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

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

(known as '' Isleños''). And by this event, Most Venezuelans has Spanish Ancestry, even

Afro-Venezuelans Afro-Venezuelans (Spanish: ''Afrovenezolanos'') are Venezuelans of African descent. About 4% of the Venezuelan population self-identify as "black" or "Afro-descendant", although most Venezuelans are mixed with African ancestry. Afro-Venezuelans ...

. Spanish immigration to Venezuela begins with the

Spanish colonization of the Americas Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions ...

and it continued during

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

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 langua ...

in the country as well as its

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...

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. He ...

in the Canary Islands recruited 200 men to colonize Venezuela, as did

Diego Hernández de Serpa Diego Hernández de Serpa (; 1510 – May 10, 1570) was a Spaniards, Spanish conquistador and explorer, who under the patronage of Philip II of Spain was part of the European conquest and colonization of the New Andalusia Province (Venezuela regio ...

, 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 im ...

, 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, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that co ...

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 South ...

. Since 1936, most Canarian immigrants have gone either to Cuba or to Venezuela (some of those who emigrated to Venezuela came from Cuba) due to encouraged immigration by the government, especially Spanish citizens, and since 1948, most have emigrated to Venezuela. Large-scale immigration did not end until the early 1980s with a significant decrease in the 1970s, and the beginning of Canarian emigration to other European countries. Canary Islanders and their descendants are now scattered throughout 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 Spanish nationality law refers to all the laws of Spain concerning nationality. Article 11 of the First Title of the Spanish Constitution refers to Spanish nationality and establishes that a separate law is to regulate how it is acquired and los ...

References

{{Spanish diaspora European Venezuelan Demographics of Venezuela Canarian diaspora

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 ...

Venezuelan people of Spanish descent

History

Demographics

See also

References