The United States of Venezuela () was the official name 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 ...

, which adopted in its 1864 constitution under the Juan Crisóstomo Falcón government. This remained the official name until 1953, when the constitution of that year renamed it the Republic of Venezuela. In 1999 under newly elected president Hugo Chávez and his modification to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, Venezuela's official name became the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Flag

The United States of Venezuela used three official flags in its time:

History

Original name

From 1830 to 1857 the official name of the country was ("State of Venezuela"). The 1858 constitution gave it the official name ("Republic of Venezuela"). After the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

() won power in the Federal War it called for a constitutional convention, to establish the constitution on federal principles. On 28 March 1864, members of the convention met in

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 ...

to sign it. President Falcón ordered its publication and circulation on 13 April, and on 22 April it was finally ratified by the Ministers of the Interior and Justice, Finance, Development, and War and Sea.

Change of name

The 1953 constitution included a transitional provision to change the official name from ("United States of Venezuela") to ("Republic of Venezuela"). The next constitution, of 1961, confirmed the new name.

is currently, under the new Constitution of 1999, officially known as the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (),

Geography

Borders

The 1864 constitution established the borders of the United States of Venezuela to be the same of those of the 1810 Captaincy General of Venezuela. This statement has been preserved throughout subsequent constitutions. Because of long-running territorial dispute between the United States of Venezuela and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

over the Essequibo region, several countries called for an international court of justice to settle the matter, which was held in Paris in 1899, and ruled in the UK's favour. From 1900 to 1905, Venezuela participated in the Joint Committee of the British-Venezuelan Border for the final demarcation between the two countries, which was signed in September 1907. In 1932, Juan Vicente Gómez agreed a point on the summit of Mount Roraima as the three-way boundary between

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

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 ...

and Venezuela. In 1941 President Eleazar López Contreras and the

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n President signed the Venezuela–Colombia Boundary Treaty of 1941, the border treaty between the two countries, which ceded of territory to Colombia.

Subdivisions

1864

The 1864 constitution gave these former provinces the status as states: * Apure * Aragua *

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

* Barinas * Barquisimeto * Carabobo *

* Cojedes * Coro *

Sucre Sucre (; ) is the ''de jure'' capital city of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the sixth most populous city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . This relatively high ...

( Cumaná) * Guárico * Bolívar ( Guayana) * Nueva Esparta ( Margarita Island) * Monagas ( Maturín) * Mérida * Portuguesa *

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 ...

* Trujillo * Yaracuy * Zulia ( Maracaibo) It was stated that the boundaries would remain as in 1856.

1881

The 1881 constitution merged the states created in 1864 into eight, larger states: * : comprising Barcelona, Cumaná and Maturín. * Guzmán Blanco: comprising Bolívar, Guzmán Blanco (Aragua), Guárico and Nueva Esparta. * Carabobo: comprising Carabobo and Nirgua. * Sur de Occidente: comprising Cojedes, Portuguesa and Zamora (Barinas). * Norte de Occidente: comprising Barquisimeto and Yaracuy, except for Nirgua. * Los Andes: comprising Guzmán (Mérida), Trujillo and Táchira. * Bolívar: comprising Guayana and Apure. * Falcón Zulia: comprising Zulia and Coro.

1891

The 1891 constitution established new state boundaries: * Bermúdez: comprising Barcelona, Cumaná and Maturín. * Miranda: comprising Bolívar, Guzmán Blanco, Guárico and Nueva Esparta. * Carabobo: comprising Carabobo and Nirgua. * Zamora: comprising Cojedes, Portuguesa and Zamora. * Lara: comprising Barquisimeto and Yaracuy, but excluding the Nirgua department. * Los Andes: comprising Guzmán, Trujillo and Táchira. * Bolívar: comprising Guayana and Apure. * Zulia: unitary state. * Falcón: unitary state.

1901

The 1901 constitution established new divisions of the states: * Apure * Aragua * Bolívar (previously Guayana) * Barcelona * Carabobo * Cojedes * Falcón (previously Coro) * Guárico * Lara (previously Barquisimeto) * Mérida * Miranda (previously Caracas) * Maturín * Sucre (previously Cumaná) * Nueva Esparta (previously Margarita) * Portuguesa * Táchira * Trujillo * Yaracuy * Zamora (previously Barinas) * Zulia (previously Maracaibo)

1904

New division of territory: * Aragua * Bermúdez * Bolívar * Carabobo * Falcón * Guárico * Lara * Mérida * Miranda * Táchira * Trujillo * Zamora * Zulia

1909

Another division of territory, and new names for some of the states: * Distrito Federal * Anzoátegui * Apure * Aragua * Bolívar * Carabobo * Cojedes * Falcón * Guárico * Lara * Mérida * Miranda * Monagas * Nueva Esparta * Portuguesa * Sucre * Táchira * Trujillo * Yaracuy * Zamora * Zulia * Federal territories: Amazonas and Delta Amacuro

1925

Creation of the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela (), shore islands belonging to Venezuela in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

and Gulf of Venezuela. However, Margarita Island ( or ) became part of the State of Nueva Esparta.

1928

Coche Island () was incorporated into the State of Nueva Esparta. Minor changes under Juan V. Gòmez.

1947

The state of Zamora was renamed to Barinas and Cubagua Island () was incorporated into Nueva Esparta.

Politics and government

Constitutions

After the 1864 Constitution of the United States of Venezuela, there were several revisions under different governments. These were in 1874, 1881, 1891, 1893, 1901, 1904, 1909, 1914, 1922, 1925, 1928, 1929, 1931,

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

, 1945. After a Decree of the Revolutionary Government, the constitution was revised further in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

and

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

Presidents

References

{{reflist, 2 1864 establishments in South America 1953 disestablishments in South America 19th century in Venezuela 20th century in Venezuela Political history of Venezuela States and territories disestablished in 1953 States and territories established in 1864