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The Las Aves Archipelago is a pristine
Las Aves was the site of a major Dutch victory over the French in 1678, when a French fleet commanded by Admiral Jean d'Estrées on its way to capture the nearby Dutch island Curaçao was decoyed onto the reefs of Aves de Sotovento by a small force of three Dutch ships. When D'Estrees' ship hit the reef, he fired cannons as a warning to the ships behind. However, they interpreted the signal to mean that he was under attack so they came rushing to his aid - and likewise struck the reefs.
The entire French fleet of 13 ships was lost as a result of the Admiral's eagerness to fight. The survivors found no fresh water on Las Aves. They tried to survive on barrels of wine and salted meat that washed up ashore. But these supplies ran out and eventually they perished. The Admiral was one of the few to be rescued. On Curaçao, a Day of Thanksgiving was observed until far into the 18th century to commemorate the island's fortunate escape from being ravaged by the French.
Las Aves was considered by the Dutch as part of their West Indian possessions. In ''The Dutch West Indies'' (Amsterdam, 1836), Marten Douwes Teenstra wrote "The Government of Curaçao also includes the uninhabited islets and rocks Little Curaçao, Aves, Roques and Orchilla."
In 1978 Venezuela and the
The archipelago consists of two
Image:Aves_5b.jpg,
Image:Aves111.jpg,
Image:safarisailing01.jpg,
Image:safarisailing02.jpg,
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...
in the Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
, and is part of the Federal Dependencies
The Federal Dependencies of Venezuela ( es, link=no, Dependencias Federales de Venezuela) encompass most of Venezuela's offshore islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Venezuela, excluding those islands that form the State of Nueva Espa ...
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 north of the Venezuelan states of Aragua
Aragua State ( es, Estado Aragua, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It is located in the north-central region of Venezuela. It has plains and jungles and Caribbean beaches. The most popular are Cata and Choroni. It has Venezuela's first n ...
and Carabobo, between the Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
island Bonaire in the west, and the Los Roques Archipelago
The Los Roques Archipelago (Spanish: ''Archipiélago de Los Roques'') is a federal dependency of Venezuela consisting of approximately 350 islands, cays, and islets in a total area of 40.61 square kilometers. The archipelago is located dir ...
in the east, at . The prime economic importance of the islands lies in fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
. "Las Aves" translates to "The Birds" in English.
History
Las Aves was the site of a major Dutch victory over the French in 1678, when a French fleet commanded by Admiral Jean d'Estrées on its way to capture the nearby Dutch island Curaçao was decoyed onto the reefs of Aves de Sotovento by a small force of three Dutch ships. When D'Estrees' ship hit the reef, he fired cannons as a warning to the ships behind. However, they interpreted the signal to mean that he was under attack so they came rushing to his aid - and likewise struck the reefs.
The entire French fleet of 13 ships was lost as a result of the Admiral's eagerness to fight. The survivors found no fresh water on Las Aves. They tried to survive on barrels of wine and salted meat that washed up ashore. But these supplies ran out and eventually they perished. The Admiral was one of the few to be rescued. On Curaçao, a Day of Thanksgiving was observed until far into the 18th century to commemorate the island's fortunate escape from being ravaged by the French.
Las Aves was considered by the Dutch as part of their West Indian possessions. In ''The Dutch West Indies'' (Amsterdam, 1836), Marten Douwes Teenstra wrote "The Government of Curaçao also includes the uninhabited islets and rocks Little Curaçao, Aves, Roques and Orchilla."
In 1978 Venezuela and the Kingdom of the Netherlands
, national_anthem = )
, image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg
, map_width = 250px
, image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png
, map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale
, capital = ...
established the marine limits between the Federal Dependencies and the Dutch Antilles
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
in the Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
.
Geography
The archipelago consists of two atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...
-like reef complexes:
*Aves de Barlovento, the eastern group, with a fringing reef of 8 km of diameter and with three cays in the southwest
**Isla Aves de Barlovento
**Isla Tesoro
**Cayo Bubi
**Cayo de Las Bobas
*Aves de Sotavento, the western group, with Isla Maceta, a large mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...
-covered cay in the south.
**Isla Aves de Sotavento
**Isla Larga
**Cayo Tirra
**Isla Saquisaqui
**Cayos de La Colonia
**Isla Maceta
**Cayo Sterna
In total, there are 21 islets and islands in both groups. The archipelago is not to be confused with Aves Island, which is the most remote island claimed by Venezuela, far to the north.
Gallery
See also
*Federal Dependencies of Venezuela
The Federal Dependencies of Venezuela ( es, link=no, Dependencias Federales de Venezuela) encompass most of Venezuela's offshore islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Venezuela, excluding those islands that form the State of Nueva Espa ...
* List of marine molluscs of Venezuela
* List of sponges of Venezuela
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Las Aves Archipelago Federal Dependencies of Venezuela Venezuelan islands of the Leeward Antilles Atolls of Venezuela Coral reefs