1 August 1498 |
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Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot on the South American mainland. |
1567 |
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Santiago de León de Caracas was established. |
5 July 1811 |
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A congress convoked by the junta declared Venezuelan independence from Spain. |
21 December 1811 |
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A constitution marked the official beginning of Venezuela’s First Republic |
25 July 1812 |
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Miranda surrendered with his troops to the Spanish commander, General Domingo Monteverde. |
1819 |
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The Congress at Angostura established the Third Republic and named Simón Bolívar as its first president |
August 1821 |
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Delegates from Venezuela and Colombia met at the border town of Cúcuta to formally sign the Constitution of the Republic of Gran Colombia, with its capital in Bogotá and Bolívar was named president. |
1829 |
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Gerneral Páez led Venezuela in its separation from Gran Colombia. |
1858 – 1863 |
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Local caudillos engaged in a power struggle known as the Federal War. |
1918 |
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The foreign exploitation of Venezuela’s petroleum reserves began. |
1940s |
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Many political partys were formed. |
18 October 1945 |
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The AD in conjunction with junior military officers suddenly overthrew Medina. |
15 February 1948 |
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Rómulo Gallegos became president. |
1 January 1958 |
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Air force planes dropped bombs on the capital to signal the start of a military insurrection. The anticipated coup d’état failed to materialize |
22 January 1958 |
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When the navy revolted a group of army officers forced Pérez to resign. |
13 February 1959 |
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Betancourt became president. |
1960 |
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Venezuelan Petroleum Corporation (Corporación Venezolana de Petróleos–CVP) was formed. |
11 March 1964 |
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Raúl Leoni became president. |
1974 |
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Pérez beame president. |
January 1975 |
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The government cancelled the iron ore concessions of subsidiaries of two United States-owned firms (United States Steel Corporation and Bethlehem Steel). |
August 1975 |
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Congressional approved a bill, nationalizing the petroleum industry. |
1979 |
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Luis Herrera Campins became president. |
1992 |
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Military officers staged two unsuccessful coup attempts. |
December 1993 |
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Rafael Caldera Rodríguez was elected president. |
1999 |
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Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías took office as president. |
December 2001 |
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Business and labor organizations held a work stoppage to protest Chavez’s increasingly authoritarian government. |
December 2006 |
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Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was reelected. |