Delta Amacuro State
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Delta Amacuro State (, ) is one of the 23
states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, and is the location of the
Orinoco Delta The Orinoco Delta is a vast river delta of the Orinoco River, located in eastern Venezuela. Location The Orinoco Delta is one of the eight natural regions of Venezuela. It covers the whole of Delta Amacuro State and a few square kilometers o ...
. The Paria Gulf and the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
are found to the north, Bolívar State is found to the south, the Atlantic Ocean and
Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
are found to the east, and
Monagas State Monagas State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. Monagas State covers a total surface area of and, as of the 2011 census, had a population of 905,443. Monagas State is surrounded by Sucre State in the north, Anzoátegui State in the ...
is found to the west. The state capital city is
Tucupita Tucupita () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Delta Amacuro. Geography Delta Amacuro consists almost entirely of the swampy Orinoco River River delta, delta. Tucupita is hot and humid, and lies well into the delta on the Caño Mana ...
. Delta Amacuro State covers a total surface area of and, in 2011, had a census population of 171,413.


History


Pre-Colonial Period

Based on theories, anthropological evidence and oral tradition, the antecedents of human activity within this territory date from the time of the first displacements through America; Groups from the eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes were introduced into the Lower Orinoco, they are called Kotoch or Chavinses; They developed knowledge of pottery (of which formal and technical reminiscences in ceramics are kept), and horticulture. With time other groups established themselves in its surface, the oral Tradition stands out among them the Barrancas, who through the cultivation of the bitter yucca reached a remarkable economic development and social structure, even with agricultural surpluses that could have stimulated some type of commerce through the monopoly of its production. The expansion of this and other tribes could date back to the beginning of the first millennium, reaching the northeast coast, a large part of the central coast and the Lesser Antilles by the end of this one. The most recent archaeological evidence of pre-Columbian human activity is attributed to the Warao Ethnic Group, according to verbally documented stories; its members joined as deserters from other hostile tribes, probably being displaced from the north of Brazil or the Eastern Savannah; currently some inhabitants of the state continue to identify themselves as part of this tribe and are a legally recognized group within its demography. They were originally fishermen, hunters and gatherers, but later became farmers with the introduction of the Chinese Ocumo from the island of Trinidad and Guyana. The
Warao people The Warao are an Indigenous Amerindian people inhabiting northeastern Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname. Alternate common spellings of Warao are Waroa, Guarauno, Guarao, and Warrau. The term ''Warao'' translates as "the boat pe ...
have lived in this region since well before the Europeans arrived in America. Thanks to the remoteness of the Delta, the Warao managed to keep a certain independence from the European and later
criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...
colonizers.


Spanish Colonization

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
arrived at the coast off the Delta on 1 August 1498 during his third voyage to America. He wrote about the macareo, the noise that occurs when a large river flow (the Orinoco river) meets the ocean currents. As the Delta connects to the Orinoco, it became the point of entry from the Ocean to Guayana. His first recognition was by Alonso de Ojeda, in 1499 he documented the mouth of the Orinoco River. Vicente Yañez Pinzón in 1500 discovered the Delta and Diego de Ordaz, commander of the Order of Santiago, captain of Hernán Cortés, in 1532 climbed the Orinoco to the confluence with the Meta River. The first documented naval expedition from this region occurred in June 1531 (38 years after the Discovery of America) by Diego de Ordaz, who decided to explore the Orinoco with several ships.3 Antonio Berrío entered the region in the 1580s. Beginning in 1598, Fernando de Berrío, Antonio Berrío's son, explored the region in his search for El Dorado. Later, Walter Raleigh explored the area in 1594, 1595 and finally on his last expedition in 1616. The Delta as a region was part of Nueva Andalucía from 1568. It was the entry point for ships to the Orinoco. The first religious mission was the Jesuit order which was founded in 1682. From this order, Father Gumilla dedicated himself, among other things, to documenting in detail the Warao culture from 1791 onwards. During this century, several governors, both Spanish and English (from Trinidad) tried to join the Warao and structure them into populations, which caused their desertion to the territories of Suriname. Raleigh referred to the Tivativa as the inhabitants of that region.4 He said they were divided into two tribes, the Ciawani and the Waraweete. Raleigh wrote: "they never eat anything that is sown or grown, and since in their homes they do not plant or raise anything, when they go to other places they refuse to eat anything that is not provided by nature without labor. They use the tops of palm trees as bread; and they kill deer, fish and pigs to supplement their diet. They also have many types of fruits that grow in the forests and a large number of birds." Alexander von Humboldt documented in his Journeys to the Equatorial Regions that the Waraos were the only indigenous people still outside the control of the Colony. He mentioned that by 1799 some estimated their population at 6,000-7,000 people, although he believed it should be less. Humboldt said that the Guaiqueris considered their language to be related to Warao.


