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50-494: The Nueva Esparta State (in Spanish: Estado Nueva Esparta , pronounced [esˈtaðo ˈnweβa esˈpaɾta] ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela . It comprises Margarita Island , Coche , and the largely uninhabited Cubagua . The state is located off the northeast Caribbean coast of Venezuela. The main island of Margarita has an area of 1,020 km (390 sq mi). Its capital city

100-570: A referendum held two days earlier, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro published a new map showing the claimed region of Guayana Esequiba as part of Venezuela. He urged legislators to create a law which would establish a new state covering the disputed region. The Venezuelan referendum on annexing the area led to a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. Venezuela's territory is generally divided into nine geographical regions, which are mostly used for geographical, cultural and planning purposes but do not have active administrative bodies. Below

150-507: A channel from a third, larger one, covered with vegetation and populated by indigenous people who called it Paraguachoa , a word that means "fish in abundance" according to historians, and "sea people" according to others. Columbus named the island La Asunción , because it was discovered on the religious date of the Virgin that bears his name. The following year, in 1499, Pedro Alonso Niño and Cristóbal Guerra renamed it La Margarita , due to

200-539: A renamed Aragua State, in 1881 the states of Miranda, Guárico, Nueva Esparta and the Vargas department of the Federal District were merged into the state. This was part of a territorial reorganisation reducing the number of states from 20 to 9, which was reversed in 1901. The 1990s saw the creation of three new states: Delta Amacuro (1991), Amazonas (1994), and Vargas (1998). On 5 December 2023, following

250-577: A section of the Great State of Guzmán Blanco (called Miranda from 1889 to 1898). In 1901, two years after the autonomy of the states was restored, it regained the name of Nueva Esparta, but lost it again between 1904 and 1909, during which time it was included in the Federal District as an Eastern Section. Finally, in 1909, it regained its statehood and in 1948, the island of Cubagua was annexed to its territory. The main island of Margarita has an area of 1,020 km (390 sq mi). Its capital city

300-490: A town. In 1543, French pirates arrived at the ruins of Nueva Cádiz, where some 10 inhabitants still remained, and left the city in flames, causing the island to be abandoned once again. Although the exact date of its total abandonment by the Spaniards in this early period is not known, history indicates that by 1545, a group of residents of Nueva Cádiz aspire to incorporate Margarita under their jurisdiction, which confirms

350-699: Is La Asunción , and the main urban center is Porlamar . Its name, Nueva Esparta (" New Sparta" ), comes from the heroism shown by its inhabitants during the Venezuelan War of Independence , deemed similar to that of the Spartan soldiers of Ancient Greece . Margarita was discovered on August 15, 1498 during Columbus' third voyage . On that trip the Admiral would also discover mainland Venezuela. That day, Columbus saw three islands, two of them small, low and arid (the current Coche and Cubagua), separated by

400-489: Is La Asunción . The main urban center is Porlamar . Other important towns are Juan Griego , Pampatar (home of the Port Authority), Punta de Piedras , San Juan Bautista , Las Guevaras, Las Hernández, Villa Rosa, Bella Vista (Margarita), and El Valle del Espíritu Santo . Nueva Esparta is located between the coordinates 10º44, 11º10` of North latitude and 63º (degrees) 46` (minutes), 64º13` of West longitude, in

450-474: Is also seen as a complementary economic activity, especially on the island of Margarita, where the cultivation of eggplant, corn, melon, paprika, pinilla, sweet pepper and tomato stand out, as well as poultry farming, goats and pigs. In recent years, there has been an increase in the resident populations of the three islands, mainly in Margarita. The Nueva Esparta State has become a place of rest and escape for

500-493: Is considered correct. Under the protection of the Cumaná fortress, which was finally built in early 1523, the village of Cubagua was quickly organized and an extraordinary boom emerged in the exploitation of pearl pleasures. It is unlikely that before 1525, the residents of the village of Cubagua were aware of being a town or city. None of the pearl records from 1521 to 1525, which are the first known local sources of Cubagua, mention

