VENEZUELA
328
VENEZUELA
still backward, but a movement in this direction is
progressmg. Some establishments, such as the weav-
ing mills of Caracas and Valencia, and the oil factory
of Valencia, have been very successful, and other such
enterprises are in contemplation. There are twelve
lines of railroad. Their income in 1910 from passen-
ger traffic was 1,653,488.04 bolivars (.?319,124 or
£63,825) and from all sources 9,239,363.32 bolivars
(Sl,783,197 or £356,620).
Civil History. — The coast of Venezuela was dis- covered by Christopher Columbus during his third voyage, on 1 August, 1498. Its name, meaning "Little Venice", was given it by reason of the fact that Alonso de Ojeda, who first explored the coast, in 1499, found a small aboriginal village built on piles in one of the gulfs to the west. Modified into Ven- ezuela, the name afterwards served to designate the whole territory of the captaincy general (cf. Felipe Fejera, "Manual de Historia de Venezuela"). The Spanish conquest was complete in the year 1600. Since then there has existed in Venezuela a regularly organized society with peculiar ethnic characteristics and a self-developed culture. The colony was under the administration of governors and captains general during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The first decisive step towards pohtical emancipation taken by the country was the Conspiracy of 19 April, 1810, by means of which it was wrested from the con- trol of the captain general, Vicente Emparan. The definitive Declaration of Independence was issued by the Congress SJuly, 1811. This Declarat ion cont ains the following confession of faith: "Taking the Su- preme Being as witness to the justice of our actions and the rectitude of our intentions; imploring His Divine and heavenly aid, and protesting before Him, in the moment of our birth to that dignity which His Providence restores to us, our desire to live and die free; believing and maintaining the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Religion of Jesus Christ as the first of our duties. . . ." The War of Independence ended with the battle of Carabobo, won by the Liberator Sim6n Bolivar, 24 June, 1821 . When the Republic of Colombia, formed by Bolivar out of the States of Nucva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela, was dis- membered, the last-named of these three states be- came the Republic of Venezuela, in 1830.
Since that date the development of the country has been retarded by internecine struggles, which, how- ever, have not entirely impeded all advance towards culture and material progress. In the early days of independence, General Jose Antonio Paez, the hero of the War of Independence, was prominent in political affairs, aided by Dr. Jose Maria Varjas and Gen. Carlos Toublette. Following this, for a period of ten years, the country wavered between content and dis- content under the rule of the brothers Jos6 Tadeo and Jose Gregorio Monagas, also celebrated leaders in the War of Independence. To Jose Gregorio Monagas is due the abolition of Slavery. The Monagas were overthrown in 1858, after which began the bloody and disastrous rule of the Federaci6n, lasting five years, and terminating in the triumph of the Federal cause and the elevation of Juan Crisostomo Falc6n to the supreme power. His rule was characterized by ad- ministrative inefficiency and a state of turmoil lasting until 1868. After a precarious regime, known as El Gobierno Azul, which consisted in a fusion of the parties, Guzman Blanco came into power in 1870. During his term of office, a period of twenty years, strife and bloodshed continued, and Venezuela suf- fered from a despotism su<-li a.s she had not known up to this time. Intellectually gifted and possessed (>f great energy, he availed himself of asi)ectacukir politi- cal policy and, carefully measuring the elements with which he had to deal, "was able to dominate ])ersiiiis and events completely, lie wo\ild have been able to direct his country into safer paths and to have estab-
lished her once for all in the foremost ranks of the truly
progressive nations, had not his desire for personal ag-
grandizement so led him astray that he discarded all
the established methods of civihzation, concealed in-
ternal decay under a show of materia! progress, and
laid the foundations of that political venality which
has ever since so seriously retarded the progress of the
republic. Rojas Paul and Andueza Palacio followed
him, and would have been able to establish peace and
advance the welfare of the nation had not pohtical
ambition once more asserted itself, bringing with it
revolution and military ascendency. The last of these
governments by bloodshed was that of Cipriano
Castro, which lasted nine years and ended in Decem-
ber, 1908. With the celebration of the first centenary
of its independence the entire nation demanded peace;
the government then proclaimed, and has since en-
deavoured to procure, the estabUshment of law and
order.
The United States of Venezuela is now composed of twenty federal states and a federal district, the seat of the national government, the capital of which is Caracas. Outside the hmits of the Federal Dis- trict the president had no executive authority except in such cases as are provided for by the constitution. The supreme executive power is vested in the presi- dent, assisted by the cabinet ministers and the Council of State. The legislative body consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives which meet in or- dinary sessions once a year and may be convoked for extra sessions by the president. The judicial power is represented by the Federal Court and the Court of Cassation, whose members are elected by Congress from candidates presented by the various States. There are lesser tribunals to meet various needs. The political organization in the several states is similar to that of the national government. The president of the Council of State fills the office of vice-president for the republic or the state. The president is elected for a term of four years.
Education. — Though internal disturbances in Venezuela have not altogether impeded the adwance of civilization, they have somewhat retarded it . Educa- tion, however, never completely neglected, has acquired new vigour and extension. Guzmdn Blanco issued a decree to extend it throughout the whole coimtry, and although this has not been very effective, owing to the poor organization of the school s.ystem, it cannot be denied that much good has resulted. The total number of students in the primary grade in the entire republic for the third quarterlv session in 1909 was 48,869, of which only 5799 attended private schools, the remainder attending the national schools, federal and municipal. In the secondary schools there were 3565 student,';, 1343 of whom at- tended private schools. In the fourth cjuarterly session of 1910 there were 50,991 students registered for the primary schools. Nevertheless, attention having been concentrated upon the principal cities and towns of importance, the interior of the republic has remained in a state of illiteracy. At present the Government is endeavouring to give a more efficient organization to the educational system, both by providing suitable buildings and increasing the number of students, as in supervising the management of the schools, and finding the best means for extend- ing their usefulness. The Government also takes an equal interest in the secondary schools, both those maintained at government expense and the many and excellent private schools which exist throughout the country. In July, 1909, one hundred and two such schools were registered, sixty-three of these being pri- vateschools. In theseschools the courses are literary, mercantile, and i)hilosophic. For the higher branches there are two universities, a school of engineers, and the episcopal seminaries. There arc eight schools for the fine arts, and fourteen manual training schools.
