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RR 2006/230 The History of Venezuela H. Micheal Tarver and Julia C. Frederick Greenwood Press Westport, CT and London 2005 xxiii + 189 pp. ISBN 0 313 33525 7 £25.99/$45
Keywords History, Venezuela
Review DOI 10.1108/09504120610664538
This well written volume traces the history of this tropical nation from thousands of years before recorded history to the year 2005 in 12 chapters. It begins with a survey of the geography, the people and their culture, and the economy of what the authors call a "petroleum country". Indeed, petroleum became the most important factor in Venezuela's economy. Early Spanish explorers saw the natives use the black crude that seeped around Lake Maracaibo to caulk and repair their canoes. Its commercial value began to emerge in the late 1800s and came to full bloom in the twentieth century. The promise of wealth for all the citizens of the nation was never fully realized even at the present time.
Recorded history began with the discovery of fhis region of South America by Christopher Columbus in 1498; he was followed by various explorers including Alonso de Ojeda who gave the country its name. Seeing stilted houses above the waters of Lake Maracaibo, he named the place "Little Venice". This region was not a high priority for early conquest and colonization since it did not provide the mineral wealth and treasure that the regions along the western coast of South America promised. During the colonial period the authors point out that Venezuela was an outpost that was threatened by various European nations, especially Great Britain whose colony, British...