550-563: The Cubagua population was a slow process due mainly to the lack of water, the resistance of the Indians to the exhausting work of the pearl fisheries, and to the conquests of distant lands. The visit of the French corsairs meant a serious threat to the survival of the city. Likewise, caribbean boats prowled the contours of the island. However, the fundamental cause of Cubagua's depopulation was

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600-713: The General Simón Bolívar proclaimed the Supreme Chief of the Republic, General Santiago Mariño was appointed second in command, and various military promotions are made. Bolívar signs the repeal of the Death War Decree of 1813. Inside the Church, the chair where General Bolivar sat down still remains, and monuments to those who participated in the assembly. In 1835, the province of Margarita

650-556: The Legislative Council of Nueva Esparta, a unicameral regional parliament, elected by the people by direct and secret vote every four years and may be re-elected for new consecutive periods, under a system of proportional representation of the population of the state and its municipalities, the State has 5 deputies, of which 4 belong to the opposition and 1 to the government. The State has its own police force called INEPOL on

700-508: The Macanao and Guarataro hills. The rest are coastal plains that descend towards wide-ranging beaches. The islands of Coche and Cubagua offer a flat terrain with some cliffs. The relief is composed of coastal plains, lagoons and mountain ranges. The coastal plains of the eastern massif descend to oceanic beaches of great breadth and white sands that constitute a great tourist attraction, also conducive to sports and recreation activities. Among

750-526: The Mesozoic era form the foundation of the mountainous areas and their foothills, including the hill landscape, with the exception of the undulating reliefs of Pampatar, constituted by tertiary sediments, as well as the coastal plain. The lowest marine areas are Pleistocene and Holocene formations, composed of alluviums, coastal and alluvial terraces, calcareous sandstones and lagoon deposits. Coche and Cubagua are rocky cores covered with marine sediments from

800-598: The Nueva Esparta State, Extraordinary Number, dated July 6, 1993, and its Amendment No. 1 published in the Official Gazette of the Nueva Esparta State, Extraordinary Number E-060 dated December 29, 2000. He is represented by the Governor of Nueva Esparta and a group of State Secretaries of his trust. The Governor is elected by the people by direct and secret vote for a period of four years and with

850-550: The Pre-Cambrian geological era The eastern sector of Margarita Island has three small mountain ranges , aligned in a southeast–northwest direction, whose altitude stops are the Copey, Matasiete, La Guardia and Guayamurí hills; To the southwest, the relief is flat, with the exception of moderate elevations, known as Las Tetas de María Guevara. The Macanao Peninsula, in the western sector, has an elongated east–west massif, between

900-554: The abundance of pearls found in the region; other hypotheses suggest that the name Margarita refers to Queen Margarita of Austria-Styria. Shortly after its discovery, other European sailors confirmed the existence of rich pearl deposits in Cubagua, whose exploitation gave rise to the first Spanish establishment in Venezuela. According to Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, in 1500, only 2 years after his sighting, there were already 50 adventurers installed in Cubagua who were eagerly looking for

950-515: The action of the winds, which gives their surface layer a stony character. On Margarita Island, the climatic and / or edaphic effects have produced a mixture of life zones, with varied ecosystems that range from tropical desert weeds, in low and dry areas, to thorny mountains and tropical dry forest in areas of greater height. In the Copey hill is the premontane humid forest and in the swampy and saline areas mangroves abound. The most representative species are olive trees, divi-divi and pardillo, around

1000-530: The average annual temperature is also high with rainfall of 512 millimetres or 20 inches annually. Dry conditions are rigorous in Cubagua with only 250 millimetres or 10 inches of rainfall per year, qualifying as a hot arid climate . If it is considered that in the coastal and beach sites, such as Porlamar, there are only 66 days of appreciable rainfall per year, the optimal conditions for various types of tourism are experienced. Some examples of its climate are Cerro Copey, Laguna de la Restinga , Macanao peninsula, and

