When Was Venezuela Discovered?

Venezuela, in South America was discovered in 1498 during the third voyage of Christopher Columbus. More explorers came in the following years and Alonso de Ojeda, a Spanish navigator, was one of them. He was impressed by the houses that the natives had built on a local lake and called it Venezuela, which means ‘little Venice’ in Italian.

Before the Europeans arrived, three main tribes inhabited the area: Arawak, Carib and the Chibcha. The natives lived in small groups and didn’t concentrate much on farming because the forests were bountiful and it was easier to gather food than to grow it. It was relatively easier for the Spaniards to colonize Venezuela: there was little bloodshed but the fight for independence wasn’t that easy. Venezuela gained its independence from Spain in 1821.

Caracas is the capital of Venezuela and the nation spans an area of 916,445 square kilometers. It shares its borders with Brazil, Columbia and Guyana and it is home to around 26 million people. Education and health are free; the literacy rate is 93 percent and the life expectancy is 73.6 years. The petroleum sector dominates the Venezuelan economy and around 73 percent of the population lives in the cities. About 92 percent of the Venezuelan population regard themselves as Roman Catholic.

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