Venezuela

Venezuela is a country in South America. It lies on the north coast of South America along the Caribbean Sea. Mountain ranges extend across much of northern Venezuela. This is the most densely populated region of the country. The capital and largest city of Venezuela is Caracas. It is located in the north as well. Vast plains called llanos spread across much of central Venezuela. The south is covered by high plateaus and low mountains.

The language spoken there is Spanish. Most of it’s citizens are descendants of Europeans, American Indians, and Africans who are intermarried. Christopher Columbus landed there in 1498. European explorers who came later found Indian villages where the houses where built on poles over the waters of the gulf of Venezuela and lake Maracaibo. Some of the explores were reminded of Venice, Italy where the buildings stood near the water. They decided to name it Venezuela or “Little Venice” in English.

Spain ruled Venezuela for about 300 years. In 1811 it declared its independence from Spain. Since then it has had 27 constitutions. The present constitution was adopted in 1999. It states that the president serves as Venezuela's head of state and as head of the executive branch of government. The people elect the president to a six-year term. The president can be reelected to a consecutive term once. The National Assembly is the nation's legislature. The Supreme Tribunal of Justice is the highest court in the country.

Venezuela is divided into 22 separate states and a federal district. Each state and the Federal District have governors and legislatures elected by the people. The economy relies heavily on petroleum. It provides 75% of Venezuela’s earnings from exports. It is one of the worlds largest exporters as a result. It also exports natural gas and mineral products such as bauxite, coal, diamonds, gold, iron ore, and phosphate rock. 30 % of the countries workers are employed in manufacturing and about 10 % work in agriculture.

During the early 1800's, Spain's South American colonies began to fight for independence. The chief leaders in the independence movement included the Venezuelans Simon Bolivar, Francisco de Miranda, and Antonio Jose de Sucre. They and their followers fought for many years to free all of northern South America from Spanish rule.

After achieving independence, Venezuela had many periods of civil unrest. A series of dictatorial caudillos (leaders) ruled the country until the mid-1900's. Two of these caudillos, Generals Antonio Guzman Blanco and Juan Vicente Gomez, greatly influenced Venezuela's development but Simon Bolivar contributed the most.