Spanish Immigration to Venezuela began around 1500, when the Spanish first landed on and conquered the territory, and immigration continues to the present day. There are many Venezuelans of Spanish origin, especially from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

(known as '' Isleños''). And by this event, most

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and multiracial (

Moreno Moreno may refer to: Places Argentina * Moreno (Buenos Aires Metro), a station on Line C of the Buenos Aires Metro *Moreno, Buenos Aires, a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina * Moreno Department, a depatnent of Santiago del Estero Province, ...

Pardo In the former Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas, ''pardos'' (feminine ''pardas'') are triracial descendants of Europeans, Indigenous Americans and Africans. History In some places they were defined as neither exclusively ...

Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

, and

Mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

) Venezuelans have Spanish ancestry. Spanish immigration to Venezuela begins with the

Spanish colonization of the Americas The Spanish colonization of the Americas began in 1493 on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) after the initial 1492 voyage of Genoa, Genoese mariner Christopher Columbus under license from Queen Isabella ...

and it continued during

Colonial Venezuela Spanish expeditions led by Christopher Columbus, Columbus and Alonso de Ojeda reached the coast of present-day Venezuela in 1498 and 1499. The first colony, colonial exploitation was of the pearl oysters of the "Pearl Islands". Spain established ...

and after independence (1830). Further immigration has taken place since, particularly following

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 ...

History

From the beginning of the colonial period and until the end of the Second World War, most European immigrants in Venezuela were Spanish, predominantly Canary Islanders. Their cultural impact was significant, influencing both the development of

Castilian Spanish In English, Castilian Spanish can mean the variety of Peninsular Spanish spoken in northern and central Spain, the standard form of Spanish, or Spanish from Spain in general. In Spanish, the term (Castilian) can either refer to the Spanish langu ...

in the country as well as its

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...

and customs. Venezuela has perhaps the largest population of Canarian origin, and it is commonly said in the Canary Islands that "Venezuela is the eighth island of the Canary Islands." In the 16th century, the German conquistador

Georg von Speyer Georg von Speyer (1500, Speyer, Holy Roman Empire – 11 June 1540, Coro, Klein-Venedig) was a German conquistador in New Granada and Venezuela. His birth name was Georg Hohermuth but he chose to call himself after his place of birth. H ...

in the Canary Islands recruited 200 men to colonize Venezuela, as did Diego Hernández de Serpa, governor of

New Andalusia Province New Andalusia Province or Province of Cumaná (1537–1864) was a province of the Spanish Empire, and later of Gran Colombia and Venezuela. It included the territory of present-day Venezuelan states Sucre, Anzoátegui and Monagas. Its most imp ...

, who sent another 200 soldiers and 400 slaves from

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...

to Venezuela, where some of these Canarians were among the founders of

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 Sout ...

. From 1936 onwards, the majority of Canarian immigrants opted for relocation to either Cuba or Venezuela, with some of those who moved to Venezuela originating from Cuba. This migration was actively promoted by the government, particularly targeting Spanish citizens. The trend continued until 1948, primarily favoring Venezuela. Although large-scale immigration persisted until the early 1980s, there was a notable decline in the 1970s, coinciding with the onset of Canarian emigration to various European countries. Presently, descendants of Canary Islanders are dispersed across Venezuela..

Demographics

In addition, as of 2010, there were around 200,000 Venezuelans residing in Spain. As of December 2014, there are more 231,833 Spanish citizens in Venezuela. Most Venezuelans in Spain have Spanish nationality.

References

{{Spanish diaspora European diaspora in Venezuela Demographics of Venezuela Canarian diaspora

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 ...

Venezuelan people of Spanish descent

History

Demographics

See also

References