Captaincy General of Venezuela

Venezuela, 1777–1823. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Captaincy General of Venezuela was an administrative district of colonial Spain, created on September 8, 1777, through the Royal Decree of Graces of 1777, to provide more autonomy for the provinces of Venezuela. It established a unified government in political (governorship), military (captaincy general), fiscal (intendancy), ecclesiastical (archdiocese) and judicial (audiencia) affairs. Its creation was part of the Bourbon Reforms and laid the groundwork for the future nation of Venezuela, in particular by orienting the province of Maracaibo towards the province of Caracas. Cocoa plantations were established along the littoral valleys, which resulted in large importations of slaves.

Seat of power: Caracas

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• The growth of the cocoa-exporting economy was created by the Real Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas, which was granted a full monopoly over exports and imports in 1728.
• Resentment of the Company exploded in open revolt in 1749 headed by Canarian immigrant Juan Francisco de León.
• At 4 pm on Holy Thursday, 26 March 1812, an earthquake measuring 7.7 magnitude on the Richter scale struck Caracas.

Picture

The Caracas Cathedral stands on the Plaza Bolívar, and its chapel of the Holy Trinity is the burial site of the parents and wife of Simón Bolívar.

Image: Alexis Carmona, CC BY 3.0, file

Sources

• Captaincy General of Venezuela (Wikipedia)
• Captaincy General of Venezuela (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.