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Article: A short history of Venezuela.(Country overview)
- Article from:
- New Internationalist
- Article date:
- June 1, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 New Internationalist Magazine. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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1. CONQUEST
THERE WERE NO great monumental cultures, like the Aztec, Maya or Inca, among the original inhabitants of Venezuela. Instead, there was a great variety of independently minded peoples. Some were nomadic, others practised advanced agricultural techniques. The Timoto-Cuica in the Andes built roads and traded with the Ilanos (central plains) and Maracaibo. Christopher Columbus, who sighted the Orinoco Delta on his third voyage to the 'New World' in 1498, believed that he had discovered the Garden of Eden. One year later, Amerigo Vespucci was reminded of Venice by houses built on stilts over Lake Maracaibo.
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