The largest end best pearls came, however, not from the Atlantic Coast hut from 

 the Pacific Islands off the coast of Pan.-^ma. Pearls from the Carihhean Sea were relatively- 

 small, weiring at most from 2 to 5 carats. They v/ere foxmd, hpvrever, in greater ouantities 

 and Ciihagua pearls were v/ell known at Sevilla, Toledo, at the great fairs of Augshurg and 

 Surges, and throughout Italy. 



Pearl fishing continued on a very small scale until the end of the lyth Century, 

 when it practically ceased in I683. Laet (quoted from Eumholdt, I.e.) described this de- 

 cline in the following wordst "Insularmn Cuhaguae et Coches q.uondam magna fuit dignitas, 

 oxnim unionum captura florerett n\mc, ilia deficiente, ohscuram admodum fama." 



Discussing the ill effects of overfishing, Humboldt mentions that pearl oyster 

 or the "pearla ronde" as he calls it, is "of much more delicate constitution than the 

 greater part of the other acephalous molluscae" and therefore cannot be transpleted. He 

 states that pearl oysters became scarce because their propagation had been prevented "from 

 the imprudent destruction of the shells by the thousands" and not "as it is believed from 

 p popular tradition, because these animals, frightened by the noise of the oars, conveyed 

 themselves elsewhere" (H\aiiboldt, 1799— ISOU, V'ol. II). In support of his reference to over- 

 fishing, Humboldt wrote as follows. "To form an idea of the destruction of the species 

 caused by divers, we must remember that a boat sometines collects in two or three weeks 

 more than 35»0O0 oysters. The animal lives but nine to ten years and it is only in its 

 fourth year that the pearls begin to show themselves. In ten thousand shells there is 

 often not a single pearl of value." 



Other factors besides depletion contributed to the downfall of the Venezuelan 

 pearl fishery in the lyth Century. The most important ones were the development of mining 

 in Mexico and Peru which attracted capital and adventurersi pirate raids on the islands of 

 Margarita, Cubagua, and Coch^; discovery of rich pearl grounds on the west coast of Panama, 

 and in California, and decrease in value of pearls on the European market caused by the 

 manufacture of good artificial pearls in Venice en.d change in fashion due to the greater 

 demand for cut diamonds. Although the cutting of diamonds was invented in the middle of 

 the the 15th Century, the gems became popular only in the following centinry. 



When Humboldt visited Venezuela about the beginning of the 19th Century, he 

 found that "on the shoals that surround Cubagua, Coch^, and Island of Margarita the pearl 

 fishery is as much neglected as on the coast of California." In 1812, according to his 

 observations, some attempts were made to resume pearl fishing at Margarita but the pearls 

 that v;ere found v/ere small and had little brilliancy. Humboldt speculates that this may 

 have been due to the changes in marine environment caused by earthquakes. He remarked 

 also that it is believed at Cumaria that the pearl oysters have greatly multiplied after 

 two centuries of repose. Depletion of pearl grounds and scarcity of divers v;ere the pria- 

 cipal factors in the decline of the pearl fisheries, which, in the lyth Century lost its 

 former icrportance. According to Landaeta Rosales (IS89) no significant pearl fishery was 

 conducted until 1828, when an English businessman secured from the government of Colombia 

 a fishing monopoly along the shores and islands of Matrgarita. He imported small hand 

 dredges of the type used in the Mediterranean, and locally known as "Arrastra." Apparently 

 the results of pearl fishing v;ere insi^ificant. Por the period from 1833 to I8U5 the yield 

 of pearls v/as so low that no tax, which at that time was rather heavy, was collected by the 

 ■orovincial government. The values varied from I50 to 5OO bolivars per ounce of best quality 

 pearls, to SO-100 bolivars for poorer lots (Qulevreux, I9OO). Another interruption in ex- 

 ploitation occurred shortly after I85O. At this time a new tax was imposed of I6 bolivars 

 per boat per month. In 1853» this source of revenue gave only Ug bolivars. Prom I85H to 

 I857. a pearl fishery v/as conducted by a merchant from Hamburg, Germany. The undertaking 

 v/as discontinued in 1857» the annual yield amounted to only 1400 ounces, a quantity not 

 sufficient to cover the operating expenses. 



According to Quievreuz (I9OO) there was no regular exploitation between 1857 ?^d 

 1895. During the latter year, the use of scaphander was tried near Margarita by a French- 

 man, H. Eoisselier. According to the article which appeared in Primer Annuario Estadistico 

 de Venezuela for 1877» P» 201, the average anTinfll yield of pearls in I8U5 and for several 

 follov/ing years vas 1,600 ounces. The value of the best pearls varied from Uo to 100 

 venosalanos, and pearls of inferior quality v/ere sold at I6 to 20 venozalanos per ounce. 

 In 1857» the yield v/as only 1K)0 ounces. There v/as aiSparently a revival of pearl fishing 



