Venezuela was explored by Columbus in 1498, at that time Venezuela was inhabited by Arawak, Carib, and Chibcha Indians. A Spanish explorer gave Venezuela its actual name which means "Little Venice."
Venezuela was one of the first countries that gained its independence over Spain in 1821, with the help of Simon Bolivar. In 1830 Venezuela became a republic, and after its independence Venezuela had periods of unstable dictatorship. Antonio Guzman Blanco governed from 1870 to 1888, developing an infrastructure, expanding agriculture, and welcoming foreign investment.
After Blanco then Gen. Juan Vicente Gómez became dictator from 1908 to 1935, when Venezuela became a major oil exporter. A military junta ruled after his death.
Venezuela drafted a new constitution on 1946. From then on, Venezuela had a democratic government. Many of them conducted the country in a good way and others did not do such a good job.
in 1999, president Hugo Chavez, took office pledging to fix the economy and other problems that Venezuela was going through. Chavez started to gain many supporters as well as opponents during his term. In 1999, Chavez re-wrote the constitution one more time and gave more power to his government.
Since 1999, Chavez has been the president of Venezuela and has been taking more and more control of many aspects of the country especially of the media in Venezuela.
To view more facts on Venezuela go to Infoplease.com
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