WHAT WAS THE VENEZUELAN COLONIAL SOCIETY LIKE? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The Venezuelan colonial society was marked by the different social classes delimited in turn by the diverse ethnic groups existing in the South American country. At first these ethnic groups were made up of Spaniards and indigenous people, who were later accompanied by African blacks brought as slaves. Later, the different castes would emerge, product of the union of the different ethnic groups.

The ruling class was made up of the Spanish, who were a minority. This group was made up of landowners, landowners, crown merchants, miners, and political and ecclesiastical officials.

But since the Spanish did not bring their wives on the ships, many married natives. This union of Spaniards with indigenous people gave rise to miscegenation. The indigenous population was relegated to being vassals and tributaries of the crown. Those who did not "Spanishize" were marginalized.

How was the Venezuelan colonial society formed?

Whites

Children of Spaniards born in Venezuela, they possessed agricultural and livestock wealth. They were landowners and held titles of nobility.

Indians

The largest percentage of them lived in the jungle. They rendered personal services to missionaries and encomenderos.

Blacks

They worked on the haciendas as slaves. In turn, the manumisos were those who rented the land to their owners, and the maroons were those who escaped from their masters.

Pardos

They were the product of the union between whites, blacks and Indians. Being “illegal” children, they lacked rights. It was the largest group in the population. They dedicated themselves to being artisans, minor merchants and wage earners.

Mixed race

They were the children of white and Indian.

Mulatto

They were the children of black and white.

Zambos

They were the children of an Indian and a Negro. After the struggle for independence that occurred in 1811, the Constitutions of 1811 and 1830 further marked ethnic differences.

To the extreme that only Spaniards and their children had the right to education, leaving all other ethnic groups in total illiteracy.

In the middle of the 19th century, equality of classes, education and the abolition of slavery took shape.

Economy

At the time of the colony, the economy was based on the exploitation of gold and silver mines, and the extraction of pearls. This marked differences between the colonies due to their greater or lesser capacity to send gold and silver to the metropolis.

At the same time, agriculture and livestock were growing, which supplied the products for the sustenance of the population.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the provinces of the colony used cocoa and pearls as a bargaining chip.

Apart from cocoa, coffee, cotton, tobacco and, to a lesser extent, pickled hides began to be exported.

Summary of the colonial economy

• Pearl fishing. This was the first activity of the Spanish in Venezuela. From 1530 the activity declined and more importance was given to the extraction of gold.
• Mining. The gold mines were among the royalties that the Spanish kingdom seized the most, reserving the right of exploitation for itself.
• Agriculture. The main crops were cocoa, corn, tobacco, indigo, coffee, wheat, and sugar cane. Subsistence agriculture and plantation agriculture were differentiated. Plantation agriculture made Venezuela world famous for the quality of its products, especially cocoa and coffee.
• Livestock. During the expeditions of conquest and colonization, the cattle ranch allowed the self-supply of the population. Between 1620 and 1625, the export of pickled leathers ranked first.

References

1. Colonial Economy in Venezuela. (2014). Recovered from isaurajriver.wordpress.com.
2. Characterization of the Venezuelan Society. Recovered from monografias.com.
3. Era of the Colony (Venezuela). (2017). Recovered from es.wikipedia.org.
4. Economic and social history of Venezuela. (2010). Recovered fromhistoriaparacontaduria.blogspot.com.ar.