Independent Venezuela

The territory became part of the
Guayana Province Guayana Province (1585−1864) was a province of Spanish Colonial Venezuela and independent Venezuela, located in the The Guianas, Guyana region of northeastern South America. The province was part of the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spa ...
when Venezuela became independent.


19th century

The settlement of non-indigenous people began in 1848 when Julián Flores, Juan Millán, Tomás Rodríguez, Regino Suiva and others founded the Forty-Eight Settlement, which is the predecessor of the present Tucupita. Later, farmers and merchants continued to settle, mostly from Margarita Island and the states of Sucre and Monagas. Before 1884, this region was part of the Department of Zea, within the State of Guayana, which was divided in 1884. On February 27, 1884, the delimitation of the Delta Federal Territory was constitutionally established with an area of 63,667 km2, formed by the districts of Manoa and Guzmán Blanco, with Pedernales as its capital. On October 21, 1893, the entity disappeared from the federal map, after being annexed to the state of Bolivar during international tensions with the United Kingdom over the area of the Delta claimed by
British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...
. On October 3, 1899, through the Arbitration Award of Paris and the representation of the United States based on the
Monroe Doctrine The Monroe Doctrine is a foreign policy of the United States, United States foreign policy position that opposes European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It holds that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign ...
, the government of Ignacio Andrade lost to the United Kingdom 23,467 km2 of this region, which was annexed to British Guiana.


20th Century

On April 26, 1901, it was restored under the name of Territorio Federal Delta Amacuro, composed of the districts of Barima and Tucupita. After this year its political division varied from districts and departments to municipalities. Its capital was moved to Tucupita, a city formerly known as Cuarenta y Ocho. During this time, multiple religious orders of Catholic affinity made their way into the region. In 1925 a new Catholic religious order, called Capuchinos del Caroní, -whose mission at that time included the Delta Amacuro Territory- founded the first of the current missions, The Catholic missionary Barral settled in the area in the 1930s and established a mission in Guayo. In the following decades he collected information on the Warao language and published a Spanish-Warao dictionary. From 1932 onwards, other missionaries founded new missions in San José de Tucupita, San Francisco de Guayo, Nabasanuka and Ajotejana. In 1940 the Organic Law of the Federal Territory Delta Amacuro was promulgated, which divided it into the departments of Tucupita, Pedernales and Antonio Díaz. According to the Extraordinary Official Gazette No. 4,295 of August 3, 1991, the Special Law was promulgated, giving the Territory the status of State, with the same political-territorial division as before. On January 25, 1995, the State Legislative Assembly issued its second Law of Political Territorial Division, with the 4 current municipalities; it also annexes to the state the hamlets Nuevo Mundo, Platanal, El Triunfo and El Triunfito, previously under the jurisdiction of the State of Bolivar. In the last decade, Delta Amacuro has seen an important migration of criollo Venezuelans looking for jobs in the oil sector.


Geography

The state of Delta Amacuro has an extension of 40,200 kilometers, which represents a little more than 4.6% of the national territory of Venezuela. It is strategically important because it is one of the few territories with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean (most of the Venezuelan coast is made up of waters in the Caribbean Sea or Sea of the Antilles). The region is located in the extreme east of Venezuela and its main geographical feature is the Orinoco River Delta (the most important and longest in Venezuela) with 18,810 square kilometers and the so-called Serrania del Imataca which has 21390 square kilometers and extends even to the neighboring states of Bolivar and Monagas. Four types of plant formations can be recognized: Forest mainly of mangrove and with more importance in the forest reserve of the Imataca, Forest mainly in the center of the state, Savannah mainly in the west of the Region and estuary in the eastern part that gives to the Atlantic Ocean. The state has its highest point in the so-called Monte Indira with 687 meters above sea level which contrasts with its lowest point in the sector of Casacoima with -48 meters above sea level.


