Central America · Independence and the federations
Venezuela
1830–present
Venezuela separated from the disintegrating Gran Colombia in 1830 under General José Antonio Páez, its first president, establishing a republic (alternately centralist and federal) with its capital at Caracas. The 19th century was dominated by caudillo rule and civil wars, most destructively the Federal War (1859–1863).
- Existed
- 1830–present
- Shown on the map
- 1834–2024
- Peak area
- 944k km²
- Region
- Central America
Overview
Venezuela separated from the disintegrating Gran Colombia in 1830 under General José Antonio Páez, its first president, establishing a republic (alternately centralist and federal) with its capital at Caracas. The 19th century was dominated by caudillo rule and civil wars, most destructively the Federal War (1859–1863). The early 20th century saw the long dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez (1908–1935), during whose rule the discovery and exploitation of oil transformed Venezuela into one of the world's leading petroleum exporters. A democratic era followed the 1958 overthrow of dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez, structured by the elite power-sharing Punto Fijo Pact.
Later history and present status
Hugo Chávez won the presidency in 1998 and launched the "Bolivarian Revolution," a socialist project lavishly funded by oil revenues; after his death in 2013 he was succeeded by Nicolás Maduro. Under Maduro, collapsing oil output, hyperinflation, sanctions, and authoritarian governance triggered one of the largest displacement crises in the hemisphere, with over seven million Venezuelans emigrating. The July 2024 presidential election was widely disputed, with the opposition (Edmundo González, backed by María Corina Machado) claiming victory.
Common questions
- What was Venezuela?
- Venezuela separated from the disintegrating Gran Colombia in 1830 under General José Antonio Páez, its first president, establishing a republic (alternately centralist and federal) with its capital at Caracas. The 19th century was dominated by caudillo rule and civil wars, most destructively the Federal War (1859–1863).
- When did Venezuela exist?
- Venezuela existed 1830–present. On this map it is drawn 1834–2024.
- How large was Venezuela?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Venezuela covered about 944,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- What is the present status of Venezuela?
- Hugo Chávez won the presidency in 1998 and launched the "Bolivarian Revolution," a socialist project lavishly funded by oil revenues; after his death in 2013 he was succeeded by Nicolás Maduro. Under Maduro, collapsing oil output, hyperinflation, sanctions, and authoritarian governance triggered one of the largest displacement crises in the hemisphere, with over seven million Venezuelans emigrating.
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each polity and for the key figures and events as the basis of these profiles, supplemented by Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, EBSCO Research Starters and academic sources. The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Venezuela en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuela
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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