Juan Griego is a city on the northern side of

Isla Margarita Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the north west coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island. History ...

, and is the most northern port in

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 ...

. It has a population of 28,256 inhabitants (as per census of 2001) and is capital of the Marcano municipality of the

Nueva Esparta The Nueva Esparta State (in Spanish: ''Estado Nueva Esparta'', ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. It comprises Margarita Island, Coche, Venezuela, Coche, and the lightly inhabited Cubagua. The state is located off the ...

state.

History

The city is named after Juan the Greek, in Spanish "Juan Griego" who was born in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

in the early 16th century. He was a navigator who crossed the ocean for the Americas. He started a prosperous business of transporting captive Indians from the island to

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. He is mentioned in a census of 1545. After dying, the rest of the inhabitants of the town, probably for being the most prominent citizen of the place, began to call it after its founder. The city began to receive importance in 1811 when, during the Venezuela War of Independence, it became a port and the construction of a battery to protect it military. In 1816, the port was used by Simon Bolivar for returning from

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. In 1844, the Parish of San Juan Evangelista was created - Its church of gothic styling was constructed in 1850 by Fray Nicholas de Igualdad is still, along with the lovely bay, the symbol of the city. In 1904, the government moved the capital of the island from Juan Griego to Pampatar, to the south of the island when the commercial activities greatly reduced. Nevertheless, the cultural activities continued to bloom in the city, In 1932 a young group of people started the Beneficent Society of Juan Griego, who perform plays, recitals of poetry, concerts and other artistic manifestations. Composer Modesta Bor was born in Juan Griego in 1926. In 1973, the island become a free port and the city once again become the second city in sequence of importance in the commercial activities after

Porlamar Porlamar () is the most populated city, major seaport and major center in the state of Nueva Esparta, Venezuela. It is situated on the southern coast of Margarita Island, one of three islands in the Caribbean Sea off the South American mainland wh ...

Notable people

* Francisco Antonio Rísquez (1856–1941), physician

References

{{Isla Margarita Cities in Nueva Esparta Margarita Island Port cities and towns in Venezuela Juan Griego