Hydrography and islands

The Orinoco Delta region is crossed by a multitude of rivers and streams with numerous islands including Barril Island, Borojo Island, Bongo Island, Burojoida Island, Baroco Sanuca Island, Corosimo Island, Capure Island, Caneima Island, Coboima Island, Cocuina Island, Curiapo Island, Guasi Borujo Island, Janejo Island, Jebu Cebenoco Island, Mánamo Island, Mono Island, Burojo, Cotorra, Isla de Plata, Tortola Island, Tucupita Island, Macareo, Manamito, Guara, El Cidral or Cangrejo Island, El Barco Island, Morocoto Island, Isla del Medio, Guaranoco Island, Las Islitas Island, Mysterious Island, Noina Island, Guasina Island, Sacupana Island, Tobejuba (Tobajuba) Island, Tobeima Island, Corocoro Island, Cocuina Island, Pedernales Island, Pagayos Island, Caneima Island, Remolinos Island and Remediadora Island.


Main rivers

*Orinoco River: one of the most important rivers in South America. The name of the river comes from the Otomaco Orinucu. In the Delta Amacuro the river reaches 200 km in length, in the part where the river flows into the Gulf of Paria and the Atlantic, forming a large delta branched into hundreds of branches, called caños, which cover an area of rainforest and swamp forests of between 22 500-41 000 km2 and 370 km at its widest point. In the rainy season, the Orinoco can increase to a width of 22 km and a depth of 100 m. The alluvial plain region north of the river, whose altitude does not exceed 100 m, is flooded during this rainy season, leaving intertropical savannah grasslands for the rest of the year. *Barima River flows directly into the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Orinoco River in (Venezuela), and is therefore sometimes considered part of the Orinoco basin. *Yocoima River, a short river with a length of approximately 75 km, located in the municipalities of Piar and Caroní in the north of the state of Bolivar, where it forms the northern border of this federal entity with the Amacuro Delta.


Climate

Its climate is affected by the proximity to the coast and the rivers that cross it being mostly tropical rainy in the continental or internal zone but of Savannah when approaching the coast. The whole region has heavy rainfall most of the year, but it decreases in the western part of the state.


Demography

The population of the region went from only 5,766 inhabitants in 1873 to 33,648 in 1950 when it was still a federal territory. At the beginning of 1990, when it was preparing to become a state of Venezuela, it had 84,564 inhabitants, with the population estimated at 197,200 by 2017. The state is home to most of the Warao ethnic group. According to the INE census of indigenous communities, there were some 26,080 indigenous people, mainly Waraos, in the state by 2001. The Warao maintain their language, although bilingualism is becoming more widespread. The population in the main cities is composed mostly of other Venezuelans.


Race and ethnicity

According to the 2011 Census, the racial composition of the population was:


Languages

According to article 13 of the constitution of the State of Delta Amacuro of 2015 the official language of the State is Spanish but in recognition of the multiethnic and pluricultural condition of the region, the indigenous languages of the State are also official, highlighting in this article the fundamental use of the Warao language. According to article 14 of the same legal text, education in the state will be given in Spanish, but in the indigenous communities it will be accompanied by the respective local language, taking into account the indigenous educators to guarantee a bilingual education.


Politics and government

It is an autonomous state and politically equal to the rest of the Federation, it organizes its administration and its public powers through the Constitution of the State Delta Amacuro, dictated by the Legislative Council.


Executive Power

It is composed of State Governor Delta Amacuro and a group of State Secretaries who are appointed by him and serve as his assistants in the management of the Government. The Governor is elected by the people by direct and secret ballot for a four-year term with the possibility of re-election. The Governor is the chief administrator of the state. Since its creation as a federal state by special law in 1992, Delta Amacuro State has elected its governors in direct elections. The current governor is Lizeta Hernández Abchi, a member of the
United Socialist Party of Venezuela The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (, PSUV, ) is a Socialism, socialist political party which has been the ruling party of Venezuela since 2007. It was formed from a merger of some of the political and social forces that support the Bolivar ...
(PSUV), who has been in office since 2008.


