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Jan 1, 1499
Alonso de Ojeda visit Venezuela, which is inhabited by Carib, Arawak and Chibcha peoples.
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Jan 31, 1521
Spanish colonisation begins on the north-east coast.
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Jan 1, 1550
African slaves are shipped to Venezuela to work on plantations.
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he king of Spain is overthrown by France's Napoleon Bonaparte, providing an opening for anti-colonial movements fighting for independence.
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Declaration for Independence of Spaniards
After a series of bitter battles and short-lived declarations of sovereignty, Gran Colombia - comprising Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador, wins independence from Spain. Simon Bolivar, Venezuela's national hero, plays a key role in the struggle. -
Venezuela seperates from Gran Colombia to become an independent country with Caracas as its capital.
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After failing to repay foreign loans, Venezuela's ports are blocked by German, British and Italian warships.
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Period: to
Venezuela becomes one of the world's largest oil exporters under the leadership of Juan Vicente Gomez, a dictator.
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Leftist Romulo Betancourt is elected president. He oversees the 1963 elections, the country's first democratic civilian-to-civilian transfer of power.
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Raul Leoni becomes president during a period of known as "puntofijismo", in which elections are limited to competition between two major parties.
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President Carlos Andres Perez is elected president as Venezuela seeks loans from the International Monetary Fund to prop up its economy.
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Hugo Chavez, then a military officer, leads a failed coup attempt and is jailed.
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Chavez is freed from prison and forms a new political party.
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Hugo Chavez is elected president
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Chavez takes office promising to reduce poverty and corruption.
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Period: to
Hugo Chavez creates a stable and improving economy