1.

Principales Viajes de Exploracin Durante los siglos XV y XVI

Cuatro pases son responsables de los viajes de exploracin de los siglos XV y XVI:
Portugal, Espaa, Inglaterra y Francia: Las exploraciones abarcan unos ciento veinte aos (1416
a 1536). Desde fines del siglo XV (1492) la ruta se dirige al nuevo continente de Amrica. Los
territorios explorados comprenden: costas, desembocaduras de ros caudalosos, islas,
pennsulas, estrechos, istmos y ocanos. Con las exploraciones pasaron a la historia, con mayor
o menor importancia, nombres como los de Cristbal Colon, Hernando de Magallanes, Vasco de
Gama, Pedro lvarez Cabral, Vasco Nues de Balboa, Juan Caboto, Juan de Verrazzano,
Jacques Cartier. Para la historia de Venezuela se agregan al nombre de Coln los de Americo
Vespucio, Alonso de Ojeda, Cristbal Guerra, Pedro Alonso Nio, entre otros.
A continuacin doy una sntesis del aporte por pases y me detengo un poco mas en el llamado
"Descubrimiento" y en la exploracin de las costas Venezolanas.
2. Portugal y su imperio costero (1416-1520)
Entre 1416 y 1520 el Reino de Portugal se transform en un gigantesco imperio costero que
abarc el Oeste, Sur y Este de frica, el Sur de Asia hasta China, y, de Amrica, el actual Brasil.
El principal promotor de las exploraciones fue Enrique El Navegante, al frente de
la escuela Nutica de Sagres, de que ya se ha hablado. Las exploraciones continuaron despus
de su muerte (ocurrida en 1416) hasta 1520, en que se llego hasta la costa China.
Entre los hechos ms importantes de la exploracin portuguesa estn:

El cruce del Cabo de Buena Esperanza, al Sur de frica, en sentido Oeste-Este, por
Bartolom Daz (1487).
La llegada al Sur de la India por Vasco de Gama (1497).
El desembarco de las costas de Brasil por Pedro lvarez Cabral (1500) cuando, por la va
del Sur de frica, iba en viaje hacia la India, y se desvo.
3. Espaa y el denominado descubrimiento de Amrica (1492-1504)
Los agentes principales del Descubrimiento de Amrica fueron los Reyes Isabel de Castilla y Fernando de
Aragn y el navegante genovs Cristbal Colon. Los Reyes costearon y respaldaron la hazaa. Colon intent, en
vano, conseguir el apoyo de otros gobiernos, especialmente el Portugal, antes de obtener el de los Reyes
Catlicos.
Colon esta en escena por sus viajes al Nuevo Continente durante doce aos: 1492-1504. En ese periodo realiza
cuatro travesas y llega a las zonas siguientes:
Primer Viaje (1492-1493), con tres nave y 120 hombres: isla de Guanani (hoy Watting, en las Bahamas),
llamada por el San Salvador; Cuba y Santo domingo (llamadas, respectivamente, Juana y la Espaola).
Segundo Viaje (1493-1496), con diecisiete naves y mil quinientos tripulantes: Antillas Menores, Puerto Rico,
Cuba, Santo Domingo y Jamaica.
Tercer Viaje (1498-1500), con seis navos, de los cuales manda tres directamente a La Espaola: Sur de
Trinidad, entra al Golfo, tiene contacto con los indios en la costa de la Pennsula de Paria (Puerto de Macuro);
describe la zona con la admiracin de la belleza del paisaje y las caractersticas fsicas de los indgenas. Sale por
la boca de Dragos, pasa a Cubagua, donde descubre los placeres de perlas; pasa al Sur de Margarita y sigue a
Santo Domingo. Es la primera vez que Colon llega a tierra firme, aunque no esta seguro, le parece que es as
porque, en el Golfo de Paria, tiene la sensacin de la desembocadura del Orinoco.
Cuarto Viaje (1502-1504), con cuatro naves y ciento cuarenta tripulantes: Cuba, Honduras, Costa
Rica, Panam y Jamaica.

Unlike Mexico or Peru, who had great wealth (gold and

silver), the provinces that were to Venezuela were not very
important for Spain. These five provinces (Venezuela,
Cuman, Mrida and Maracaibo, Margarita and Guyana)
depended first of Santo Domingo and then to Santa Fe de
Bogota, who was then "promoted" to Viceroyalty (like
Mexico and Peru).

Venezuela had a very important farming, selling their

produce to the British, French and Dutch illegally, since
Spain had forbidden his colonies trade with any other
nation.

At that time Spanish ships brought wine, oil and cloth and
slaves were attacked by pirates mainly English and

French. One of the most famous was Walter Raleigh, an

Englishman who was supported by Queen Elizabeth of
England, and even received the noble title of "Sir" (Do not
forget that England and Spain had many conflicts at the
time). Another pirate pretty grim, Frenchman Nicolas
Valier, after having set fire to Margarita and Cumana, Coro
arrived in 1569, from which all the inhabitants fled,
naturally with that background.
The most important crop was Cocoa. From 1620, and for
the next two centuries, was the most important export
product of Venezuela.For growth came many immigrants
from Spain, especially the Canary Islands. Later, in need of
more people to farm, they brought black slaves from
Africa. The ships that brought them, then loaded to carry
Mexico Cocoa. This, as we have seen before, was illegal
and led the Crown to encourage the creation of the Royal
Company Guipuzcoana.

