* Venezuela








Venezuela


Figure 1.--

Venezuela and Colombia are the two most northerly South Amerivan countries. The country is divided into several areas. There is a narrow coastal strip. Inland there is a mountneous or hilly area with a great deal of agricultural, well watered land. South of this is the llanos are flat plsain drained by the Orionono River, one of South America's great rivers. In the extreme south and the east there is Amazonian jungle. Venezuela and Colombia were the first South American areas reached by the Spanish, the primary motivation was slave raiding. The Native American peoples were largely wiped out, just as in Caribbean. The only survivors fled inlasnd to rempte Amazonian areas. Here a small numbers of Native Americans still live today. Africans were brought in as slaves to provide the work force. This ocurred in the early colonial period. As a result, Native Americans have played only a minor role in Venezuelan history. Modern Venezuelans are a mixture of Native Americans, Spanish colonists and African slaves. The country is predominately Catholic with a Protestant minority. There is also a small Jewish community with President Chavez has targeted. The country's economy in the 20th century has been dominated by the oil industry. his brought great wealth which was not very well distributed. President Chavez is seeking to build a socialist and is leveling out incomes, but as in Cuba the primary impact has been to generally reduce the overall standard of living. Venezelan boys' clothes once varied substantially by class. As a result of the oil income, many middle-class families were affluent and able to afford stylish Western clothing. The small Europeanm elite wore clothes influenced by European countries. Wealthy boys might wear styles like Eton suits. Poor boys in the country wore more localy developed styles--simple garments more suited to the tropical climate. Since the 1950s American casual styles have become increasingly important. While boys from wealthy have much more extensive wardrobes, there is now less difference in the styles that they wear. Ouur infoirmnation on Venezuela is very limited. We do have a Christmas page. Hopefully, Venezuelan readers will provide usmore information about their country.

Geography

Venezuela and Colombia are the two most northerly South American countries. The country is divided into several geographic regions. There is a narrow coastal strip, in fact the most narrow coastal strip of all the South American countries. In some places the cliffs decend diectly in to the Caribbean. Inland there is a mountneous or centel highlands hilly area with a great deal of agricultural, well watered land. The country is capable of producing enough food to be self sufficent in food. Govermnt policies, especially the Communist policies of Chavez and Maduro hav left the country staving. Venezuela is the northern tail of the Andes and the country is sometimes described as an Andean country, but culturally the country seems more Caribbean. South of the mountains or central highlands is the llanos, a flat plain drained by the Orionono River, one of South America's great rivers. Much of northern South America is drained by the Orionoco. Areas to the south are drained by the Amazon and its tributries. The Orionoco touches on three countries (Brazil, Colombia and Guyana), is most strongly associated with Venezuela. The river was the highway by which Amerindians moved toward and into the Caribbean islands. Venezuela has attejpted to harnass the river by building industrial projects along it, but with little success. In the extreme south and the east there is Amazonian jungle. The country's principal natural resource is oil and there are important fields in the east and west. Venezuel is believed to have the largest oil reservs in the world.

History

Venezuela was populated by many different Native American groups. There were three main groups: the Carib, Arawak, and the Chibcha.Experts now differ on the pre-Conuest population and the level of cultutre. Christopher Columbus was the first European to see Venezuela which he encountered on his Third Voyage (1498). He landed on the Paria Peninsula in western Venezuela. He also explored the Orionoco Delta in eastern Venezuela. He concluded that he had reached more than another Caribbean island, but still did not believe he had reached Asia. Venezuela proved to be a backwater of the Spanish colonial Empire. The Spanish did not find the gold and silver that made Mexico and Peru so important. Administratively it was part of Nuevo Granada. For three centuries in languished within the Spanish colonial empire. It proved to be a hot bed of the independence movement, it part because Simon Bolívar was born there. Despite repeated stbacks he the independence movement in the north. In a famed march across the Andes, he achieved his first success, liberating Colombia (1819). This was followed by Vnezuela (1821), and Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia (1825). Bolívar's dream was a united Gran Colombia, but this could not withstand regional differences. Gran Colombia split up into modern Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. The independent history of Venezuela was not a tranquil one. Venezuela was racked with civil strife, wars, dictatorships, and economic mismanagement. raged in the country well into the next century. Though some dictators sought real reform, most milked their positions for personal gain. The illdefined border resulted in a serious proble with Britain over the border ith British Guiana (modern Guyana) (1840s). That dispute is still not fully resolved. The discoveryof oil in the Gulf of Maricaibo provided an important new resource (early 20th century). The country continued to be plagued with dictators. The oil wealth went primarily to the ruling oligarchy. Romulo Betancourt led a popular revolt ushering in anew concern with democracy expressed within a new constitution (1947). Venezuela held its first real democratic election--the respected novelist Romulo Gallegos. He did not, however, serve out his term. Another in a long-line of dictators seized power--Perez Jimenez. Democracy was slowly taking route. Venezueal achieved its first non-violent presidential succession (1963). The rise in oil prices during the 1970s greatly increased oil revenue. While democratic governments used the oil revenue better than the dictators, Venezuela did not develop a vibant econonomy. The county was increasingly dependent on oil. Whatever the price of oil, oil exports alone can not provide a decent life for all Venezuelans. And the country's poor received little benefit from the oil-based econoy. The drop in oil prices (late-1980s) hit Venezuela hard setting off domestic turbulence. Riots in Caracas were put down vilontely. Two attempted coups occurred (1992). One of the coup instigators, Col Hugo Chavez, was later to win election as president running a populist campaign. He is turing Venezuela a Socialist state and is intent on making himself Venezuela's permanent president.

