A Nordic Venezuelans are a Venezuelan persons with full or partial

Nordic Nordic most commonly refers to: * Nordic countries, the northern European countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and their North Atlantic territories * Scandinavia, a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern ...

ancestry, or a Nordic-born persons living 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 ...

. Nordic settlement in Venezuela is little-known, due to a lack of information about its colonization.

Swedish colonization attempt in Esequibo

During the 18th century,

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

attempted to colonize the Essequibo region between the lower

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

and Barima rivers in

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 ...

's present-day

Barima-Waini Barima-Waini (Region 1) is a Regions of Guyana, region of Guyana and is located in the northwest of the country. Barima-Waini has three sub-regions: Mabaruma, Matakai, and Moruca. The region is located in the northwest of the country and has a p ...

region. The Swedes, settled in the area since July 1732, were expelled in 1737 by forces led by Major Sergeant Carlos Francisco Francois Sucre y Pardo (grandfather of Venezuelan independence leader

Antonio José de Sucre Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá (; 3 February 1795 – 4 June 1830), known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" (), was a Venezuelan general and politician who served as the president of Bolivia from 1825 to 1828. A close friend and associate ...

). A century later, about 50 Swedes and

Norwegians Norwegians () are an ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the Norsemen, Norse of the Early ...

lived in central

Evangelical Free Churches and missionaries

Scandinavian Alliance Mission in western Venezuela

It is believed that some of the first Nordic people to arrive in Venezuela were Danish Protestant missionaries from the Scandinavian Alliance Mission (SAM) in 1890. An additional small group of Nordic missionaries arrived in the country during the early 20th century; most were Scandinavian by birth or ancestry, and had previously immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Several Nordic families moved to

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

, and Rubio, remaining for at least 20 years; family names include Bach-Anderson, Christiansen-Gundersen, Eikland-Undheim, and Holmberg-Noren. Other individuals arrived as teachers. They established evangelical schools in the cities in which they settled: Colegio Evangélico Americano, Christiansen Academy (1951-2002) and the Juan Christiansen private school, named for Johann Christiansen Christensen (the first Danish Protestant in

Táchira Táchira State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal, Táchira, San Cristóbal. Táchira State covers a total surface area of and as of the 2011 census, had a population of 1,168,9 ...

). In

, the missionaries founded Libertador American Evangelical School (now Peniel Private School) and a Bible college directed and staffed by Scandinavians; teachers included Astrid Erickson, Rose Erlandberg, and Harriet Handlogten.

Christiansen Academy

Christiansen Academy was an international private boarding school in Rubio which was founded in 1951 to serve missionaries' children in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. It was operated by the Evangelical Alliance Mission, the former Scandinavian Alliance Mission.

Free Swedish Church in central Venezuela

The first Free Swedish Church missionary arrived in Venezuela by 1898: the Swedish-American David Eduard Finstrom, from Kerkhoven, Minnesota. The Free Swedish Church is unrelated to the Scandinavian Alliance Mission. Finstrom later returned to the US, married Carrie Falk from

Dalarna Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, returned to

La Victoria, Aragua La Victoria () is a city in the States of Venezuela, state of Aragua (state), Aragua in Venezuela. It is famous for the independence battle of 12 February 1814, the Battle of La Victoria (1812), Battle of La Victoria, where José Félix Ribas led ...

, and founded Ebenezer Church. They helped establish the Emmanuel - Gott Mit Uns Church in

Colonia Tovar Colonia Tovar (Tovar Colony) is a cold mountain town of Venezuela, capital of the Tovar Municipality, Aragua, municipality Tovar in Aragua state. It is located about west of Caracas. It was founded on April 8, 1843, by a group of 390 immigrants f ...

, a German settlement. Other

Swedish Americans Swedish Americans () are Americans of Swedish descent. The history of Swedish Americans dates back to the early colonial times, with notable migration waves occurring in the 19th and early 20th centuries and approximately 1.2 million arrivi ...