Legislative power

The state legislature is the unicameral Legislative Council of Delta Amacuro State, elected by the people through direct and secret vote every four years, being able to be reelected for two consecutive periods. Under a system of proportional representation of the population of the state and its municipalities, the state has 7 deputies; all 7 belong to the ruling party.


Police

Delta Amacuro State like the other 23 federal entities of Venezuela has its own police force called Delta Amacuro State Police (''Polícia del Estado Delta Amacuro''), whose general headquarters are in the city of Tucupita. The police force is supported and complemented by the National Police and the Venezuelan National Guard.


Municipalities and municipal seats

Delta Amacuro State comprises four municipalities and 20 parishes. * Tucupita Municipality: Tucupita (The Capital of the Tucupita Municipality is Tucupita). The Parishes of the Municipality Tucupita are; San José, José Vidal Marcano, Juan Millán, Leonardo Ruíz Pineda, Mariscal Antonio José de Sucre, Monseñor Argimiro García, San Rafael and Virgen del Valle. *Antonio Díaz Municipality: Antonio Díaz (The Capital of the Municipality Antonio Díaz is Curiapo). The Parishes of the Municipality Antonio Díaz are: Curiapo, Almirante Luis Brion, Francisco Aniceto Lugo, Manuel Renaud, Padre Barral and Santos de Abelgas. *Casacoima Municipality: Casacoima (The Capital of the Municipality Casacoima is Sierra Imataca). The Parishes of the Municipality Casacoima are: Imataca, Juan Bautista Arismendi, Manuel Piar and Rómulo Gallegos. *Pedernales Municipality: Pedernales (The Capital of Pedernales Municipality is Pedernales). The Parishes of the Municipality Pedernales are: Pedernales and Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa.


Economy

Delta Amacuro is one of the poorest regions of Venezuela. The main economic activities are: *
Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
:
rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
,
maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
, cattle,
chickens The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...
,
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
s,
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...
s,
cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...
,
pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...
s,
hearts of palm Heart of palm is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain Palm tree, palm trees, most notably the coconut (''Cocos nucifera''), juçara (''Euterpe edulis''), açaí palm (''Euterpe oleracea''), sabal, palmetto (''Sabal ...
. * Industry: oil products. *
Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
*
Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
: cuajo,
mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
, moriche palm, seje, yagrumo. *
Mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
: oil,
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
,
peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
.


Tourism

There is also some limited
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
in the area. The State of Delta Amacuro stands out for its natural landscapes, rivers, islands and streams, its tropical forest and variety of animals that can be observed in their natural habitat.


Natural Patrimonies

*Caño Araguaimujo. *Caño Macareo. *Manamo pipe. *Guasina and Sacupana Islands. *Delta Orinoco-Mariusa National Park. *Saltos de Toro and Acoima. *The Casacoima waterfall: located in the jurisdiction of the Piacoa farmhouse, in the Sierra Imataca, it can be admired from afar as it stands out among the green foliage of the mountain. *Imataca Forest Reserve


Outstanding buildings

*The fort of St. Francis of Assisi. *San Diego de Alcalá Castle. *The Castles of Guiana. *Indigenous Racherias. *Malecón Manamo Walk


Sport

In the state various sports are practiced, among the facilities that are under the administration of the Regional Sports Institute of Delta Amacuro State we can mention: *Polideportivo del municipio Tucupita (Pinto Salinas Sports Complex, for Athletics and Football) *Isaías Látigo Chávez Stadium in Tucupita (also called 23 de Enero Stadium, suitable for the Waraos baseball team of Delta Amacuro). *Efráin Zapata Stadium, Tucupita (baseball) *Pedro Elias Montero Stadium, Tucupita *Los Cocos Stadium. *Santa Marta de Cocuina Stadium.


See also

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


References

{{Coord, 10, 3, N, 60, 48, W, display=title, region:VE-Y States of Venezuela States and territories established in 1991 1991 establishments in Venezuela Guayana Region, Venezuela