CONQUEST OF VENEZUELA: DISCOVERY, STAGES, CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The conquest of Venezuela was the historical process by which the Spanish Empire conquered the territory that today makes up Venezuela. The first to arrive in these lands was Christopher Columbus, during his third trip, although it was only an exploratory expedition.

After Columbus, other expeditions followed, among which the one led by Alonso de Ojeda stood out, during which the first map of the Venezuelan coast was drawn up, and that of Alonso Niño. The latter discovered an area very rich in pearls and founded several bases to exploit that wealth for the benefit of the crown.

Map of Venezuela 1635 - Source: Simón Bolívar Geographical Institute

The conquest and colonization of Venezuela presents some differences with respect to that of other parts of America. Thus, in that territory there was no dominant indigenous people, like the Incas in Peru. This caused the Spanish advance to be slower, since it was not enough to defeat a single people to dominate the terrain.

On the other hand, the debts of the Spanish crown caused German bankers to receive permission to explore and exploit the discovered territory. Thus, the western zone was controlled by several explorers of that nationality for a time.

Discovery

Christopher Columbus arrived in South America on the third of his trips. At the beginning of August 1498, the Genoese navigator reached the island of Trinidad. From there, he headed for the coast in front of the Orinoco Delta and continued his journey to the Gulf of Paria. On August 6, Europeans landed, for the first time, in the south of the continent.

After exchanging gifts with the natives, the ships continued until they reached the island of Margarita and, days later, anchored in a port near the Dragon's Mouth.

Columbus arrived on August 15 in Cubagua, south of Margarita. There they saw many indigenous people dedicate themselves to pearl cultivation. However, the delicate state of health of Columbus made them return to Hispaniola.

Alonso de Ojeda

Only one year after the expedition of Christopher Columbus, another one led by Alonso de Ojeda and Américo Vespucio developed. In addition, they were concerned with detailing the findings they were making.

The first destination they reached was the Orinoco Delta. In the same way, they explored the island of Margarita, that of Trinidad, and the peninsulas of Paria and Araya. After that, they continued along the coast.

In Chichiriviche, the explorers encountered, for the first time, a group of aggressive indigenous people. They attacked the crew, causing one death and one injury.

This attack did not stop Ojeda from moving forward. She ordered the ships to march out to sea and docked in Curaçao, which they christened the Island of the Giants. On August 24, 1499 they reached the entrance to Lake Maracaibo.

Among the advances that this trip contributed to the exploration of the new lands is the first map of the Venezuelan coast, made by the cartographer Juan de la Cosa.

Pedro Alonso Child

The next to lead an important expedition was Pedro Alonso Niño. In June 1499, together with the Guerra brothers, he left the port of Palos, heading towards the area of ​​the Gulf of Paria.

As his predecessors had done, Alonso Niño set course for Margarita to load some pearls. From that place, they sailed until they reached the port of Cumanagoto.

This expedition was the first to find the Araya salt flats, which would be an important source of wealth. Later, they landed in Coriana. The crew, some 33, were there for 20 days, making friendly contact with the indigenous people.

However, not all native tribes were equally friendly. Alonso Niño and his men were attacked in the area between Lake Maracaibo and Cabo de la Vela, having to retreat to Araya. On February 6, 1500, they began their journey back to Europe.

It is noteworthy that that same year, the Spanish founded Nueva Cádiz on the island of Cubagua, attracted by the pearls that were collected in the area.

Franciscans

It was not only explorers who arrived in the Venezuelan lands at that time. In 1501, a group of Franciscans founded a mission in present-day Cumaná. This mission was baptized as Puerto de las Perlas. The indigenous people of the area attacked the friars on several occasions.

Ojeda's second trip

Ojeda organized a second trip to Venezuela in 1502. On this occasion, he associated with two merchants, Juan de Vergara and García de Campos, who had chartered four caravels. However, the lack of provisions caused part of that fleet to attack an indigenous settlement in the Cumaná area. 78 natives and one Spaniard died.

It was the members of this expedition who, on May 3, 1502, founded the first Spanish town on the American continent: Santa Cruz de Coquibacoa in La Guajira. The conquerors attacked the indigenous inhabitants, who defended themselves.

This conflict, together with the discrepancies that arose between the members of the expedition, caused the settlement to be abandoned. In addition, the two merchants captured Ojeda and, all together, set sail for Hispaniola.

Stages

It is important to note that the crown of Castile had issued laws that prohibited the slavery of the natives. However, they had established a caveat: the indigenous Caribs could be turned into slaves, as they were considered rebels and cannibals.

The indigenous Venezuelans were forced to dive in the favorable areas to recover pearls. These became one of the first sources of wealth for the Spanish crown on the continent.

King Fernando II, in 1509, ordered the construction of a permanent post in Cubagua to exploit the pearls. In this way, Nueva Cádiz received an official status.

Colonizing missionaries

As noted above, the religious were pioneers in establishing settlements on the mainland. Franciscans and Dominicans chose the coasts of Cumaná and Macarapana for this, between 1513 and 1516.

In a very short time, the friars managed to convert many indigenous people. In addition, they taught new agricultural techniques. It was in Venezuela where they founded the first monastery in all of America.

East

The Venezuelan east was the entrance of the Spanish to the rest of the territory. It was, on the one hand, the easiest point of access for sailors who had departed from Spain or the Antilles.

On the other hand, the first exploiters had already reached Margarita Island and Cubagua Island, establishing them as bases for later incursions.

