No Taxes
28-06-2006, 02:29
This is a closed RP, though see this thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=489279) to join.
History of Venezuela:
When the Spanish first arrived in Venezuela in the early 1500s, the indigenous peoples were mainly agriculturalists and hunters living along the Orinoco River, Andean Mountain Range, and along the coast. The first permanent Spanish settlement in South America, Nuevo Toledo, was established in Venezuela in 1522. The opening of gold mines at Yaracuy led to the introduction of slavery, at first with the indigenous population, then with imported Africans. The first real success of the colony was the raising of livestock, which was only successful because of the grassy plains known as llanos. As a result, the society that developed consisted of a handful of Spanish landowners and widely-dispersed Indian herdsmen on Spanish-introduced horses. This system was so primitive that it could be compared to feudalism, which was a powerful concept in the 16th-century Spanish imagination.
When Cocoa plantations were established in the 18th century, a second society formed along the coast of Venezuela. To get enough slaves to work the plantations, large numbers of Africans were brought in to work. Many Africans could also be found working in the haciendas on the llanos. In 1777 Venezuela left the Viceroyalty of New Granada and became the Captaincy General of Venezuela.
By the end of the 18th century the Venezuelans had begun to grow discontent under Spanish colonial control. The Napoleonic Wars in Europe weakened Spain's imperial power and Venezuela seized the opportunity. After a coup on April 19, 1810 Venezuela was able to achieve home rule and independence from Spain was declared on July 5, 1811. The war for independence ensued. Gran Colombia was finally granted independence on December 17, 1819. After several more years of war, which killed half of Venezuela's white population, the country achieved independence from Spain in 1821 under the leadership of its most famous son, Simón Bolívar. The Republic of Gran Colombia was created and it included what are now Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador. This lasted until 1830, when Venezuela became a sovereign nation.
Most of the rest of Venezuela's 19th century history was marked by periods of political instability, dictatorial rule of the caudillos, and revolutionary turbulence. Starting in 1870, Venezuela underwent increasing economic and political centralization. Antonio Guzmán Blanco (1870-1888) took control over customs revenues through an alliance with regional caudillos and the financial sector. Cipriano Castro (1899-1908) and Juan Vicente Gómez (1908-1935) founded a professionalized army with a centralized command structure, which along with other policies ensured that Venezuela would achieve growing political stability from oil revenues, instead of losing stability like many other oil abundant nations.
Venezuela had very authoritarian governments throughout the first half of the 20th century. The longest dictatorship was that of Juan Vicente Gomez when Venezuela became a major oil exporter. After he died, a military junta took power. In 1946, Leftist Dr. Romulo Betancourt and Accion Democratica (AD) won a majority of seats in the Constituent Assembly and took power. Rómulo Gallegos of AD became the first democratically-elected president in Venezuela in 1947. Only six months later, he was ousted in a military-backed coup led by Marcos Perez Jimenez. Marcos ruled until 1958, when he was ousted. Since then, Venezuela has always had a democratically-elected president. In the 1960s, AD and Christian Democratic Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente (COPEI) agreed to restrict Venezuela’s elections to an exclusive competition between the two parties. Thus, third parties were effectively blocked from gaining power, and the discontent with AD and COPEI grew as a result of this agreement. The current Venezuelan president, Rafael Caldera of COPEI, was elected in 1969 and the next election will be in 1974.
History of Venezuela:
When the Spanish first arrived in Venezuela in the early 1500s, the indigenous peoples were mainly agriculturalists and hunters living along the Orinoco River, Andean Mountain Range, and along the coast. The first permanent Spanish settlement in South America, Nuevo Toledo, was established in Venezuela in 1522. The opening of gold mines at Yaracuy led to the introduction of slavery, at first with the indigenous population, then with imported Africans. The first real success of the colony was the raising of livestock, which was only successful because of the grassy plains known as llanos. As a result, the society that developed consisted of a handful of Spanish landowners and widely-dispersed Indian herdsmen on Spanish-introduced horses. This system was so primitive that it could be compared to feudalism, which was a powerful concept in the 16th-century Spanish imagination.
When Cocoa plantations were established in the 18th century, a second society formed along the coast of Venezuela. To get enough slaves to work the plantations, large numbers of Africans were brought in to work. Many Africans could also be found working in the haciendas on the llanos. In 1777 Venezuela left the Viceroyalty of New Granada and became the Captaincy General of Venezuela.
By the end of the 18th century the Venezuelans had begun to grow discontent under Spanish colonial control. The Napoleonic Wars in Europe weakened Spain's imperial power and Venezuela seized the opportunity. After a coup on April 19, 1810 Venezuela was able to achieve home rule and independence from Spain was declared on July 5, 1811. The war for independence ensued. Gran Colombia was finally granted independence on December 17, 1819. After several more years of war, which killed half of Venezuela's white population, the country achieved independence from Spain in 1821 under the leadership of its most famous son, Simón Bolívar. The Republic of Gran Colombia was created and it included what are now Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador. This lasted until 1830, when Venezuela became a sovereign nation.
Most of the rest of Venezuela's 19th century history was marked by periods of political instability, dictatorial rule of the caudillos, and revolutionary turbulence. Starting in 1870, Venezuela underwent increasing economic and political centralization. Antonio Guzmán Blanco (1870-1888) took control over customs revenues through an alliance with regional caudillos and the financial sector. Cipriano Castro (1899-1908) and Juan Vicente Gómez (1908-1935) founded a professionalized army with a centralized command structure, which along with other policies ensured that Venezuela would achieve growing political stability from oil revenues, instead of losing stability like many other oil abundant nations.
Venezuela had very authoritarian governments throughout the first half of the 20th century. The longest dictatorship was that of Juan Vicente Gomez when Venezuela became a major oil exporter. After he died, a military junta took power. In 1946, Leftist Dr. Romulo Betancourt and Accion Democratica (AD) won a majority of seats in the Constituent Assembly and took power. Rómulo Gallegos of AD became the first democratically-elected president in Venezuela in 1947. Only six months later, he was ousted in a military-backed coup led by Marcos Perez Jimenez. Marcos ruled until 1958, when he was ousted. Since then, Venezuela has always had a democratically-elected president. In the 1960s, AD and Christian Democratic Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente (COPEI) agreed to restrict Venezuela’s elections to an exclusive competition between the two parties. Thus, third parties were effectively blocked from gaining power, and the discontent with AD and COPEI grew as a result of this agreement. The current Venezuelan president, Rafael Caldera of COPEI, was elected in 1969 and the next election will be in 1974.