1050-743: The basis of what is established in the National Constitution of Venezuela, 19 being the one in charge of regional security and organized under the legal figure of the Autonomous Institute. It was created in 1970 and depends on the Government of the State Nueva Esparta since 1989, currently remains attached to the Directorate of Civil Protection and Public Safety of the state. Trade predominates, due to

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1100-404: The city of Nueva Cádiz, today recognized as the first city of Venezuela, did not depend on Spanish aid from Santo Domingo, and could trade directly with Castile. This helped the inhabitants of Nueva Cádiz to stimulate their activity. They set about building their city, replacing the huts with stone houses, material brought from Araya, and increasing the number of inhabitants. Between 1531 and 1532,

1150-406: The colonization of Cubagua failed: the problem of water supply was paramount, and it was concluded that the establishment of a village in Cubagua could not bear fruit without the previous construction of a fortress at the mouth of the river of today's Cumaná, which was the one that supplied the water. Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés ' version that the establishment of Cubagua dates back to 1517

1200-675: The condition of Puerto Libre (established in 1971 by presidential decree) and its link with local tourism. The tourist activity has stimulated the construction industry, as evidenced by the existence of hotels, restaurants, holiday homes and entertainment centers, as part of an infrastructure that revalue this area for visitors of both national and international origin. Fishing has allowed the production of: needle, anchovy, tuna, snapper, corocoro, lamparosa, carite, torito, lisa, catfish, cazón, vaquita, horse mackerel, picua and sardine (shellfish); shrimp and lobster (crustacean); clam, squid, chipichipi, guacuco, pearl casing and oysters (mollusks). Agriculture

1250-474: The consumption of their eggs and meat has made them rare on Margarita), rattlesnakes , coral snakes , and anole lizards. Many species of birds can be found and seen in many places on the island, such as the paraulata llanera, or tropical mockingbird ( Mimus gilvus ), the Carib grackle or llanero ( Quiscalus lugubris ), the scaled dove ( Columbina squammata ), the spectacled thrush ( Turdus nudigenis ),

1300-424: The disappearance of the oyster beds. The population did not migrate all at once. Coinciding with the boom in fisheries in Cubagua there is already a migration to Cabo de la Vela, because there were not enough of them in Cubagua. By 1537, the island was becoming depopulated and in 1541, history indicates that a hurricane hit the island, possibly following an earthquake, and its inhabitants fled to Margarita and founded

1350-693: The existence of a population on the island at least for that date. In 1676, the Marquis of Maitenon with a fleet of 10 ships and 800 French buccaneers attacked Margarita Island and Cumaná. This action motivated the Spanish to build several forts on the island. The Province of Margarita is the oldest of those that in 1777 formed the Captaincy General of Venezuela . It had depended on the Royal Audience of Santo Domingo until 1739, when it

1400-547: The glaucous tanager ( Thraupis glaucocolpa ), red-crowned woodpecker ( Melanerpes rubricapillus ), the tucusito hummingbird ( Leucippus fallax ), the emerald hummingbird or mellisbanero ( Chlorostilbon ), barred antshrike ( Thamnophilus doliatus ), the rufous-vented chachalaca or guacharaca ( Ortalis ruficauda ruficauda ), the Venezuelan turpial ( Icterus icterus ), the vermillion cardinal or cardenalito ( Cardinalis phoeniceus ), partridges, turtledoves, and

1450-522: The highest elevations found in the state, there are: There are no significant permanent water currents, but thin rivers lately seasonal due to climatic changes that have raised temperatures throughout the planet in recent years. Dry most of the year and with torrential in short periods of rain. Of these, the main ones are San Juan (San Juan poses), San Francisco, La Asunción, El Valle, Chaguaramal, El Muco, La Vieja, Negro and Tacarigua. The lagoons of La Restinga , Los Mártires and Las Marites , together with

