Maracaibo

Foundation

The first indigenous settlements were of Arawak and Carib origin. Around the main group were the Añu tribe who built rows of stilt houses all over the northern riviera of the Lake Maracaibo.^[3] The first Europeans arrived in 1499.

The city was founded three times: the first time was during the Klein-Venedig period (1528–1546), when the Welser bankers of Augsburg received a concession over Venezuela Province from Charles I. of Spain. In August 1529, the German Ambrosius Ehinger made his first expedition to Lake Maracaibo, which was bitterly opposed by the indigenous Coquivacoa. After winning a series of bloody battles, he founded the settlement on 8 September 1529. Ehinger named the settlement New Nuremberg (German: Neu-Nürnberg) and the lake after the valiant chieftain Mara of the Coquivacoa, who had died in the fighting. The city was renamed Maracaibo after the Spanish took possession.^[4] The lack of activity in the zone made Nikolaus Federmann evacuate the village in 1535 and move its population to Santa Marta near the then capital of Venezuela Province, Santa Ana de Coro.

A second attempt by Captain Alonso Pacheco in 1569 suffered a brief setback when the city had to be evacuated in 1573 due to ferocious attacks by native local tribes. The European settlement returned a short while later, in 1574, however, for which it was re-founded by Captain Pedro Maldonado under Governor Diego de Mazariegos' command and assuming the name of Nueva Zamora de Maracaibo. "Nueva Zamora" comes from Mazariego's place of birth, Zamora, in Spain. Since its definite foundation, the town began to develop as a whole. It is based on the western side of Lake Maracaibo, the dominant feature of the oil-rich Maracaibo Basin. Favoured by prevailing winds and a protected harbour, the city is located on the shores of the lake where the narrows, which eventually lead to the Gulf of Venezuela, first become pronounced.

Pirates' attacks

The Dutch corsair Enrique de Gerard plundered Maracaibo in 1614, and in 1642 the city was attacked by the British pirate William Jackson. In 1667, l'Olonnais with a fleet of eight ships and a crew of six hundred pirates sacked Maracaibo and Gibraltar. En route, l'Olonnais crossed paths with a Spanish treasure ship, which he captured, along with its rich cargo of cacao, gemstones and more than 260,000 pieces of eight.

In March 1669, Henry Morgan sacked Maracaibo, which emptied when his fleet was first spied, and moved on to the Spanish settlement of Gibraltar on the inside of Lake Maracaibo in search of more treasure. A few weeks later, when he attempted to sail out of the lake, Morgan found an occupied fort blocking the inlet to the Caribbean, along with three Spanish ships. These were the Magdalena, the San Luis, and the Soledad. He destroyed the Magdalena and burned the San Luis by sending a dummy ship full of gunpowder to explode near them, after which the crew of the Soledad surrendered. By faking a landward attack on the fort, thereby convincing the Spanish governor to shift his cannon, he eluded their guns and escaped.^[5][6]

In June 1678, Michel de Grammont French commander of six ships and 700 men captured Maracaibo then followed the plundering of several smaller towns as Gibraltar, penetrating as far inland as Trujillo.

Venezuelan independence

In 1810, the province of Maracaibo did not join the First Republic of Venezuela and remained loyal to the Spanish crown. Maracaibo then held the seat of the Captaincy General of Venezuela.

In 1821, uprisings in favour of independence began to lead to warfare and hostility. The royalists, led by Francisco Tomás Morales, fought with the patriots, led by Rafael Urdaneta, to take back control over the province in the Juana de Ávila Battle and Morales brought back Spanish rule in 1822 until he was defeated at the Battle of Lake Maracaibo on 24 July 1823, culminating Venezuela's struggle for independence.

Isolation period

For about 390 years, Maracaibo remained isolated and separated from the rest of the country. Transportation was only possible across the lake by ferry or other marine transport.