Guipuzcoa Company in La Guaira

The Company Guipuzcoana of Caracas, founded in 1728. It

was my duty to supply the province of Caracas and
prosecute smuggling.In return, had market exclusivity,
meaning that anyone outside of them, could market the
products of Venezuela.
As always with monopolies, farmers paid him far less than
the smugglers and charged more for the products they
brought.
The company's success and growth Guipuzcoana trade
of Cocoa made Caracas was gaining momentum and that
Venezuela's economy centralize around this city. Thus, in
1777, Venezuela was promoted to the rank of captaingeneral, with political and military authority and nine years
later as Venezuela Hearing, adding administrative and
judicial authority.

Cocoa

In colonial times, the Venezuelan society was virtually a

caste society, where the largest group was that of the
mainland (the Spanish mainland-born), followed by the
Creoles (children of Spanish, but born in America ) after
canaries, the mulattos (mixed white, Indian and black) who
constituted the largest group and in petty trade and
farming and manual labor and finally the black slaves and
Indians.
In 1721, was established by royal decree of King Philip V,
the Royal and Pontifical University of Caracas (now VCU).

In the late eighteenth century were born in Caracas, two

Venezuelans. The
first, Simn
Rodrguez (1771-1854),
fought for the education of poor and indigenous children,
thinking that was the only way to enable them to be useful
to society and was also the teacher of Simn Bolvar and
had much influence on its formation. The second
one,Andrs Bello (1781-1865), was one of the great
humanists of Latin America with a great production of
poetry, literary studies, works of history and law. He died in
Chile, where he was rector of the University of Chile and
senator.

Andrs Bello

It was in the eighteenth century where it began to develop

the independence of Venezuela. The first rebellion was in
1749, when Juan Francisco de Len, an immigrant cocoa
grower canary, rebelled against the company Guipuzcoana
and was crushed by General Felipe Ricardos, who later
became governor of Caracas in 1751.
The second rebellion was led by Jos Leonardo Chirino, son
of a black slave and a free woman india. Together with
several slaves, after looting several farms and kill their
owners, tried to take the city of Coro, where they hoped to
have the support of ex-slaves from Curacao. However Choir
neighbors were prepared to defend the city and dominated
the movement, which Chirino was imprisoned and
sentenced to death by the Royal Court.

Jos Mara Spain

Manuel Gual

Another conspiracy, inspired by the ideals of the French

Revolution, was Manuel Gual and Jos Mara Spain, which
sought to establish a system of government based on
liberty, equality, property and safety. This movement was
multiracial, proof of which was the white flag, blue, yellow
and red representing the four social groups that formed the
nation. This movement was supported by foreign powers
such as England and France, who looked favorably
weakening Spain.However, the conspiracy is discovered and
Spain is caught trying to enter Venezuela, is tried and
sentenced to death in 1799. Gual, meanwhile is poisoned in
Trinidad in 1800.

Francisco de Miranda

The last of these movements, and certainly the most

important one, was that of Francisco de Miranda ,

considered
the
precursor
of
independence. After
participating in the independence of the United States and
having fought in the French Revolution, Miranda (the only
American listed in the Arc de Triomphe in Paris), with the
support of Britain and the United States, part of New York,
in January 1806, on the ship Leander, with 200 men and
two vessels.
The landing on the Venezuelan coast could not be
performed by Spanish vessels guarding the ports fought a
naval battle, in which Miranda lost two of their ships and
fled to Trinidad. With the help of the governor of the island,
organized a second trip that manages to land the August 3
in La Vela de Coro. However, Miranda does not get the
support of the settlers, as many were suspicious of him and
to him as a British agent. Miranda left the country and
returned to England.
However, the first steps had been taken ... Independence
was unstoppable.
The Carib -called caribales or galibi [ citation needed ] in some historical documents, names derived from the proto-Caribbean *
karipona: 'man (s)' - were a set of peoples who, at the time of Columbian contact in the fifteenth century, occupied
northern Colombia , northeastern Venezuela and several Lesser Antilles . In the islands of the Caribbean Seadisappeared
as a separate ethnic group as a result of European colonization, although in Venezuela, Brazil andThe Guianas continued
leading to the Galibis (kari'as) and other modern nations. In the islands he interbreeding with Africans on the island of St.
Vincent , now living in Honduras. The Caribs belonged to the linguistic family to which broader gave their name and whose
other members are in the north of South America .
This was one of the first American peoples they met Europeans. In the chronicles are often contrasted to theTaino Arawak
language who came to the Netherlands before them. Thus, while the Tainos were seen as a peaceful and high culture, the
Caribs they looked like a wild and warlike people who practiced cannibalism . In fact, its name is the origin of the
terms cannibal and cannibalism with which equivalents described in several European languages the practice of eating
human flesh.