The United States of Venezuela ( es, Estados Unidos de Venezuela) was the official name 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 ...

, adopted in its 1864 constitution under the

Juan Crisóstomo Falcón Juan Crisóstomo Falcón Zavarce (27 January 1820 – 29 April 1870) was the president of Venezuela from 1863 to 1868.Republic of Venezuela. In 1999 under newly elected president

Hugo Chavez Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

and his modification to the Constitution, Venezuela's official name became the

Bolivarian Republic 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 ...

Flag

The United States of Venezuela used three official flags in its time:

History

Original name

From 1830 to 1857 the official name of the country was es, Estado de Venezuela ("State of Venezuela"). The 1858 constitution gave it the official name es, República de Venezuela ("Republic of Venezuela"). After the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

() won power in the Federal War it called for a constitutional convention, to establish the constitution on federal principles. On 28 March 1864, members of the convention met in

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 ...

to sign it. President Falcón ordered its publication and circulation on 13 April, and on 22 April it was finally ratified by the Ministers of the Interior and Justice, Finance, Development, and War and Sea.

Change of name

The 1953 constitution included a transitional provision to change the official name from ("United States of Venezuela") to ("Republic of Venezuela"). The next constitution, of 1961, confirmed the new name.

is currently, under the new Constitution of 1999, officially known as the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, República Bolivariana de Venezuela),

Geography

Borders

The 1864 constitution established the borders of the United States of Venezuela to be the same of those of the 1810

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 ...

. This statement has been preserved throughout subsequent constitutions. Because of long-running territorial dispute between the United States of Venezuela and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

over

Guayana Esequiba (), sometimes also called or Essequibo, is a disputed territory of west of the Essequibo River that is administered and controlled by Guyana but claimed by Venezuela.

several countries called for an international court of justice to settle the matter, which was held in Paris in 1899, and ruled in the UK's favour. From 1900 to 1905, Venezuela participated in the Joint Committee of the British-Venezuelan Border for the final demarcation between the two countries, which was signed in September 1907. In 1932,

Juan Vicente Gómez Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military general, Politician and ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He was president on three occasions during this time, ruling through puppe ...

agreed a point on the summit of

Mount Roraima Mount Roraima ( es, Monte Roraima; Tepuy Roraima; Cerro Roraima pt, Monte Roraima ) is the highest of the Pakaraima chain of tepuis (table-top mountain) or plateaux in South America. It is located at the junction of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. ...

as the three-way boundary between

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 ...

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was ...

and Venezuela. In 1941 President

Eleazar López Contreras José Eleazar López Contreras (5 May 1883 – 2 January 1973) was the president of Venezuela between 1935 and 1941. He was an army general and one of Juan Vicente Gómez's collaborators, serving as his War Minister from 1931. In 1939, López C ...

and the

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

n President signed the , the border treaty between the two countries, which ceded of territory to Colombia.

Subdivisions

1864

The 1864 constitution gave these former provinces the status as states: * Apure *

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 ...

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 ...

* Barinas *

Barquisimeto Barquisimeto (; guc, Watkisimeeta) is a city in Venezuela. It is the capital of the state of Lara and head of Iribarren Municipality. It is an important urban, industrial, commercial and transportation center of the country, recognized as the f ...

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

* Cojedes * Coro *

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 ...

(

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 ...

) *

Guárico ) , anthem = '' Himno del Estado Guárico'' , image_map = Guarico in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_a ...

* Bolívar ( Guayana) *

Nueva Esparta The Nueva Esparta State (in Spanish: ''Estado Nueva Esparta'', ), is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It comprises Margarita Island, Coche, and the largely uninhabited Cubagua. The state has the smallest area, and is located off the northe ...

( Margarita Island) * Monagas (

Maturín Maturín () is a city in Venezuela, the capital of the Venezuelan state of Monagas and a centre for instrumental exploration and development of the petroleum industry in Venezuela. The metropolitan area of Maturín has a population of 401,384 inha ...

) * Mérida * Portuguesa * Táchira * Trujillo * Yaracuy *

Zulia Zulia State ( es, Estado Zulia, ; Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Venezuela's states. I ...

(

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

) It was stated that the boundaries would remain as in 1856.

1881

The 1881 constitution merged the states created in 1864 into eight, larger states: * : comprising Barcelona, Cumaná and Maturín. * Guzmán Blanco: comprising Bolívar, Guzmán Blanco (Aragua), Guárico and Nueva Esparta. *

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

: comprising Carabobo and Nirgua. * Sur de Occidente: comprising Cojedes, Portuguesa and Zamora (Barinas). * Norte de Occidente: comprising Barquisimeto and Yaracuy, except for Nirgua. * Los Andes: comprising Guzmán (Mérida), Trujillo and Táchira. * Bolívar: comprising Guayana and Apure. * Falcón Zulia: comprising Zulia and Coro.

1891

The 1891 constitution established new state boundaries: * Bermúdez: comprising Barcelona, Cumaná and Maturín. * Miranda: comprising Bolívar, Guzmán Blanco, Guárico and Nueva Esparta. *

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

: comprising Carabobo and Nirgua. * Zamora: comprising Cojedes, Portuguesa and Zamora. * Lara: comprising Barquisimeto and Yaracuy, but excluding the Nirgua department. * Los Andes: comprising Guzmán, Trujillo and Táchira. * Bolívar: comprising Guayana and Apure. *

: unitary state. * Falcón: unitary state.

1901

The 1901 constitution established new divisions of the states: * Apure * Aragua * Bolívar (previously Guayana) * Barcelona * Carabobo * Cojedes * Falcón (previously Coro) * Guárico * Lara (previously Barquisimeto) * Mérida * Miranda (previously Caracas) * Maturín * Sucre (previously Cumaná) * Nueva Esparta (previously Margarita) * Portuguesa * Táchira * Trujillo * Yaracuy * Zamora (previously Barinas) * Zulia (previously Maracaibo)

1904

New division of territory: * Aragua * Bermúdez * Bolívar * Carabobo * Falcón * Guárico * Lara * Mérida * Miranda * Táchira * Trujillo * Zamora * Zulia

1909

Another division of territory, and new names for some of the states: * Distrito Federal * Anzoátegui * Apure * Aragua * Bolívar * Carabobo * Cojedes * Falcón * Guárico * Lara * Mérida * Miranda * Monagas * Nueva Esparta * Portuguesa * Sucre * Táchira * Trujillo * Yaracuy * Zamora * Zulia * Federal territories: Amazonas and Delta Amacuro

1925

Creation of the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela ( es, Dependencias federales), shore islands belonging to Venezuela 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 Mexic ...

and Gulf of Venezuela. However, Margarita Island ( es, Isla Margarita or ) became part of the State of Nueva Esparta.

1928

Coche Island ( es, Isla de Coche) was incorporated into the State of Nueva Esparta. Minor changes under Juan V. Gòmez.

1947

The state of Zamora was renamed to Barinas and the island of Cubagua ( es, Isla de Cubagua) was incorporated into Nueva Esparta.

Politics and government

Constitutions

After the 1864 Constitution of the United States of Venezuela, there were several revisions under different governments. These were in 1874, 1881, 1891, 1893–94, 1901, 1909, 1914, 1922, 1925, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1936, 1945. After a Decree of the Revolutionary Government, the constitution was revised further in 1947 and 1953.

Presidents

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States of Venezuela History of Venezuela 19th century in Venezuela 20th century in Venezuela 1864 establishments in South America 1953 disestablishments in South America States and territories disestablished in 1953 States and territories established in 1864