Cars, buses, and lorries, with their constant flow of manufactured goods and agricultural product, depended on the ferry system between the city and the eastern shore with their roads to connect to the country's motorway system. Maracaibo and the Lake Maracaibo region's economy was more linked to Colombia than to eastern Venezuela due to the natural route available through Lake Maracaibo then leading to the sea.

This isolation was both a challenge and an advantage. The very nature of the city's location made for a population known for their independent thought and character. The history of this region is rife with stories about the creation of an independent and sovereign nation apart from Venezuela, a nation called La República Independiente del Zulia, which means The Independent Republic of Zulia, but this has never come to be.

In January 1903, as the naval blockade of Venezuela continued during the negotiations with presidente Cipriano Castro, the German warship SMS Panther attempted to enter Lake Maracaibo, which was a centre of German commercial activity. On 17 January, it exchanged fire with the settlement of Fort San Carlos, but withdrew after half an hour, as shallow waters prevented it getting close enough to the fort to be effective. The Venezuelans claimed this as a victory, and in response the German commander sent the SMS Vineta, with heavier weapons, to set an example. On 21 January, the SMS Vineta bombarded the fort, setting fire to it and destroying it, with the death of 25 civilians in the nearby town.

In 1908, the Friesland, Gelderland and Jacob van Heemskerck were sent to patrol the Venezuelan coast during the second Castro crisis. Friesland guarded the entry way to Maracaibo.^[7]

Building of the bridge

Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá

The dictatorial regime of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez in the 1950s set as a goal the construction of a bridge connecting the two lake shores. Various bridge projects for the spanning of the Lake Maracaibo narrows near the city were in the works. The general's government had decided that this "city of independent thought" should be more "connected" to the rest of the country.

Proposals for a bridge design that included rail transport and tourist facilities were seriously considered. The fall of the Pérez Jiménez government on 23 January 1958, quickly led to a less elaborate design project that was approved and funded by a democratic and more conservative government.

The building of "El Puente Sobre El Lago de Maracaibo "General Rafael Urdaneta"—(General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge over Lake Maracaibo) named after the distinguished General hero of the War of Independence was opened to public traffic in 1962. The project was completed on schedule in 40 months.

This bridge construction project was a remarkable feat. Built under very difficult conditions, when completed, it became the longest prestressed concrete bridge in the world. The structure is in constant use and remains today as the most important link between Maracaibo, along with much of the state of Zulia, and the rest of Venezuela.

Panoramic view of Maracaibo City.

Modern times

Maracaibo has become a large metropolitan city, comprising two municipalities: to the north the municipality of Maracaibo and to the south the San Francisco municipality (established in 1995). In recent years, due to political/economic and cultural reasons, many have moved to Maracaibo from rural areas and other cities (including Caracas).

Former headquarters of the Mene Grande Oil Company

In the political arena, the citizens of Maracaibo (and most other cities and municipalities in Zulia state) have in recent years voted for a competitive political system in where the governor is from a certain political party and the mayor or mayors are from the opposite political party.

Maracaibo also boasts one of the best universities in the country, the state university. La Universidad del Zulia (LUZ) is well renowned for its excellent law, medical and engineering schools as many other disciplines. Other universities and schools include Universidad Dr. Rafael Belloso Chacín (URBE) and Universidad Rafael Urdaneta, with one of the country's leading psychology schools.

The Diocese of Maracaibo (23 July 1965) was elevated to Archdiocese on 30 April 1966 by Pope Paulus VI.^[8] Maracaibo was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1985.^[9][10] Since November 2000, its Archbishop has been Ubaldo Ramón Santana Sequera.

Panoramic view of Maracaibo and Lake

Perspective

St. Lucia, Maracaibo.

François de Pons, an agent to the French government in Caracas, provides some historical insight into the people of Maracaibo in his travel journal (de Pons 1806). The following excerpts describe the local population of Maracaibo:

They perform coasting, or long voyages, with equal facility; and when all trade is suspended by the operations of war, they enter privateers. Bred up in the neighbourhood of the lake, they are mostly all expert swimmers and excellent divers. Their reputation stands equally high as soldiers. Those who do not enter into the sea service, form plantations, or assist in cultivating those that belong to their fathers. Nothing proves better their aptitude for this kind of occupation, than the immense flocks of cattle with which the savannas of Maracaybo [sic] are covered.

