ChileGeography, People, Culture, History

BY: SAMANTHA BAKER

Geography

Venezuela:

• Is located in the north region of South America

• It is bordered by Brazil in the South, Colombia on the West border of the country, Guyana in the East, and the Caribbean Sea in the North

• Has 1,740 miles of coastline

• Can be broken down into 10 different geographical regions

• Is home to Angel Falls (pictured left), the tallest waterfall in the world

Geography... Cont.

• The Andes mountains extend into Venezuela’s northwest region

Pico Bolívar is also located in this northwestern area of Venezuela

• This is the nation’s highest point reaching 16,335 feet

Large table-like mountains called Tepuis can be found in the south of Venezuela

People

• Venezuela’s birthrate is the 4th highest in South America

Venezuelan censuses stopped including statistics in 1930 meaning that only rough estimates are available.

• It is estimated that 60% of the population is Mestizo, a mixture of European and Amerindian

• 30% are European, predominantly of Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Lebanese, and German decent

A small part of the population is made up of Asains

• Only 1% of Venezuelans are indigineous

People... Cont.

• Refugees are a huge portion of the Venezuelan population

252,200 refugees from Columbia lived in Venezuela in 2007

• Over 10,000 new asylum seekers entered Venezuela in 2007

• It is estimated that somewhere between 500,000 and 1,000,000 illegal immigrants live in Venezuela

72% of the entire population of Venezuela lives less than 62 miles from the Coastline

• 92% of the population is Roman Catholic, at least nominally

The other 8% is Protestant or a part of a different religious group

Culture

• Venezuela has been heavily influenced by the Carribean and is witnessed in things from historical buildings to art to monuments

Art predominantly consisted of religious motifs until the 19th century

• Later in the 20th century, the Modernism movement caught momentum

The national language is Spanish, however there are many other dialects spoken throughout the country

Culture... Cont.

• Venezuelan literature was dominated by Spanish influences

• The War of Independence gave rise to political literature

Venezuelan Romanticism was the first important genre to the country

Despite its narrative writing undertones, poets did a lot of advancement for the country

The national language is Spanish, however there are many other dialects spoken throughout the country

History

• In 1522 Venezuela was first colonized by Spain

There was conflict between the indigenous people and the Spaniards

• Ultimately, the indigenous people were defeated and treated harshly my many Spaniards

• Venezuela declared independence on July 5, 1811

• Venezuelan marshal Francisco de Miranda (pictured right) led the uprising that ultimately ended in their independence

History... Cont.

• The first Venezuelan republic was brought down in 1812 due to a huge earthquake striking the city of Caracas and the forces of the Venezuelan llaneros

The second republic of Venezuela was declared in August 1813 and only lasted a few months as well

• Venezuela procured sovereignty in 1821 after winning the Battle of Carabobo (pictured right)

The country remained a part of the Gran Colombia until 1830 when it proclaimed itself independent

Paéz was the first president of the newly independent Venezuela

Sadly, all the years of war had depleted almost a third of the new republic’s population

Sources

• Wikipedia: Venzuela

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuela

Daily Nite Owl

http://www.dailyniteowl.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/venezuela_face.jpg

• Word Travels

• http://www.wordtravels.com/images/map/Venezuela_map.jpg

Globe 2 Share

• http://www.globe2share.org/Users/62/bolivar_glacier_1980.jpg

Latin Las Net

http://www.latinlasnet.org/files/venezuela2dic_0.jpg

• Flickr

• http://farm1.static.flickr.com/122/305892295_e40d2ce5b4.jpg

• Wordpress

http://undiadijo.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/miranda21.jpg