Precisely, the beginning of the conquest is marked with the arrival of the Spanish in Cubagua. From there, the conquerors were advancing, an undertaking that would not end until the late seventeenth century. It was, according to historians, a violent and complicated conquest, since the indigenous people presented great resistance.

Once the islands were controlled, the conquerors entered Tierra Firma through Cunamá. There, they founded Nueva Cádiz, a city that became the origin of several expeditions to the interior.

The Welsers

The debts acquired by Carlos I to finance his campaigns were the reason that he granted permission to exploit the resources of the province of Venezuela to the Welser bankers house in Augsburg.

For that reason, there was a stage during the conquest called the German colony. The Welsers, in reality, did not intend to colonize anything, but instead focused their efforts on searching for gold and the slave trade.

Between 1529 and 1538, German bankers enslaved about 1,000 indigenous people, violating the laws established by the Spanish Crown. This, plus the competition for the economic resources of the area, produced many tensions and conflicts with the Spanish colonizers.

In 1529, Ambrosio Ehinger arrived on the shores of Coro from Germany, being appointed first governor of Welser. This figure would last until 1546, when the last of them, Felipe de Hutten, was assassinated by a Spanish.

Conquest of the west

The lack of interest of the Germans to colonize the territory caused that process to stagnate in the western part of the region. When the Welsers were expelled for breaching the agreement and due to conflicts with the Spanish colonizers, rapid advances were made throughout the area.

Thus, Juan Pérez de Tolosa arrived in Tocuyo and sent his brother Alonso to the southern and western plains and to the mountainous regions of the Andes.

Center

The conquest of the center began in 1546 and would not end until the end of the 16th century. The first to advance through the area was Juan Villegas, sent by the governor of Venezuela, Juan Pérez de Tolosa.

At first, the indigenous people presented great resistance to the Spanish advance, but the death of their leader, Guaicaipuro, spelled the end of their efforts. Villegas, in 1548, discovered the Tacarigua lagoon, the current lake of Valencia. Then he went to Borburata, where he established the first port in the area.

Another important discovery by Villegas were the first gold mines in the Chirgua Valley. Soon, the Spanish began to exploit it, which gave the region considerable importance.

Another of the conquerors of central Venezuela was Francisco Fajardo, a mestizo son of a Spaniard and an Indian. His conquests, thanks to his knowledge of the indigenous peoples, were almost always carried out in a peaceful manner.

In 1556, Diego de Losada led an expedition through the lands of the Caracas. A year later, on July 25, 1556, he founded a town in the area, baptizing it as Santiago de León de Caracas, which would eventually become the capital of the country.

Conquest of the South

It was Diego de Ordaz with his exploration of the Orinoco River, in 1531, who began the conquest of the south of the country. Although the different conquerors encountered little indigenous resistance, it was not completed until the late 16th century.

Ordaz had left Spain in October 1530. His first destination was the Marañón River, although he soon returned to the Gulf of Paria. From there, he entered the Orinoco. Some indigenous people from Uriapari caused them to flee the area.

The continuator of Ordaz's work was Gerónimo Ortal. He undertook his expedition with two ships and 150 men. Later, he was appointed governor of the Gulf of Paria and ordered Alonso de Herrera to go deeper into the riverbed.

Unlike the previous ones, Diego Fernández de Serpa obtained authorization to conquer the Orinoco. However, the Cumanagotos and Chacopatas Indians presented a fierce resistance, ending the life of the conqueror in 1570.

Consequences

Venezuela, unlike what happened in Mexico or Peru, did not offer much wealth to the Spaniards. This made that the provinces that made up that territory were not too important for the Crown.

Those provinces were Venezuela, Cumaná, Mérida or Maracaibo, Margarita and Guayana and, at first, they depended on Santo Domingo. Later, they came under the control of Santa Fe de Bogotá, which later became the Viceroyalty.

Pirates

Spanish ships used to bring goods such as wine, oil and, in some cases, slaves to these lands. This made the area one of the most advantageous for pirates, mainly English and French.

The best known was Walter Raleigh, who gained the support of Queen Elizabeth of England and was named Sir. Next to him, the French Nicolás Valier stood out, who set fire to Margarita and Cumaná.

Province of Venezuela

During the entire period of conquest and colonization of present-day Venezuela, the Spanish divided the territory into various governorates or provinces, such as Nueva Andalucía or Cumaná.

At first, as noted above, the provinces of Cumaná, Guayana and Maracaibo depended on the Royal Audience of Santo Domingo. Later, they came to belong to the Royal Audience of Santa Fe de Bogotá or, depending on the time, to the Viceroyalty of New Granada.

In 1718, the administrative situation of the territory changed completely. The Spanish Bourbons decided to create the Viceroyalty of New Granada, incorporating some Venezuelan provinces. However, this only lasted until 1742.

Later, the Captaincy General of Venezuela was formed, which already included the provinces of Maracaibo, Guayana, Cumaná, Trinidad and Margarita. The capital settled in Santiago de León de Caracas.

Three hundred years of Spanish rule

The most direct consequence of the conquest of Venezuela was the almost three hundred years of Spanish rule in the area. Under different administrative figures, the different provinces were ruled, ultimately, by the Spanish Empire.

The society of the time, as in the rest of Latin America, was very estamental. In front of it were the peninsular Spaniards, with all possible privileges. After these, the whites born in America, called criollos. Finally, indigenous and mestizo, almost without any rights.

At the beginning of the 19th century, independence movements began to appear. These were led by the Creoles, who wanted to gain access to important political positions. After a long war, Venezuela became an independent country in 1811.

References

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