United States of Venezuela Estados Unidos de Venezuela (Spanish) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1864–1953 | |||||||||
| Motto: "Dios y Federación" (Spanish) ("God and Federation") | |||||||||
| Anthem: Gloria al Bravo Pueblo ("Glory to the Brave People") (since 1881) | |||||||||
 Map of the United States of Venezuela in 1932 | |||||||||
| Capital | Caracas | ||||||||
| Common languages | Spanish | ||||||||
| Religion | None | ||||||||
| Demonyms | Venezolano (male) Venezolana (female) | ||||||||
| Government | Federal Republic | ||||||||
| President | |||||||||
• 1864–1868 | Juan Crisóstomo Falcón(first) | ||||||||
• 1952–1953 | Marcos Pérez Jiménez(last) | ||||||||
| Vice President | |||||||||
• 1864–1868 | Antonio Leocadio Guzmán | ||||||||
| Legislature | UnicameralCongress | ||||||||
| Historical era | Mid 19th – Mid 20th centuries | ||||||||
• End of theFederal War | 13 April 1864 | ||||||||
• 24th Constitution adopted | 11 April 1953 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| 1891 | 1,448,919 km2 (559,431 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1891 | 2,323,527 | ||||||||
| Currency | Peso(until 1871) Venezolano(1871–1879) Bolívar(since 1879) | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | VE | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | |||||||||
TheUnited States of Venezuela (Spanish:Estados Unidos de Venezuela) was the official name ofVenezuela, which adopted in its1864 constitution under theJuan Crisóstomo Falcón government. This remained the official name until 1953, when theconstitution of that year renamed it theRepublic of Venezuela. In 1999 under newly elected presidentHugo Chávez and his modification to theConstitution, Venezuela's official name became theBolivarian Republic of Venezuela.[1]
The United States of Venezuela used three official flags in its time:
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From 1830 to 1857 the official name of the country wasSpanish:Estado de Venezuela ("State of Venezuela").[2] The1858 constitution gave it the official nameSpanish:República de Venezuela ("Republic of Venezuela").[3] After theLiberal Party (Partido Liberal) won power in theFederal War it called for a constitutional convention, to establish the constitution onfederal principles. On 28 March 1864, members of the convention met inCaracas 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.[4]
The1953 constitution included a transitional provision to change the official name fromEstados Unidos de Venezuela ("United States of Venezuela") toRepública de Venezuela ("Republic of Venezuela").[5] Thenext constitution, of 1961, confirmed the new name.[6]Venezuela is currently, under the newConstitution of 1999, officially known as theBolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish:República Bolivariana de Venezuela),[1]
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The1864 constitution established the borders of the United States of Venezuela to be the same of those of the 1810Captaincy General of Venezuela.[4] This statement has been preserved throughout subsequent constitutions.
Because oflong-running territorial dispute between the United States of Venezuela and theUnited Kingdom 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 ofMount Roraima as the three-way boundary betweenBrazil,British Guiana and Venezuela.
In 1941 PresidentEleazar López Contreras and theColombian President signed theVenezuela–Colombia Boundary Treaty of 1941, the border treaty between the two countries, which ceded 108,000 square kilometres (42,000 square miles) of territory to Colombia.
The1864 constitution gave these former provinces the status as states:
It was stated that the boundaries would remain as in 1856.[4]
The1881 constitution merged the states created in 1864 into eight, larger states:[7]
The1891 constitution established new state boundaries:[8]
The1901 constitution established new divisions of the states:[9]
New division of territory:[10]
Another division of territory, and new names for some of the states:[11]
Creation of theFederal Dependencies of Venezuela (Spanish:Dependencias federales), shore islands belonging to Venezuela in theCaribbean Sea andGulf of Venezuela.
However,Margarita Island (Spanish:Isla Margarita orIsla de Margarita) became part of the State of Nueva Esparta.[12]
Coche Island (Spanish:Isla de Coche) was incorporated into the State of Nueva Esparta.[13]
Minor changes under Juan V. Gòmez.
The state of Zamora was renamed toBarinas andCubagua Island (Spanish:Isla de Cubagua) was incorporated into Nueva Esparta.[14]
After the1864 Constitution of the United States of Venezuela, there were several revisions under different governments.
These were in1874,1881,1891,1893,1901,1904,1909,1914,1922,1925,1928,1929,1931,1936,1945.
After a Decree of the Revolutionary Government, the constitution was revised further in1947 and1953.
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