, such as Wilford Anderson and Alford Bjurlin, developed congregations in the states of

Aragua Aragua State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It is located in the north-central region of Venezuela. It has plains, jungles and Caribbean beaches. The most popular beaches are Cata and Choroni. It has Venezuela's first national par ...

Carabobo Carabobo State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, located in the north of the country, about two hours by car from Caracas. The state capital city is Valencia, which is also the country's main industrial center. The state's area is and ...

, and

Guárico Guárico State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Juan de Los Morros and the largest city is Calabozo, other important city centers include Valle de la Pascua and Zaraza. Guárico State covers a total surface ...

Olson family

During the early 1940s, an American family from the Swedish Baptist Church moved to

Barquisimeto Barquisimeto (; ) is a city in Venezuela. Barquisimeto is located in the Central-Western Region, Venezuela. It is the capital of the state of Lara (state), Lara and head of Iribarren Municipality. It is an important urban, industrial, commercial a ...

. Ingve Olson joined the

German-American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

missionary Bender-Schwager Kopittke (a former Independent Holiness Church missionary). They moved to

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (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 the northern p ...

two years later, establishing Las Acasias Pentecostal Church.

Danish settlement in Chirgua, Carabobo

In 1938, Venezuelan 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, Contr ...

created the Technical Institute of Immigration and Colonization to regulate European immigration to Venezuela. Among the first beneficiaries of López Contreras' policy were 48 Danish families: 2,780 people who were settled in (

State) with 26 Venezuelan families. The settlement was unsuccessful, and 38 of 40 families were sent back to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Only two families and a few individual

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

preferred to stay in Chirgua.

After World War II

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, some emigration from

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

to Latin America continued. According to Finnish statistics, about 500 emigrants left for Latin American countries; Venezuela was among them. Small Finnish colonies have developed in major

n cities, including

Religion and culture

In October 1954, the Scandinavian community founded the Scandinavian Congregation () in Caracas with the help of Bishop

Åke Kastlund Åke Kastlund (22 February 1916 – 3 August 1999) was a Swedish prelate who served as Bishop of Strängnäs from 1972 till 1982.

. They later founded the

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

of La Resurrección in La Castellana district with members of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, Hungarian and Latvian Protestant communities. Some celebrate ''

Midsommar ''Midsommar'' is a 2019 folk horror film written and directed by Ari Aster. It stars Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor as an American couple who are drawn into a violent cult in rural Sweden. Supporting actors include William Jackson Harper, Vi ...

'', which coincides with the Venezuelan Fiesta de San Juan. It is celebrated with a traditional campfire, songs and dances around the '' midsommarstång''.

Notable people

Eva Ekvall Eva Mónica Anna Ekvall Johnson (March 15, 1983 – December 17, 2011) was a Venezuelan television news anchor, author, advocate in the fight against breast cancer, fashion model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Venezuela 20 ...

* Eva Lisa Ljung * Peter Bastiansen *

Thor Halvorssen (human rights activist) Thor Leonardo Halvorssen Mendoza (born 1976; ) is a Venezuelan-born human rights advocate and film producer with contributions in the field of public policy. Halvorssen is founder of the annual Oslo Freedom Forum and president of the Human Righ ...

* Thor Halvorssen (businessman) *

Dogge Doggelito Douglas Jonathan Alexander León (born 24 July 1975), known by his stage name Dogge Doggelito, is a Swedish rapper. He is best known as one of the founding members of The Latin Kings (TLK) -- one of Sweden's most successful rap groups. Doggelit ...

Omar Rudberg Omar Josué Rudberg (born González, 12 November 1998) is a Venezuelan-Swedish singer and actor. Before launching his solo career in 2018, he gained recognition and began his professional music career in 2013 as a member of the Swedish boy band ...

References

{{Icelandic diaspora European diaspora in Venezuela * * * *

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...