New Andalusia Province or Province of Cumaná (1537–1864) was a province of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

, and later of

Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), or Greater Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia ( Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. It included the territory of present-day Venezuelan states

Sucre Sucre () is the capital of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the 6th most populated city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . This relatively high altitude gives the ...

Anzoátegui ) , anthem = '' Himno del Estado Anzoátegui'' , image_map = Anzoategui in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_ ...

and Monagas. Its most important cities were the Capital City

Cumaná Cumaná () is the capital city of Venezuela's Sucre State. It is located east of Caracas. Cumaná was one of the first cities founded by Spain in the mainland Americas and is the oldest continuously-inhabited Hispanic-established city in South ...

and New Barcelona.

Spanish Empire

Its provincial capital,

, was refounded in 1569 by explorer Diego Hernández de Serpa. The Province originally comprised what is now eastern

, western

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, and far northern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. In the following centuries, its jurisdiction was reduced to

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and was synonymous with Cumaná Province. Early in its history, the conquistador Joan Orpí founded a new Province, of ''Nueva Cataluña'' (New Catalonia), also known as ''New Barcelona'' after its capital,

, partly from territory belonging to New Andalusia. This lasted from 1637 to 1654, when it was incorporated into New Andalusia.

Guayana Province Guayana Province (1585−1864) was a former province of Spanish Colonial Venezuela and independent Venezuela, located in the Guyana region of northeastern South America. The province was part of the Spanish colonial New Andalusia Province and ...

(created 1585) provided a southern boundary, while

Venezuela Province The Venezuela Province (or Province of Caracas) was a province of the Spanish Empire (from 1527), of Gran Colombia (1824-1830) and later of Venezuela (from 1830), apart from an interlude (1528 - 1546) when it was contracted as a concession by the ...

provided a western one. For most of its existence, the

Royal Audience of Santo Domingo The Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo was the first court of the Spanish crown in America. It was created by Ferdinand V of Castile in his decree of 1511, but due to disagreements between the governor of Hispaniola, Diego Colon and the Crown, it ...

oversaw its administrative and judicial matters. In the late 18th century, it was incorporated into the newly created

Captaincy General of Venezuela The Captaincy General of Venezuela ( es, Capitanía General de Venezuela), also known as the Kingdom of Venezuela (), was an administrative district of colonial Spain, created on September 8, 1777, through the Royal Decree of Graces of 1777, t ...

Gran Colombia

Following the

Venezuelan Declaration of Independence The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence () is a statement adopted by a congress of Venezuelan provinces on July 5, 1811, through which Venezuelans made the decision to separate from the Spanish Crown in order to establish a new nation based o ...

(1811), the Province became one of the

Provinces of Gran Colombia The 37 provinces and their departments, in the Republic of Gran Colombia from 1824 to 1831. Gran Colombia was a country in northern South America from 1819 to 1831. Its subdivisions were redrawn in 1824, from the original 3 departments into ...

(after 1824, within the

Orinoco Department Orinoco Department was one of the departments of Gran Colombia created in 1824. Its territory was split from the Venezuela Department. It had borders to * Apure Department in the West. * Boyacá Department Boyacá () is one of the thir ...

). Capital: Cumaná. Cantones: * Cumaná, * Carupano, * Cumanacoa, * Maturín, * Cariaco, * Aragua Cumanés * Río Caribes. Following Venezuelan independence in 1830, it became a

Province of Venezuela The Venezuela Province (or Province of Caracas) was a province of the Spanish Empire (from 1527), of Gran Colombia (1824-1830) and later of Venezuela (from 1830), apart from an interlude (1528 - 1546) when it was contracted as a concession by the ...

, until the creation of the

States of Venezuela The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a federation made up of twenty-three states ('' es, estados''), a Capital District ('' es, Distrito Capital'') and the Federal Dependencies ('' es, Dependencias Federales''), which consist of many islan ...

in 1864. Between 1810 and 1840 it lost the Canton Piacoa (covering the

Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

delta) to

; this later became the state of

Delta Amacuro Delta Amacuro State ( es, Estado Delta Amacuro, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, and is the location of the Orinoco Delta. The Paria Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean are found to the north, Bolívar State is found to the south, the Atlantic ...

External links

"Venezuela Together with the Southern Part of New Andalusia"
a map from 1630 Provinces of the Spanish Empire Colonial Colombia Colonial Venezuela Former colonies in South America History of Colombia History of Guyana History of Venezuela Provinces of Gran Colombia Provinces of Venezuela Spanish colonization of the Americas 16th century in Venezuela 17th century in Venezuela 18th century in Venezuela 16th century in South America 17th century in South America 18th century in South America States and territories established in 1537 16th-century establishments in Venezuela States and territories disestablished in 1864 1537 establishments in the Spanish Empire 1537 establishments in South America 1864 disestablishments in the Spanish Empire 1864 disestablishments in South America Cumaná {{SouthAm-hist-stub