1500-563: The highest rainfall are located in the Serranía de El Copey, reaching 1,100 millimetres or 43 inches per year. This, together with local fogs, allows the development of cloud forests, which derive on lower slopes in formations of premontane dry forests. Precipitation is lower in the Macanao Peninsula, ranging from 300 to 500 millimetres or 12 to 20 inches annually, with temperatures from 27 to 28 °C or 81 to 82 °F. In Coche,

1550-582: The hills Matasiete, El Copey, and Guaraguao. The very dry forest is in areas of very intervened vegetation. The main species are: cují, guatacare, guamache, cardón, divisive and olive. The spines and desert weeds, dominant formations of the state, occupy the coastal plains. Its main species are abrojo, cují, yaque, oregano, naked Indian, prickly pear, cardon, divisive, guamache and others. Mangrove concentrations are located in La Restinga , Las Marites and other coastal water areas. The most important species are

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1600-635: The hot springs of the Holy Spirit Valley and the San Francisco sector, complete a scarce, insufficient and unsuitable hydrographic system to supply the local population with potable water. Nueva Esparta has a hot semi-arid climate , with microclimates ranging from very warm arid to warm-moderate semi-arid. The semi-arid climate dominates in Margarita. In Porlamar, the rainfall is only 399 millimetres or 16 inches annually with an average temperature of 27 °C or 81 °F. The areas with

1650-463: The inhabitants of the great cities of the center of the country, being a popular tourist destination of Venezuela. States of Venezuela The states and territories of Venezuela are usually organized into regions ( Spanish : regiones ), although these regions are mostly geographical entities rather than administrative entities. Prior to the Federal War (1859–1863), the country

1700-467: The insular region of the country. The State is limited in all its cardinal points by the Caribbean Sea. Together, the three islands of the State bring together magnificent beaches, wonderful mangroves and other landscapes that make it a true island paradise. Margarita, the largest of them, has a maximum elevation on Copey Hill (900 meters above sea level) and includes the Macanao mountain core to

1750-402: The islands of Coche and Cubagua. On rare occasions, tropical cyclones affect the islands of the state due to their low latitude. Some cyclones that have affected the islands either directly or indirectly have been Hurricane Joan–Miriam in 1988 and Tropical Storm Bret in 1993. The soil is thin and underdeveloped, subject to an intense erosive process due to overgrazing . The oscillations of

1800-558: The islands of Tortuga, Blanquilla, Testigos and Aves de Barlovento), with its capital in Santa Ana del Norte , and Sur (composed of the parishes of Asunción, Pampatar, Porlamar, Paraguachí, Espíritu Santo, Robles, and Sabana Grande), with its capital in La Asunción. In 1864, when the country was divided into 20 states and a Federal District, Margarita took the name of Estado Nueva Esparta ("State of New Sparta"). The republic granted

1850-456: The name of the village on this island, and only speak of Cubagua. In 1526, the town was elevated to the category of Villa with the name of " Villa de Santiago de Cubagua ", although it seems that this title was never used. On September 13, 1528 this town was granted the rank of city, was given a coat of arms, the first ordinances were issued granting the city political autonomy and its name was changed to " Nueva Cádiz ". Through these ordinances,

1900-731: The pearly beds showed the first signs of exhaustion. The growing population with scarce means of living, created in New Cadiz problems of supply of food, water and firewood. Foodstuffs arrived from Santo Domingo, water from the Manzanares River in Cumaná , and firewood was transported from Isla Margarita. When pearls were scarce, they sought new fisheries, and with the authorization of the Royal Court of Santo Domingo and King Carlos I, they moved to Cabo de la Vela. The disappearance of

1950-708: The possibility of immediate re-election for additional periods, being in charge of the state administration. Until 1989, the governors were appointed by the National Executive Power, since then several parties have alternated in the government of the State: Since 2002, the governor was General Carlos Mata Figueroa of the PSUV. On October 15, 2017, Alfredo Díaz was elected from the Democratic Action party. The state legislature rests with

