| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 2,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Caracas | |
| Languages | |
| Spanish,Swedish,Danish,Norwegian,Finnish | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Venezuelans,Danes,Norwegians,Swedes,Finns,Icelanders,Faroe Islanders |
ANordic Venezuelans are a Venezuelan persons with full or partialNordic ancestry, or a Nordic-born persons living inVenezuela. Nordic settlement in Venezuela is little-known, due to a lack of information about its colonization.
During the 18th century,Swedes attempted to colonize theEssequibo region between the lowerOrinoco andBarima rivers inGuyana's present-dayBarima-Waini region.[1][2][3] The Swedes, settled in the area since July 1732,[4] were expelled in 1737 by forces led by Major Sergeant Carlos Francisco Francois Sucre y Pardo (grandfather of Venezuelan independence leaderAntonio José de Sucre).[5] A century later, about 50 Swedes[6][7] andNorwegians lived in centralVenezuela.
It is believed that some of the first Nordic people to arrive in Venezuela wereDanishProtestant missionaries from theScandinavian Alliance Mission (SAM) in 1890.[8][9] An additional small group of Nordic missionaries arrived in the country during the early 20th century; most were Scandinavian by birth or ancestry, and had previously immigrated to theUnited States.[10] Several Nordic families moved toMaracaibo, and Rubio, remaining for at least 20 years; family names include Bach-Anderson, Christiansen-Gundersen, Eikland-Undheim, and Holmberg-Noren.[11] Other individuals arrived as teachers. They established evangelical schools in the cities in which they settled:[12][13] Colegio Evangélico Americano,Christiansen Academy (1951-2002) and the Juan Christiansen private school, named for Johann Christiansen Christensen (the first Danish Protestant inTáchira).[citation needed]
InMaracaibo, the missionaries founded Libertador American Evangelical School (now Peniel Private School)[14] and a Bible college directed and staffed by Scandinavians;[15][16] teachers included Astrid Erickson, Rose Erlandberg, and Harriet Handlogten.[17]
Christiansen Academy was an international private boarding school in Rubio which was founded in 1951 to serve missionaries' children inSouth America and theCaribbean. It was operated by theEvangelical Alliance Mission, the former Scandinavian Alliance Mission.[18]
The first Free Swedish Church missionary arrived in Venezuela by 1898: the Swedish-American David Eduard Finstrom, fromKerkhoven, Minnesota. The Free Swedish Church is unrelated to the Scandinavian Alliance Mission. Finstrom later returned to the US, married Carrie Falk fromDalarna,Sweden, returned toLa Victoria, Aragua, and founded Ebenezer Church.[19] They helped establish the Emmanuel - Gott Mit Uns Church inColonia Tovar,[20] a German settlement. OtherSwedish Americans, such as Wilford Anderson and Alford Bjurlin, developed congregations in the states ofAragua,Carabobo, andGuárico.[21]
During the early 1940s, an American family from theSwedish Baptist Church moved toBarquisimeto.[22] Ingve Olson[23] joined theGerman-AmericanAssemblies of God missionary Bender-Schwager Kopittke (a formerIndependent Holiness Church missionary). They moved toCaracas two years later, establishing Las Acasias Pentecostal Church.[24]
In 1938, Venezuelan presidentEleazar López Contreras created theTechnical Institute of Immigration and Colonization to regulateEuropean immigration to Venezuela. Among the first beneficiaries of López Contreras' policy were 48 Danish families: 2,780 people who were settled inChirgua [es;fr;pl] (Carabobo State) with 26 Venezuelan families.[25][26][27][28] The settlement was unsuccessful, and 38 of 40 families were sent back toDenmark. Only two families and a few individualDanes preferred to stay in Chirgua.
AfterWorld War II, some emigration fromFinland to Latin America continued. According to Finnish statistics, about 500 emigrants left for Latin American countries; Venezuela was among them. Small Finnish colonies have developed in majorSouth American cities, includingCaracas.[29]
In October 1954, the Scandinavian community founded the Scandinavian Congregation (Spanish:Congregación Escandinava) in Caracas with the help of BishopÅke Kastlund. They later founded theLutheran Church of La Resurrección inLa Castellana district with members of theGerman,Hungarian andLatvian Protestant communities.[citation needed]
Some celebrateMidsommar, which coincides with the VenezuelanFiesta de San Juan. It is celebrated with a traditional campfire, songs and dances around themidsommarstång.[30]
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See also:Nordic diaspora andNorwegians | ||
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See also:Nordic diaspora andSwedes | ||
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| Categories | ||
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| Oceania | ||
| Organizations | ||
See also:Nordic diaspora andDanes | ||
