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Puerto Cabello () is a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
on the north coast of
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 is located in
Carabobo State , anthem = '' Himno del Estado Carabobo'' , image_map = Carabobo in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_ ...
, about 210 km west of
Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in th ...
. As of 2011, the city had a population of around 182,400. The city is home to the largest and busiest port in the country and is thus a vital cog in the country's vast oil industry. The word 'cabello' translates to 'hair'. The Spaniards took to saying that the sea was so calm there that a ship could be secured to the dock by tying it with a single hair.


Climate

Puerto Cabello has a borderline
tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...
( Köppen ''Aw''), almost dry enough to be a
hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...
(''BSh'') as prevails further west on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela.


History

The foundation date of Puerto Cabello is not known although its name was documented for the first time on the map of the province of Caracas prepared in 1578 by Juan de Pimentel. Puerto Cabello's location made it an easy prey to buccaneers and was a popular trading post for Dutch smugglers during the 17th century. Most of the contraband trade consisted of cocoa with neighboring island Curaçao, colonized by the Dutch. Puerto Cabello was also at that time under Dutch control. It was not until 1730 that the Spanish took over the port, after the Real Compañía Guipuzcoana had moved in. This company built warehouses, wharves and an array of forts to protect the harbor. During the
War of Jenkins' Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear, or , was a conflict lasting from 1739 to 1748 between Britain and the Spanish Empire. The majority of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. It is con ...
, Puerto Cabello was the careening port of the Company, whose ships had rendered great assistance to the Spanish navy in carrying troops, arms, stores and ammunition from Spain to her colonies, and its destruction was a severe blow to both the Company and the Spanish government. The commodore Charles Knowles in command of the 70-gun in 1743 received orders to carry out attacks on the Spanish settlements at Puerto Cabello and La Guaira. The Spanish governor
Gabriel de Zuluaga In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...
, well informed of the plans, recruited extra defenders and acquired gunpowder from the Dutch. Consequently, at an attack on La Guaira, on 18 February 1743, the English fleet was beaten off by the defenders. Knowles withdrew his force and refitted at Curaçao before attempting an assault on Puerto Cabello on April 15, and again on April 24, but both assaults were beaten back. Knowles called off the expedition and returned to Jamaica. By the 1770s, Puerto Cabello had come to be the most fortified town on the Venezuelan coast. The San Felipe castle and the Solano fortress remain from the period. The frigate ''Santa Cecilia'' (former ), under the command of Captain Don Ramón de Chalas, sat in Puerto Cabello until Captain Edward Hamilton, aboard , cut her out of the harbour on October 25, 1799. The Spanish casualties included 120 dead; the British took 231 Spaniards prisoner, while another 15 jumped or fell overboard. Eleven of Hamilton's men were injured, four seriously, but none was killed. Hamilton himself was severely wounded. The forces of the First Republic of Venezuela briefly held San Felipe castle. In 1812 Simón Bolívar, then a colonel in the independentist forces, was appointed ''commandante'' of Puerto Cabello. He left after a royalist rebellion broke out. In 1821 the Spanish retreated to the castle after their defeat at the decisive
Battle of Carabobo The Battle of Carabobo, on 24 June 1821, was fought between independence fighters, led by Venezuelan General Simón Bolívar, and the Royalist forces, led by Spanish Field Marshal Miguel de la Torre. Bolívar's decisive victory at Carabobo le ...
. Puerto Cabello was the last
Spanish royalist Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
stronghold during Venezuela's war for independence, it was captured by
José Antonio Páez José Antonio Páez Herrera (; 13 June 1790 – 6 May 1873) was a Venezuelan leader who fought against the Spanish Crown for Simón Bolívar during the Venezuelan War of Independence. He later led Venezuela's independence from Gran Colombia. ...
on November 8, 1823. The harbour came under Anglo-German attack in the Venezuelan crisis of 1902–03 and according to press reports was left in ruins. In 1962, Puerto Cabello was the site of an uprising, known as ''
El Porteñazo El Porteñazo (2 June 1962 – 6 June 1962) was a short-lived communist military rebellion against the government of Rómulo Betancourt in Venezuela, in which rebels attempted to take over the city of Puerto Cabello ( from the capital). The rebel ...
'', by pro-
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 20 ...
naval officers, marines, and members of the FALN. Although loyalist naval forces were able to quickly take back the base and arrest the rebels, they were unable to prevent the marines from occupying the city and arming pro-Castro forces. Despite ambushes and bloody house-to-house fighting, loyal National Guard and mechanized regular forces were able to retake Puerto Cabello. With the ongoing crisis amid food shortages on 23 February 2019 that coupled with economic damage, the aid that was supposed to arrive at the port was turned away by the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela, threatening to "open fire" at it, forcing the aid to redirect back to
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
.


