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Total population | |
---|---|
43.6% of the Venezuelan population (2011) [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Entire country; highest percents found in Andean, Central, Capital region and major urban-conglomerations.[ citation needed ] | |
Languages | |
Venezuelan Spanish small minorities speak Italian, Catalan, Basque, Galician, Valencian, Aragonese, Occitan, Asturleonese, Portuguese, English, French, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Hungarian, Yiddish, and Alemán Coloniero, a dialect of German [ citation needed ] | |
Religion | |
Christianity [ citation needed ] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Spaniard Venezuelan, Italo-Venezuelans, Portuguese Venezuelans, German Venezuelans, Ukrainian Venezuelans, Russian Venezuelans, Polish Venezuelans, Hungarian Venezuelans, Jewish Venezuelans, White Colombians, White Latin Americans [ dubious – discuss ] |
European Venezuelans or White Venezuelans are Venezuelan citizens who self-identify in the national census as white, [1] tracing their heritage to European ethnic groups. According to the official census report, although "white" literally involves external caucasoid features such as fair skin, hair, and eyes, among others, the term "white" has been used in different ways in different historical periods and places, and so its precise definition is somewhat confusing. [1] : 65
According to the 2011 National Population and Housing Census, 43.6% of the population identified themselves as white people. [1] A genomic study shows that about 61.5% of the Venezuelan gene pool has European ancestry. Among the Latin American and Caribbean countries in the study (Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela), Brazil, Venezuela, and Argentina exhibit the highest European contribution. [2]
The ancestry of European Venezuelans is primarily Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. [3]
Other ancestries of European Venezuelans are: Germans, Poles, Greeks, Serbs and another minorities.[ citation needed ]
Italian explorer Christopher Columbus arrived in the Venezuela region in 1498. European explorers named Venezuela ("Little Venice") after observing local indigenous houses on stilts over water. During the first quarter-century of contact, the Europeans limited themselves to slave hunting and pearlfishing on the northeastern coast; the first permanent Spanish settlement in Venezuela, Cumaná, was not made until 1523. [4]
European colonization of Venezuela commenced with the arrival of the Spanish in the late 15th century, with settlers predominantly hailing from regions such as Andalusia, Galicia, the Basque Country, and the Canary Islands. The influence of the Canary Islands on Venezuelan culture and customs has been particularly significant, earning Venezuela the occasional nickname "the eighth island of the Canary archipelago". [5]
Throughout the colonial period, Spanish authorities discouraged non-Spanish migration to safeguard colonial territories from rival European claims, although exceptions existed. The influx of Germans began in the early 16th century, with King Carlos I granting colonization privileges to German families to offset certain debts. [6] This led to the renaming of the Province of Venezuela as Klein-Venedig, with its capital established as Neu-Augsburg (now Coro), and the founding of Neu-Nürnberg (now Maracaibo), the country's second-largest city. In 1542, the Dutch seized control of the Araya peninsula for its lucrative salt flats, [7] subsequently expanding their presence to other coastal areas such as Falcón, Carabobo, and Zulia due to economic ties with the nearby Netherlands Antilles. Until deep into the 19th century, the now Venezuelan islands of Aves, the Aves archipelago, Los Roques and La Orchila were also considered by the Dutch government to be part of the Dutch West Indies.
During the emergence of the independence movements in the Americas, Venezuela experienced a notable influx of White Dominicans. [8] This surge in migration was largely prompted by a genocide perpetrated by Afro-descendant Haitians following the capture of Hispaniola. As Venezuela pursued independence, it witnessed a significant arrival of Italian immigrants seeking better opportunities, with migration beginning in 1814 and intensifying around 1870 during Italy's unification. These Italian immigrants primarily concentrated in agricultural regions, particularly focusing on coffee and cocoa cultivation in the Andean and the Coastal Range area of the country. [9] Concurrently, volunteers from England, Scotland, and Ireland formed the "British Legion", actively engaging in the War of Independence, leaving a lasting impact and contributing to the enduring presence of British descendants in Venezuela. [10]
Following independence, Venezuela faced challenges attracting immigrants due to economic stagnation and internal conflicts. Despite this, small groups of French settlers, [10] particularly Corsicans, established themselves along the coast of the Paria Peninsula, contributing significantly to the cocoa industry. [11] Additionally, Italians were notably present in the Andean region, [12] [13] while German immigrants formed communities such as Colonia Tovar in the center-north, they also played vital roles in commerce, particularly in Maracaibo's retail sector and informal banking systems. [14] Towards the late 19th century, White Americans and White Canadians relocated to Venezuela, [15] primarily as evangelical missionaries representing various Protestant denominations, [16] along with engineers drawn by the burgeoning oil industry. [17]