He also notes the appreciation of literature, the arts, education, and culture among the people of Maracaibo:

But what confers the greatest honour on the inhabitants of Maracaibo, is their application to literature; in which, notwithstanding the wretched state of public education, they make considerable progress....They likewise acquired the art of elocution, and of writing their mother tongue with the greatest purity; in a word, they possessed all the qualities that characterise men of letters.

Medicine

Huntington's disease prevalence worldwide is 5–10 cases per 100,000 persons. One of the highest incidences is in the isolated populations of the Lake Maracaibo region of Venezuela, where HD affects up to 700 per 100,000 persons.^[11]

Location

The Maracaibo Municipality is currently divided into 18 parishes, which are

Idelfonso Vásquez Venancio Pulgar Antonio Borjas Romero San Isidro Francisco Eugenio Bustamante Luis Hurtado Higuera Manuel Dagnino Cristo de Aranza Cecilio Acosta Cacique Mara Raúl Leoni Caracciolo               Parra               Pérez Chiquinquirá Juana   de   Ávila Coquivacoa Olegario Villalobos Bolívar Santa Lucía

Political Territorial Division of Maracaibo Parroquia Antonio Borjas Romero Bolívar Cacique Mara Caracciolo Parra Pérez Cecilio Acosta Chiquinquirá Coquivacoa Cristo de Aranza Francisco Eugenio Bustamante Idelfonso Vásquez Juana de Ávila Luis Hurtado Higuera Manuel Dagnino Olegario Villalobos Raúl Leoni San Isidro Santa Rosalía Venancio Pulgar

Climate

Maracaibo is one of the hottest cities of Venezuela. The rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta gives the city a semiarid climate (Köppen: BSh) attenuated only by the moderating influence of the lake; Maracaibo’s average historical temperature is 29 °C (84.2 °F). In the past, the climate of the city, indeed all along the coast of Lake Maracaibo, was unhealthy due to the combination of high temperatures with high humidity. At the present time, control of plagues, and the effects of urban development, has largely eradicated these health problems. The registered high temperature of the city is 41 °C (105.8 °F), and the lowest is 18 °C (64.4 °F).

Colleges and universities

Several universities are based in the city:

• Universidad del Zulia - (LUZ)
• Universidad Nacional Experimental de la Fuerza Armada UNEFA
• Universidad Rafael Belloso Chacín - (URBE)
• Universidad Rafael Urdaneta
• Universidad Católica Cecilio Acosta
• Universidad Dr. José Gregorio Hernández
• Universidad Bolivariano de Venezuela sede Zulia
• Universidad Nacional Abierta (UNA) Centro Local Zulia

International schools

• Escuela Bella Vista (American school)
• Colegio Alemán de Maracaibo, formerly Colegio Aleman del Zulia (German school)

Museums, cultural centers and theaters

Tram of Maracaibo.

• Museo de Arte Contemporáneo del estado Zulia (MACZUL)
• Museo General Rafael Urdaneta
• Museo Municipal de Artes Gráficas "Balmiro León"
• Centro de Bellas Artes de Maracaibo
• Centro de Arte de Maracaibo "Lía Bermúdez"
• Teatro Baralt

Libraries

• Biblioteca Publica del Zulia
• Biblioteca Pública "Arturo Uslar Pietri"
• Biblioteca "Dr. Pedro Alciro Barboza de la Torre"
• Biblioteca Pública "Simón Palmar"
• Biblioteca Pública "Luís Guillermo Pineda Belloso" (De carácter público, bilingüe y circulante)
• Biblioteca Pública Especializada "Pedagógica"
• Biblioteca Pública Especializada "SEDINI"

Twin towns – Sister cities

Maracaibo is twinned with:^[17]