Ms. Soles Social Studies

1. Ms. SolesSocial Studies Lesson 28 South America: Venezuela

2. Lesson Topics for Venezuela • Physical Characteristics • History • Government • Economy • People/Culture • Plants & Animals

3. The Flag of Venezuela

4. Where in the world is Venezuela?

8. The Orinoco River and Venezuela's mt. ranges divide the country into some distinct regions, all with different climates Geography

9. The Maracaibo Lowlands of the far northwest are dry, windless and hot; the Andes Mountains and northern highlands are more temperate and much cooler in the higher elevations;

10. The central plain fronting the Orinoco River covers about one-third of the country, most of it is less than 50 meters in elevation, and generally quite warm. The wild and largely unexplored Let’s take a quick look at the plains: http://www.compulsivetraveler.tv/videos/603-El-Cedral-A-Day-in-the-Llanos-of-Venezuela

11. Guiana Highlands covering the southeast, with elevations of up to 3,500 meters, are jungle-tropical, hot and very humid.

12. Angel Falls (the world's highest waterfall) is located in the Guiana Highlands; it stands at 2,421 feet, (751 m) or more than 12 times the height of America's and Canada's Niagara Falls. 

13. Angel Falls, the Highest Waterfall in the World

14. Let’s take an airplane over those amazing falls! http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=9936

15. With over 10,000 rivers (mostly small) within its borders, the Orinoco is by far the most important. It's the third-longest river in South America, after the Paran and the Amazon; it has more than 2,000 tributaries. Most of the other rivers that rise in the northern mountains flow southeastward to the Apure. 

16. Significant lakes include Lake Guri and Lake Maracaibo, South America's largest lake.

17. There are 72 Caribbean islands that belong to Venezuela. Margarita, with an area of 440 square miles (1,140 km 2), is the largest.

18. Get ready for a tour of one of those beautiful islands! http://www.compulsivetraveler.tv/videos/496-Los-Roques

19. Margarita Island

20. History of Venezuela At the time of the Spanish exploration of Venezuela in the 15th century, the region was inhabited by Carib and Arawak Indians. The coast of Venezuela was first sighted by Columbus in 1498 during his third voyage to the New World.

21. He reached the region of the Orinoco River delta and explored the coast to the north, where he found pearls. Alonso de Ojeda in 1499 sailed along the coast and into Lake Maracaibo. He called the region Venezuela.

22. The Spanish established a few coastal settlements in the early 16th century. Methodical exploration was begun by Germans in 1529 after Charles I of Spain granted a charter for much of the region to a German banking firm.

23. The Germans killed many Indians and enslaved others. The charter was revoked in the 1550's, and the Spaniards resumed colonization. Santiago de Léon de Caracas, founded in 1567, soon became the capital of the colony.

24. The colony became the captaincy-general of Caracas in 1731. In 1740 it became part of the viceroyalty of New Granada, which also included Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador. Venezuela remained part of New Granada until 1777, when it was made an independent captaincy-general, directly under the Spanish monarchy.

25. The New Kingdom of Granada 16th Century-1739

26. Agitation for independence from Spain began early in Venezuela. An unsuccessful revolt in 1806 was led by Francisco de Miranda of Caracas. Francisco de Miranda

27. In 1810 the citizens of Caracas deposed the governor because he recognized Napoleon's brother as king of Spain. With Miranda as supreme military commander, Venezuela proclaimed its independence in 1811, but Spain regained control in 1812.

28. The Battle of Carabobo, during the Venezuelan War of Independence

29. However, a devastating earthquake that struck Caracas in 1812, together with the rebellion of the Venezuelan llaneros, helped bring down the first Venezuelan republic. A second Venezuelan republic, proclaimed on 7 August 1813, lasted several months before being crushed as well.

30. Venezuela's permanent freedom from Spain was assured when Simón Bolívar, also of Caracas, defeated Spanish forces at Carabobo in 1821. Venezuela declared its independence from Greater Colombia on September 22, 1830.

31. Two decades of warfare had cost the lives of between one- fourth and one-third of Venezuela's population (including perhaps one-half of the white population), which by 1830 was estimated at about 800,000.

32. Much of Venezuela's 19th century history was characterized by political turmoil and dictatorial rule. Páez, elected Venezuela's first president, retained effective political control until 1846. The country was then ruled by a succession of dictators and was often torn by revolt.

33. 20th Century Eleazar López Contreras served as president, 1935–41. Under his democratic regime prosperity increased and improvements were made in education and public health.

34. The discovery of massive oil deposits in Lake Maracaibo during World War I transformed the basis of its economy, from a heavy dependence on agricultural exports. It prompted an economic boom that would last into the 1980s; by 1935, Venezuela's per capita gross domestic product was Latin America's highest.

35. A revolution in 1945 brought Rómulo Betancourt to power as provisional president. A constitution adopted in 1947 provided for the election of the chief executive by direct popular vote.

36. In 1948 a military junta seized power. One of the army leaders was proclaimed president in 1952, Marcos Perez Jimenez. A revolution in 1958 forced the junta out of power.

37. Elections were held in December, 1958, and Betancourt was returned to the presidency for a five-year term.

38. The new administration was plagued by political unrest and Communist terrorist activities. Nevertheless, peaceful elections were held in 1963. In the late 1960's, the country became politically and economically stable.

39. In the 1970's, the government nationalized many industries, and oil production brought prosperity. The election of 1983 marked 25 years of democratic rule in Venezuela; then one of the longest such periods in Latin American history.

40. Coups staged in February and November, 1992, were quickly put down. The leader of one coup, Hugo Chavez, was briefly jailed but was elected president in 1998, promising to make populist changes to the economy and to write a new constitution.

41. Chavez's party swept elections for the constitutional assembly in 1999. A coup in 2002 only briefly removed Chavez from power.

42. Venezuela’s Government Today Current concerns in Venezuela include a weakening democracy, a very politicized military, and increased drug-related violence along the Colombian border.

43. Economy Venezuela has a mixed economy dominated by the petroleum sector, which accounts for roughly a third of GDP, around 80% of exports and more than half of government revenues. It suffers high levels of corruption. About 30% of the population of the country live on less than US $2 per day.

44. Manufacturing contributed 17% of GDP in 2006. Venezuela manufactures and exports heavy industry items such as steel, aluminium and cement, with production concentrated around Ciudad Guayana, one of the largest in the world and the provider of about three quarters of Venezuela's electricity

45. Other notable manufacturing includes electronics and automobiles, as well as beverages, and foodstuffs. Agriculture in Venezuela accounts for approximately 3% of GDP, 10% of the labor force, and at least one-fourth of Venezuela's land area.

46. Venezuela exports rice, corn, fish, tropical fruit, coffee, beef, and pork. The country is not self-sufficient in most areas of agriculture; Venezuela imports about two-thirds of its food needs.

47. Since the discovery of oil in the early 20th century, Venezuela has been one of the world's leading exporters of oil, and it is a founder member of OPEC. The 1990s also saw Venezuela experience a major banking crisis in 1994. The recovery of oil prices after 2001 boosted the Venezuelan economy.

48. Oil Reserves in Venezuela

49. The Venezuelan oil producer PDVSA wholly owns its United States-based subsidiary, Citgo and attributes a large percentage of its wealth to oil sales from the United States

50. The electricity sector in Venezuela is one of the few to rely primarily on hydropower, and includes the Guri Dam, one of the largest in the world.