Economy

The Venezuelan economy has undersgone several distinct periods. The modern Venezuelan economy is based primarilu on oil and oil exports, but this is a very modern development, beginning in the 20th century. The Native Americans who inhabited pre-Conquest Venezuela were ptimitive tribes. They varied somewhat in that the eastern tropical jungle tribes wwere largely hunter gathers. The more Andean peoples in the west were more involved in agriculture. None of the ribes were a part of the great Native Ameican cultures, beyound the reach of the Maya and other Meso-Americn peoples and the Inca further south in the Andes. The next economic era came with Columbus' discovery of America (1492). He would be the first European to se Venezula a few years later. Venezuelan tribes were the first Spanish contct with South americn peopes, brought about because the Native American peoples on Santo Domingo, the first Spanish colony in the New World were dieing in such large numbers and the Spanish needed laborers to work their plantations. Venezuela for the next several centuries was a backwater of the Spanish Empire. Unlike Mexivo and Peru, little gold was found in Venezuela. And Venezuela was not involved in the trade whereby gold and silver was shipped back to Spain. Under Spanish rule, the economically important regions were the Andean highlands where agriculture was practiced on large hacindas. Also important was the LLanos to the south where cttle were raised. The eastern tropical jungle areas were largely unsettled. While of limited economic importance, it was in Venezuela that the revolution and indepdependence movement was born (1802). After independence, Venezuela was part of a similar economic and political trajectory as the rest of Spanish empire. This all changed wiyh the discovery of oil. The discovery of massive oil deposits in western Venezuela (Lake Maracaibo) during World War I would prove central to the country's future. Oil made Venezuela the richest country in Latin America. As is often the case of oil-rich Third World countries, the oil while benefiting many Vnezuelans at least temporatily, actually retarded the country's economic development or address the needs of many poor Venezuelans. The country's economy in the 20th century has thus been dominated by the oil industry. This brought great wealth which was not very well distributed. And this process was only intensifid when President Carlos Andrés Pérez, the Democratic Action leader who won the 1973 elections, nationalized the iron ore industry (1975) and the petroleum industry the following year (1976). This was done under the popular belef that state ownership with extend the profits to the whole society. This od course is posible, but it als increases the possibility of coruption as Brazilians in 2015 re finding out in contection with Petrobas. Venezuela was a founding menber of OPEC (1960). As a result of the Arab-Israeli Six Day War benefitted from a tripling of the oil price. This meant a wave of unprecdented spending. Immigrants fom the rest of Latin America flocked to Venezula, attrcted by high wages. Venezuelans connected wih the Goverment nd oil industry benefitted from corruption and high wages. There was alo widespread waste. The oil money financed increased imports of food and luxury items. Agriculture declined as Venezuela imported more and more of its food. The oil created a privileged economic elite, but did not develop a productive economy or aid the needs of the poor not connected with the oil ruches. This was a factor in the rise of Col. Hugo Chavez abd Chavismo. Loke many poorly educated South Americans, he accepted as a article of faith that socialism would cure Venezuela's economonic problems and aid the poor. nd mny programs initited by President Chavez dis aid the poor, financed by the oil wealth. The priblem is that in doibg so, Chavismo step by step destroyed the country's producitiv economy, both agriculture and indutry. And Preident Maduro is doubling down on Chavez's march to Cimmunism and a commnd economy. More and more food and bic necesitiues need to be imported. The oil wealth is uch that it could support a great deal, but combined with destroing the ecomomy, mismanagement and incomprtnce has result it huge waist. Despite a huge resoyrxe, Chabimo had rsulted in declining oil production. Graft and cirruption is also proving costly. And the huge dropin in oil prices (2014-15) has drastically reduced oil income. Maduro's rsponse has ben to blamr it all on the United States and Venezuelam buinesmen and proceeding with not only more nationlizations, but the arrest of anyone who criticizes him. Mean while Venezuela suffers from a high inflation rate and shortages of food and baic necesities, a unbelievable sitiation for a country with one of the largest oil resource in the world. President Chavez is seeking to build a socialist and is leveling out incomes, but as in Cuba the primary impact has been to generally reduce the overall standard of living. Venezelan boys' clothes once varied substantially by class. As a result of the oil income, many middle-class families were affluent and able to afford stylish Western clothing.

