos plains are cultivated through both subsistence and permanent agriculture.
July 5, 1811 Venezuelan Independence.
A series of uprisings led by Francisco de Miranda culminate in a declaration of independence on July 5, 1811.
The national flag is introduced with yellow representing land wealth, blue for the sea and red for the bloodshed.
Natural disasters and native rebellions thwart the first two Venezuelan republics.
1830 Independent Venezuela.
In 1830 Jos Antonio Pez Herrera leads a rebellion and declares an independent Venezuela. Pez becomes
the first president of the new republic and is intermittently re-elected three times, serving a total of eleven
years.
1854 Slavery is abolished.
Although the Spanish government introduces the first European law abolishing colonial slavery in 1542, it is not
outlawed in Venezuela until 1854.
1859 Federal War
During the 19th and 20th centuries Venezuela experiences political turmoil and is alternately ruled by a handful
of military strongmen, each overthrowing the other. A civil war rages through the country for four years from
1859, killing hundreds of thousands of citizens.
1945 Democracy is born.
Rmulo Betancourt is heralded as the Father of Venezuelan Democracy, serving two elected presidencies. The
first, a short-lived period from 1945, and then again for five years from 1959 after the military dictator Prez
Jimnez is ousted.
1999 Bolivarian Revolution.
Hugo Chvez is elected President in 1998 and launches the Bolivarian Revolution in response to popular
opinion. Named after Simn Bolvar, the socialist movement aims to restore democracy, economic
independence and equitable distribution of revenues, while ending political corruption.
2013 Death of Chvez.
Chvez is briefly deposed in a coup in 2002, but returns to power two days later, where he remains until his
death in 2013. Nicols Maduro is the newly-elected president in March 2013