After 1935, Venezuela underwent a period of economic and social advancement with the discovery of oil, positioning itself as an attractive destination for immigrants. From 1940 to 1961, an estimated 900,000 European immigrants arrived in Venezuela, following the Second World War, the Francoist dictatorship and the policies of the governments of the Warsaw Pact. [18] [19] Among them, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese migrants constituted the majority, [20] while smaller numbers included Germans, French, Swiss, Poles, Greeks, Czechs, Russians, Ukrainians, Serbs, Nordics, Romanians, Slovenes, Croats, Belgians, Austrians and Hungarians. [21] [22]
During the 1970s and 1980s, Southern Cone nations like Argentina and Uruguay with a predominantly Spanish and Italian-descents population, were plagued by oppressive dictatorships. Consequently, many individuals from these countries sought refuge in Venezuela, attracted by the promise of safety and stability. [23] Additionally, Venezuela became a destination for other European Latin Americans communities, including Colombians, Chileans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Cubans, and others, fleeing economic struggles, political unrest, and autocratic regimes in their homelands. [10]
Around 42-43% of the population are identified as white Venezuelan. The highest concentrations, ranging from 65 to 80%, are found in the Venezuelan Andes (Mérida, San Cristóbal, Tovar, Valera, and numerous others towns), the Coastal Range (Eastern Caracas, San Antonio de Los Altos, El Junko, Colonia Tovar, among others) and areas of the north-eastern Caribbean coast (Lechería, Porlamar, Pampatar, Araya Peninsula). [1]
Census data reveals that in major urban areas like Maracaibo, Valencia, Maracay, Barquisimeto, Ciudad Guayana, Puerto La Cruz, among others, several districts or parishes boast white majorities exceeding 50%. These areas typically align with medium to higher socioeconomic levels, resembling Latin American cities of European descent such as Montevideo and Buenos Aires. [20] Conversely, regions like Amazonas state, Orinoco Delta, and Alta Guajira exhibit minimal white presence, often less than 1% of the local population. [1]
The following is a sortable table of the white Venezuelan proportion of the population in each Venezuelan state, according to the 2011 Census data. [1] : table 2.12 on page 30
Rank (by %) | State | White Venezuelan population (2011) | % white [1] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Tachira | 743,013 | 58.8% |
2 | Mérida | 479,021 | 53.7% |
3 | Capital District | 1,079,892 | 51.2% |
4 | Trujillo | 369,961 | 48.3% |
5 | Nueva Esparta | 217,828 | 47.1% |
6 | Zulia | 1,799,760 | 46.3% |
7 | Miranda | 1,387,265 | 45.8% |
8 | Vargas | 153,252 | 44.7% |
9 | Aragua | 763,351 | 43.4% |
10 | Carabobo | 1,010,138 | 42.7% |
11 | Barinas | 344,265 | 41.5% |
12 | Lara | 800,225 | 41.9% |
13 | Anzoátegui | 629,802 | 40.0% |
14 | Bolívar | 646,059 | 39.2% |
15 | Falcón | 375,823 | 38.9% |
16 | Monagas | 359,473 | 38.8% |
17 | Sucre | 375,688 | 38.5% |
18 | Portuguesa | 348,745 | 37.0% |
19 | Delta Amacuro | 62,457 | 36.4% |
20 | Cojedes | 115,437 | 35.6% |
21 | Yaracuy | 229,542 | 35.5% |
22 | Amazonas | 54,102 | 34.4% |
23 | Guárico | 264,036 | 32.9% |
24 | Apure | 157,193 | 30.2% |
The top 20 communities (municipalities) with the highest percentage of White Venezuelans according to the 2011 Census: [24]
The top 20 communities (municipalities) by population density (per km2) of white Venezuelans, according to the 2011 Census: [24]
Venezuela is a country in South America. The Venezuelan people comprise a combination of heritages, primarily Native American and European. The historically present Native American, Spanish colonists, and African slaves have all contributed to varying degrees. Later, waves of European groups migrated to Venezuela in the 20th century, influencing many aspects of Venezuelan life, including its culture, language, food, and music though small in number.
The State of Mérida commonly known simply as Mérida is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Mérida, in the Libertador Municipality.
Municipalities of Venezuela are subdivisions of the States of Venezuela. There are 335 municipalities dividing the 23 states and the Capital District.
The State Railways Institution is a state-run organization of Venezuela that manages the railway systems of the country. Its headquarters are located in Caracas, Venezuela.
Italian Venezuelans are Venezuelan-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Venezuela during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people in Venezuela. Italians were among the largest groups of European immigrants to settle in the country. Approximately 5 million Venezuelans have some degree of Italian ancestry, corresponding to about 16% of the total population of Venezuela, while there were around 30,000 Italian citizens in Venezuela.
