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LEFT VENEZUELA 182 VENEZUELAN DISPUTE beautiful cabinet woods, dyewoods, herbs, drugs, etc. The agricultural lands amount to about 135,000 square miles. Great herds of sheep, goats, and cattle are raised on the table-lands and moun- tain slopes, the export of hides and skins forming an important industry of the country. The ai'ea under coffee is esti- mated at from 180,000 to 200,000 acres. There are about 33,000 coffee plantations and about 5,000 cocoa plantations. The sugar plantations number about 11,000 with an annual production of about 3,000 tons. New sugar centrals have been established within recent years. About one-fifth of the population is engaged in agriculture. Mineralogy. — Venezuela has important gold mines. The gold production in 1917 was 958,304 grammes. In 1918 the cop- per production amounted to 29,708 tons; and coal, 25,332 tons. Petroleum is found in many places, and there are valuable deposits of asphalt. The output in 1919 was nearly 50,000 tons. Copper, coal, salt, asphalt, silver, lead, tin, iron, sul- phur, and petroleum are also found. Guano is exported, and bitumen is found in the river deltas and lake basins. Commerce. — The imports in 1917-1918 amounted to £3.382,759, and the exports to £3,920,866. The principal exports are coffee, cocoa, balata, and rubber. The greater part of the trade is with the United States. Coffee constitutes about three-fourths of the entire export trade, and nearly six-sevenths of the import trade is subject to duty. Communications. — There are 12 lines of railway, with a total length of 642 miles. The Great Railway of Venezuela, 111 miles long, runs between Caracas and Valencia. Finances — The revenue expenditures m 1919-1920 were estimated to balance at £1,948,634. The foreign public debt in December 31, 1918, was £5,763,866. Governmeyit. — The government of Venezuela is a federative republic, hav- ing a President, elected for seven years, and a Congress of two houses. Religion.— ThQ State religion is Ro- man Catholic, but all other religions are freely tolerated. There are government universities at Caracas and Merida. History. — The E. coast of Venezuela was discovered by Columbus in 1498; Ojeda and Vespucci followed in 1499, and entering Lake Maracaibo, they found an Indian village constructed on piles, to prevent the evil effects of inun- dation, and they named the place Vene- zuela, or little Venice, a name which afterward spread to the whole country. The first settlement was made at Cu- mana in 1520 by the Spaniards, and Venezuela remained subject to Spain, till it claimed independence in 1811. It then returned to allegiance to Spain, but again revolted in 1813, and, forming with New Granada and Ecua- dor the republic of Columbia, was de- clared independent in 1819. In 1830 Venezuela withdrew from the other members of the Free State founded by Simon Bolivar and declared itself a fed- eral republic. The charter of funda- mental laws dating from 1830 was amended in 1864 and 1881, and is quite similar to the Constitution of the United States of America. In 1902 the claims of certain coun- tries upon Venezuela caused complica- tions so grave that it seemed that Vene- zuela and the United States would be- come involved in war with foreign pow- ers. Germany blockaded Venezuelan ports and bombarded fortified coast towns. Feb. 13, 1903, Great Britain, Germany, and Italy signed protocols at Washington, providing for the settle- ment of the controversy. Finally, through the intercession of the United States, the controversy was submitted to The Hagxie Tribunal. History. — The Hague Tribunal in February, 1904, pronounced in favor of the Allied Powers. Following the elec- tion of Castro as president, in 1905, there were serious internal and external troubles. Venezuela became involved vnth Colombia, France, Great Britain and the United States. Diplomatic relations were broken off with the United States and the Dutch made a naval demonstra- tion in Venezuelan waters. Castro sud- denly left the country in December, 1908, and the vice-president, Gomez, became acting president. He became provisional president in the following year. Castro attempted to return and assume his for- mer power but was unsuccessful. A new constitution was promulgated in 1909 and in April, 1910, Gomez was chosen constitutional president. Castro's at- tempts to start a revolution were frus- trated in 1911. The counry prospered under the firm rule of President Gomez. He was re-elected for the presidency in 1915. In the year previous a new con- stitution had been adopted and laws were enacted providing for compulsory education, public works, sanitation, and a new electoral system. See Colombia: Venezuelan Boun- dary Dispute. VENEZUELA, GULF OF. See Maracaibo, Gulf op. VENEZUELAN BOUNDARY DIS- PUTE. In 1855 a crisis arose between Great Britain and Venezuela regarding