VENEZUELA

Venezuela, officially known as the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is the northernmost country in South America and part of Caribbean South America. It borders the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the west. Off the Venezuelan coast are also found the Caribbean states of Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles and Trinidad and Tobago.

A former Spanish colony, Venezuela is a Federal Republic. Culturally and geographically it is the most Caribbean country of South America, having in its possession over 600 islands in the aforementioned sea. Historically, Venezuela has had territorial disputes with Guyana, largely concerning the Essequibo area. This issue is not yet resolved. To this day, Venezuela is known for its petroleum industry, the friendly temperment of its inhabitants, the environmental diversity of its territory, and its sheer natural beauty. It has been claimed that Christopher Columbus was so enthralled by Venezuela's landscape, when arriving to its coast in 1498, that he referred to the land as Tierra de Gracia (Land of Grace), which has become the country’s nickname.

The Name

The name "Venezuela" is believed to have originated from the cartographer Amerigo Vespucci, who in 1499 led a naval exploration of the northwestern coast (known today as the Gulf of Venezuela), along with Alonso de Ojeda. On reaching the Guajira Peninsula, the crew observed the stilt villages (palafitos) that the Añu natives had built over the water. This reminded Vespucci of the city of Venice and as a result the region was named Venezuela, which means Little Venice. On the other hand, Spanish conquistador and geographer Martín Fernández de Enciso, member of the same crew, says in his work Summa de Geografía that the above mentioned population was called Veneciuela, and that it was built on a large, plain rock. Therefore, the name Venezuela would be a native word. Nevertheless, the first version remains today as the most popular and widely accepted and by far regarded as the most likely.

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