VENEZUELA 



VENEZUELA 



Outline and Questions 

 on Venezuela 



I. Sice and Position 



(1) Area 



<;i) Actual, 393,976 square miles 

 (b) Comparative 



Latitude, 1 40' south to 12 26' 

 north 



(3) Longitude. 59 40' to 73 31' west 



( 4 ) Boundaries 



II. Geographic Features 



( 1 Three distinct regions 



(a) Llanos 



(b) Plateaus 



(c) Mountain districts 

 C2) Rivers 



(a) Orinoco 



(b) Lesser streams 



(3) Lake Maracaibo 



(4) Climate 



(a) Dependent largely on altitude 



III. I ii tins tries. Commerce nud 

 Transportation 



(1) Chief industry agriculture 

 (a) Chief crop coffee 



(2) Mineral products 

 (a) Asphalt 



(3) Manufactures 



( 4 ) Transportation 



(a) Railway mileage 



( 5 ) Commerce 



IV. The People 



(1) Population, 2,764,241 



(2) Inhabitants 



(a) Spaniards 



(b) Indians 



(c) Mestizos 



( 3 ) Education 



(4) Religion 



(5) Cities 



V. Government 



(1) Limited Federal powers 



i 2 The states 



(3) Three branches of government 



VI. History 



( 1 ) Discovery by Columbus 



(2) Difficulties of settlement 



(3) Spanish rule 



(4) Independence 



(5) Internal troubles 



(6) Quarrels with other nations 



Questions 



What does the name of Venezuela's 

 chief river mean? Can you discover, 

 on the map of South America, any rea- 

 son for this name? 



What does the name Venc^nt" 

 and why was it applied to this region? 



What, according to Venezuelan writ- 

 ers, are the chief virtues of the Indian 

 herders of the plains? 



In a representative gathering of 

 1,000 Venezuelans, how many, approxi- 

 mately, would be able to read and 

 write? 



What and where are the llanos? 



What is the chief factor in determin- 

 ing the climatic conditions of the vari- 

 ous parts of the country? 



What substance that we see often on 

 our streets is found in great plenty in 

 Venezuela? 



Sfc 



main" supplied materials for romance, proverb 

 and ballad. 



In 1742 Venezuela received a captain-general 

 from Spain, and its history was thence a record 

 of order and general prosperity for a long 

 period. Independence was attempted first in 

 1797, then again in 1805, under Miranda, but 

 both attempts failed. Caracas revolted in 1810, 

 a constitutional convention met in 1811, and 

 independence was declared in 1812; but again 

 the patriot band was overthrown. From 1813 

 to 1821 Simon Bolivar led the republican forces, 

 'and his defeat of the royalists at Carabobo 

 (June 24, 1821) ended Spanish rule in Vene- 

 zuela. In 1819 Venezuela joined the United 

 States of Colombia, but in 1829 it seceded, and 

 it has since maintained its independence. For 

 about seventeen years thereafter there was 

 peace at home; then for a quarter century 

 there was strife between the Liberals and the 

 Conservatives. Slavery was abolished in 1854. 



A controversy was waged from 1821 to 1889 

 between Venezuela and the British government 

 as to the boundary separating the republic from 

 British Guiana. The United States, appealed 

 to in 1887, secured a reference of the whole 

 matter to arbitration, and Venezuela, though 

 somewhat dissatisfied with the compromise ef- 

 fected, was compelled to accept it. In 1899 

 Cipriano Castro, without good reason, headed 

 a revolution against President Ignacio Andrade, 

 and after a warfare of two years was recognized 

 as President by the Congress. He became inso- 

 lent to the creditor nations of Europe in the 

 matter of Venezuelan indebtedness, and in 1902 

 Great Britain and Germany severed diplomatic 

 relations with the republic. A "peaceful 

 blockade" of Venezuelan ports by these nations 

 'and by Italy resulted in another appeal to the 

 United States; the matter in dispute was re- 

 ferred to The Hague tribunal. In the fall of 

 1908 Castro visited Europe for surgical treat- 

 ment, leaving the government in the hands of 

 Juan Vicente Gomez, who speedily secured his 

 own election to the Presidency. The new 

 constitution of 1914 gives promise of order and 

 stability. H.M.S. 



Consult Triana's Down the Orinoco in a Ca- 

 noe; Scruggs' The Columbian and Venezuelan 

 Republics; Dalton's Venezuela. 



Related Subjects. In connection with this 

 study of Venezuela the reader may consult the 

 following articles in these volumes : 

 Asphalt Llanos 



nnlivur, Simon Maracaibo 



Caracas Orinoco 



Coffee Trinidad 