The Climate of Venezuela is characterized for being tropical and megathermal as a result of its geographical location near the Equator, but because of the topography and the dominant wind direction, several climatic types occur which can be the same as found in temperate latitudes, and even polar regions. Latitude exerts little influence on the Venezuelan climate. While the coastal cities of Maracaibo, Barcelona, Porlamar and Maiquetia can get extremely hot, cities in valleys such as Mérida, Caracas, Los Teques and San Cristobal have cooler climates, and the highest towns of Mucuchies and Apartaderos have cold (tundra) climates.
The 2008–09 Primera División season is the 27th professional season of Venezuela's top-flight football league.
The 2011–12 Primera División season was the 30th professional season of Venezuela's top-flight football league.
The United States of Venezuela was the official name of Venezuela, adopted in its 1864 constitution under the Juan Crisóstomo Falcón government. This remained the official name until 1953, when the constitution of that year renamed it the Republic of Venezuela. In 1999 under newly elected president Hugo Chávez and his modification to the Constitution, Venezuela's official name became the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
A Nordic Venezuelan is a Venezuelan person with full or partial Nordic ancestry, or a Nordic-born person living in Venezuela. Nordic settlement in Venezuela is little-known, due to a lack of information about its colonization.
The 2016 Primera División season was the 35th professional season of Venezuela's top-flight football league.
The 2017 Primera División season was the 36th professional season of Venezuela's top-flight football league. Zamora were the defending champions, but did not qualify to the Serie Final, after being eliminated by Monagas in the quarter-finals of the Torneo Apertura and by Deportivo Lara in the quarter-finals of the Torneo Clausura.
The 2017 Copa Venezuela was the 48th edition of the competition. It began with the first round on 26 April and finished with the second leg of the final on 29 November 2017. The winner qualified to the 2018 Copa Sudamericana.
The 2018 Primera División season, officially Liga de Fútbol Profesional Venezolano or Liga FUTVE, was the 37th professional season of Venezuela's top-flight football league. Monagas were the defending champions, but did not qualify to the Serie Final, after being eliminated in the regular season of the Torneo Apertura and by Caracas in the quarter-finals of the Torneo Clausura.
The 2018 Copa Venezuela was the 49th edition of the competition. It began with the first stage on 11 July 2018 and concluded with the second leg of the final on 31 October 2018. Primera División side Mineros were the defending champions, but they were disqualified from the competition in the second stage.
Events from the year 1994 in Venezuela
The 2019 Primera División season, officially Liga de Fútbol Profesional Venezolano or Liga FUTVE, was the 38th professional season of Venezuela's top-flight football league. Zamora were the defending champions, but in the Torneo Apertura they were knocked out by Mineros in the quarter-finals and in the Torneo Clausura they failed to advance to the knockout stage. The champions were Caracas, who won the Torneo Clausura by defeating Deportivo Táchira in the final and then went on to beat Apertura winners Estudiantes de Mérida in the Serie Final on penalties to claim their twelfth league title.
An energy collapse in the state of Zulia, Venezuela occurred as a result of the country's ongoing general crisis, and it is the largest of its kind in the history of the state. With previous events in 2015 and 2016, the collapse intensified in 2017, when in September an alleged theft of cables left the city of Maracaibo and its surroundings without electricity. Since then long and short-term blackouts have been reported, which also cause the suspension of water supply, failures in cable television, telephone coverage and Internet access, among other services, as well as difficulty conducting business transactions, caused by the scarcity of banknotes and the dependence on the large-scale use of the point of sale terminals as well as electronic payments that are deficient in the absence of electricity and the Internet, resulting in closing of establishments, absence of work, damage of food and electrical appliances, the decrease in quality of life, among other factors, which added to the high temperatures suffered by citizens, affect the normal development of the population. Authorities such as the national government and the government of Zulia have attributed these failures to an alleged sabotage, but the opposition and experts denounce that it is due to lack of maintenance, also arguing that only less than half of what is consumed regularly is produced, reason for which there is "cargo administration" (rationing). The National Assembly of Venezuela, of opposition majority, declared the region in a state of electrical emergency. The service has also been interrupted but to a lesser extent in other states such as Bolívar, Carabobo, Falcón, Mérida, Miranda, Nueva Esparta, Táchira, Vargas and the country's capital Caracas.
The 2019 Copa Venezuela was the 50th edition of the competition. It began on 27 July 2019 with the first stage and concluded on 27 November 2019 with the second leg of the finals. The champions will qualify for the 2020 Copa Sudamericana. Primera División side Zulia were the defending champions, but they were eliminated by Academia Puerto Cabello in the quarter-finals.