Tourism


Attractions

* Protestants Graveyard. * Solano Fortress (part of the
San Esteban National Park The San Esteban National Park (in Spanish Parque Nacional San Esteban) is located in Carabobo, Venezuela. The park lies on the Northeastern part of Carabobo and it links with the Henri Pittier National Park of Aragua. Both are natural reserva ...
) *
San Felipe Castle San Felipe Castle is an eighteenth-century star fort protecting Puerto Cabello in Venezuela. It was named in honour of Philip V, King of Spain at the time of its construction in the 1730s. It has an alternative name ''Castillo Libertador'', exp ...
. *
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
. * Puente de Los Españoles (San Esteban Pueblo). * Teatro Municipal


Notable people

* José Altuve,
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
player for the
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...
. * Pablo Sandoval, Mexican League player for Olmecas de Tabasco. *
Fernando Nieve Fernando Alexis Nieve 'knee-EH-veh''(born July 15, 1982) is a Venezuelan former right-handed professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros and New York Mets and in Korea Baseball Organization (KBO ...
, former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
player. * Víctor Moreno, former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
player. *
Félix Doubront Félix Antonio Doubront oo-bront'(born October 23, 1987) is a Venezuelan pitcher for the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican League. He played in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athle ...
, Mexican League player for Saraperos de Saltillo. *
Willson Contreras Willson Eduardo Contreras (born May 13, 1992) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs. Contreras made his MLB debut in 2016 ...
,
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
player for the St. Louis Cardinals. *
William Contreras William Jesus Contreras (born December 24, 1997) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves. Contreras signed with the Braves or ...
,
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
player for the
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
. * Juan José Flores, military general, 1st, 3rd, and 4th President of Ecuador. *
Bartolomé Salom Bartolomé Antonio de la Concepción Salom Borges (Puerto Cabello, August 24, 1780 – October 30, 1863) was a Venezuelan -born general and patriotic leader in the Venezuelan War of Independence The Venezuelan War of Independence ( es, G ...
, military hero of the Venezuelan War of Independence. * Italo Pizzolante, poet, writer, composer, singer, and engineer. *
Carlos Zambrano Carlos Alberto Zambrano Matos (born June 1, 1981), nicknamed "Big Z" or "El Toro", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2001 to 2012 for the Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins. Zambrano ...
, former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
player.


Transport

Puerto Cabello is served by a station on the
Instituto de Ferrocarriles del Estado The State Railways Institution ( es, "Instituto de Ferrocarriles del Estado", or IFE) is a state-run organization of Venezuela that manages the railway systems of the country. Its headquarters are located in Caracas, Venezuela. According to th ...
network.


Industry

The UCOCAR shipyards are in Puerto Cabello and have been awarded contracts to construct patrol vessels for the
Venezuela Coast Guard 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 t ...
.


Economy

Despite the Puerto Cabello's once bustling port, port traffic disappeared when the price of oil collapsed, which affected the country that was dependent on imports paid for with the high price of oil. As part of the Venezuelan crisis, many of the poorer citizens in "shantytowns" in Puerto Cabello now struggle for food. Citizens wait in long lines to buy government-mandated priced groceries and the currency (bolivar) experienced nearly 64% depreciation as of May, 2017. As of August 2017, the depreciation percentage was as much as 94%.


See also

*
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 ...
*
Carabobo State , anthem = '' Himno del Estado Carabobo'' , image_map = Carabobo in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_ ...
* List of cities in Venezuela *
Railway stations in Venezuela Railway stations in Venezuela include: Cities with Rapid Transit City with underground railway system: * Caracas (El Metro de Caracas, operated bC.A. Metro de Caracas * Los Teques Metro - opened in 2006. Stations Closed * Camoruco * El En ...


References


External links


World Press Photo of the Year award winner from 1962 rebellion.
{{Authority control Cities in Carabobo
Cabello The spider genus ''Cabello'' consists of only one species, ''Cabello eugeni'', found in Venezuela. It is a small yellow-white spider, with females 2 mm long, and males 1.6 mm. The eye region is reddish with a dusky median longitudinal ...
Cabello The spider genus ''Cabello'' consists of only one species, ''Cabello eugeni'', found in Venezuela. It is a small yellow-white spider, with females 2 mm long, and males 1.6 mm. The eye region is reddish with a dusky median longitudinal ...
Cabello The spider genus ''Cabello'' consists of only one species, ''Cabello eugeni'', found in Venezuela. It is a small yellow-white spider, with females 2 mm long, and males 1.6 mm. The eye region is reddish with a dusky median longitudinal ...
Populated places established in the 16th century