Humboldt Visited Venezuela and Changed the History of Science Forever
On July 16th, 1799, Alexander von Humboldt arrived to Venezuela, with his fellow scientist, Aimé Bonpland, to start a voyage full of memorable findings.
A Prussian-Inspired Institution Gave Venezuela a Professional Army
On July 5th, 1910, Venezuela’s Military Academy was created to make a nation-building army out of the force that finally stabilized the country.
The Day Miraflores Palace Was Closed for Good
On June 19th, 1923, Juan Vicente Gómez’s brother was murdered inside the official seat of Venezuelan presidents. Miraflores was then empty for 12 years.
The Quixote Who Defended Caracas Against the English
On the third day of June, 1595, one of the most amazing episodes of early Venezuelan History took place. An old Spaniard charged almost alone against English pirates, giving birth to a legend of useless heroism.
The Man Who Helped Write Venezuela’s Founding Documents
One of the most important Venezuelans in our republican history is also one of the least known. Juan Germán Roscio, born 256 years ago, co-wrote the Declaration of Independence and our first Constitution.
The Federalist Congress That Bolívar Ignored to Retain His Power
On May 8th, 1817, two legendary leaders of the Independence tried to restore the federal model of the first republican Constitution. But El Libertador used his might to let the project die: he didn’t want to share power.
The Disobedience Operation that Ended Great Colombia
Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela were supposed to form a big, powerful country. That was the original project of Miranda and Bolívar, but it never had real possibilities. On April 30th, 1826, the dream would be over.
The Novelist Who Ruled Venezuela
In Venezuela, there have been politicians who have also been writers, but there’s only one case of a president who was a writer more than anything else, and his name was Rómulo Gallegos. He died this day, in 1969.
In 1812, a National Catastrophe Helped Topple a Weak Government
On March 26th, 207 years ago, an earthquake devastated Caracas and other cities in that young Venezuela that was trying to be a republic. The event was decisive to the collapse of the revolutionary regime.
Barranquilla Plan: the layout for democracy that had to wait for decades
On March 22nd, 1931, a group of young exiled politicians, led by Romulo Betancourt, signed a manifesto that would set the foundations of Venezuelan democracy.
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