Chronology

We do noy yet have much chrological information about Venezuela. All of the Andean countries in the 19th century were relatively poor countries. Venezuelafut into the genral patern, although it did not have a substanial Amerindian popukation which tended to be poorest grouo throughout the Andean region. This is important because photography was affected by national wealth. Poor countries tend to have a smaller photographic record than more affluent countries. And this was especially the case of countries with small populations. We have not yet found any early format portraits (Dags and Ambros). Annd the few albumen portairs shoe well-to-do children wearing European fashions. As best we can tell, most boys wore the ibiquitos compansion clothing, basically rounded-crown straw hats, whir=ye shirts, and white pants cur below the knee. Most campesino boys went barefoot or wore alpargata (non-leather sandals). This began to change with the turn-of-the 20 bcentury. First, phoitograohy moved out of the studio as family snapshots became possible. Second, oil was discovered and Venezuela become the most prosperous Andean country. As the oil industry develooped, may more Venezuelan children were able to aford more fashionable clothes and dress like children imn urooe and America. Venezuela by the 1960s was one of the most consumer crazed countries in all of Latin America. I recall traveling to Isla Margarita wjich was afree port. Returing on the frry was amadhoue with people poicking uo their liggage, boxes, and plastic bags. And this is a country that Chavez and Maduro tuned into a country of starving people and empty store shelves.

Ethnicity

Modern Venezuelans are a mixture of Native Americans, Spanish colonists and African slaves. Most of the European colonists were of course Spanish because Venezuela was a Spanish colony fir three centuries. There were small numbers of other Europeans that settled in Venezuela. Unlike the other Andean countries, Native Americans are a very small part of the Venezuelan population. There was limited intermarriage before the Native American population collapsed (16th century). The Native Amerivans not in contact with the Spanish because they lived in remote Amazonian areas survived. Their numbers may have been augmented by Native Americans fleeing the Spanish. A small numbers of Native Americans still live in remote areas today. Many of the slaves did not come directly from Africa, but from primarily from the Caribbean islands. They were, however, a more limited portion of the population than on many islands. And as with the Native Americans, relations accross racial groups occurred. Blacks are concentrated in coastal areas. They were not imported in the same numbers as the Caribbean islands, in part plantation sugar culture was not as important as on the Caribbean islands.

Activities

We have just begun to collect information on boys' activities. Of course until fairly recently, most boys worked, either on farms or in the city. This began to chznge only in the 1920s when the oil money started flowing and Venezuela began to build a major public school system. Today the the primary children's activity is school. Sport is very popular in Venezuela. The most popular sport is football (soccer). As elsewhere in the Caribbean, baseball is also popular. The country is predominately Catholic with a Protestant minority. There is also a small Jewish community with President Chavez has targeted. We do have a Christmas page. Some boys participated in youth groups, primarily the Scouts. The YMCA operated summer camps.

Garments

The small Europeanm elite wore clothes influenced by European countries. Wealthy boys might wear styles like Eton suits. Poor boys in the country wore more localy developed styles--simple garments more suited to the tropical climate. Since the 1950s American casual styles have become increasingly important. While boys from wealthy have much more extensive wardrobes, there is now less difference in the styles that they wear. Our infoirmnation on Venezuela is very limited.

Theatricals

We do not know much about Venezuelan movies or television. We know that President Chavez hasc steadily seized control of media outlets to control the flow of information. We note that River Phoenix spent his early years in Venezuela with his parents. They gave up psychedelic drugs to join a born again Christian group, the Children of God. His parents took the name Phoenix and gave their children names right out of the whole earth catalog: Rainbow, Leaf, Liberty, and Summer. They were strict vegetarians, shunning all meats and dairy products. River started playing the guitar at 5 and he and his sisters would serenade tourists with religious songs to make a little money. They lived on a beach in a hut and contended with rats and flying cockroaches. He was very religious and memorized long Bible passages. The family returned from Venezuela in 1977.






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Created: March 20, 2001
Last updated: 12:42 PM 11/21/2019