2000-513: The precious mother-of-pearl gems used by the natives in their personal ornaments. This settlement of small Spanish villages for the exploitation of these pearl riches in Cubagua consisted of Cabildo and Regidores by 1510. But the settlement was carried out in this early date spontaneously without following Hispanic patterns, since even in 1517, it is indicated that the population resided in awnings and huts. At first, all official attempts to achieve

2050-485: The red mangrove, button and the black mangrove. Most of the state presents a vegetation corresponding to the insular coastal subregion of the type: Fauna in the region include: The region has a great variety of animals; Among the most prominent animals of Margarita Island are: Other species of animals found are eastern cottontails ( Sylvilagus floridanus ) and several species of reptiles, such as green iguanas (which were once more common on Margarita, but hunting for

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2100-504: The sea level and the deforestation carried out for agricultural use contribute to this. The valleys' soils, the best quality lands, are well developed, have an organic layer, are protected from the erosive action of the wind and are covered with vegetation, but only occupy a small proportion of the state. In the areas of Piedmont, the cones of injection and colluvial materials give rise to very stony soils. The islands of Coche and Cubagua have soils with salinity and strong erosion, resulting from

2150-450: The slopes of the main hills of the island. The State stands out for its scenic resources, represented in natural landscapes, such as lagoons, beaches, hills, salt flats and wind formations, all of great tourist potential. However, it does not have large energy resources, and its availability of minerals is limited to the existence of gravel, sand, limestone, dolomite, chromite, manganese, talc and stone. The vegetation and natural resources of

2200-472: The state are few for being an arid zone in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, but plants such as cacti and palm trees are seen in warm areas. The state is autonomous and equal in political terms to the rest of the federation, organizes its administration and its public powers through the Constitution of the Nueva Esparta State, dictated by the former Legislative Assembly published in the Official Gazette of

2250-462: The title of "Nueva Esparta" to the island territory because of the heroism shown by the island's inhabitants in the struggle for Venezuela's independence, which resembled the Spartans of classical Greece. The complete exhaustion of the Cubagua pearl oysters in 1857 determined the abandonment of this island, and afterwards, it was visited by fishermen who built rancherías (ranches). In 1881, it became

2300-402: The west. Coche and Cubagua are rocky cores covered with marine sediments and have a flat relief, with cliffs. The climate is arid or semi-arid, to the point that there are no permanent current rivers. The Nueva Esparta state is divided into 11 municipalities. The state territory is characterized by events of volcanism, sedimentation, emersion, deposition and uprising. Igneous-metamorphic rocks of

2350-470: The yellow-shouldered amazon or cotorra margariteña ( Amazona barbadensis ), a natural symbol of the island. It is also possible to find species such as the giant centipede ( Scolopendra gigantea ). The semi-arid climate of the Nueva Esparta state is one of the fundamental reasons for the evolution of two main types of vegetation. In the state, there are abundant areas of tropical vegetation on

2400-597: Was annexed to the Viceroyalty of New Granada , along with other States; and in 1830, when the Republic of Venezuela emerged, it was one of its 13 original provinces. In the Church of Santa Ana, an Assembly of Notables was held on May 6, 1816, in which the Third Republic of Venezuela was proclaimed as a single and indivisible nation: the Provisional Government of the Republic was established,

2450-464: Was divided into provinces rather than states (see Provinces of Venezuela ). The victorious forces were supposed to grant more autonomy to the individual states, but this was not implemented. From 1863 to the early 1900s there were numerous territorial changes, including the merger and splitting of states, but from then until the 1990s the states were left unchanged. States that existed during this time included Guzmán Blanco State (1873–1889). Originally

2500-422: Was divided into the cantons of La Asunción (composed of the parishes of Paraguachí, Pampatar, Los Robles, El Valle and Porlamar) and Norte (composed of the parishes of Tacarigua, Juangriego, San Juan, Pedro González and Sabana Grande). In 1856, the province of Margarita was divided into the cantons of Norte (composed of the parishes of Norte, Juangriego, Tacarigua, Pedro González, Los Hatos, Pedregales, San Juan and

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