Santa Ana de Coro, Falcón State, Venezuela

Name | History | Fall and rise | Independence | Geography | Economy

🇻🇪 Coro, historically known as Neu-Augsburg, is the capital of Falcón State and the second oldest city of Venezuela (after Cumaná). It was founded in 1527, by Juan de Ampíes as Santa Ana de Coro. It is established at the south of the Paraguaná Peninsula in a coastal plain, flanked by the Médanos de Coro National Park to the north and the Sierra de Coro to the south, at a few km from its port (La Vela de Coro) in the Caribbean Sea at a point equidistant between the Ensenada de La Vela and Golfete de Coro.

It has a wide cultural tradition that comes from being the urban settlement founded by the Spanish conquerors who colonized the interior of the continent. It was the first capital of the Venezuela Province and head of the first bishop founded in South America in 1531. As Neu-Augsburg, it was the first German colony in the Americas under the Welser family of Augsburg. The precursor movement of the independence and of vindication of the dominated classes in Venezuela originated in this region; it is also considered to be the cradle of the Venezuelan federalist movement in the Republican era.

Thanks to the city's history, culture and its well-preserved Colonial architecture, "Coro and its port La Vela" was designated in 1993 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, thus becoming the first site in Venezuela to be vested with this title. Since 2005 it is on the UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger.

Name At its founding the town was called Santa Ana de Coro (there is now an unsuccessful campaign to redeem the colonial name of the city) in the Spanish style that named new cities in America according to the Catholic calendar, accompanied by a name of Indian origin. According to the tradition the word coro derives from the Caquetio word curiana, meaning "place of winds". However, according to the authoritative DRAE Spanish dictionary, the word coro in its second meaning means "wind of the northwest", and comes from the Latin caurus.

History The city was founded on July 26, 1527, by Juan Martín de Ampués, with the name of Santa Ana de Coro. Ampíes covenanted to respect the authority of the Native chief Manaure highest authority of the natives of the region, the Caquetio people, This covenant is broken abruptly in 1529 with the landing at the city's first Governor and Captain General Ambrosius Ehinger representing the Welser, an Augsburg banking and trading family. The family received the Province of Venezuela (as Klein-Venedig) from the emperor Charles V for exploration, founding cities and exploitation of the resources of this vast territory that stretched from Cabo de la Vela (Guajira Peninsula) to Maracapana (near the city of Barcelona, Anzoátegui). From Coro emerged multiple expeditions to the Venezuelan and Colombian Llanos, the Andes and the Orinoco River in search of El Dorado, which allowed the conquerors to explore these vast territories. The government of the Welsers ends in 1545 for breach of contract and conflict of interests between them and the Spanish conquistadors who explored the territory from other focal points of the Spanish Empire in America. The city is in its early days a "beachhead" or outpost of the Spanish during the conquest and colonization in the western and central Venezuela. From them left the expeditions of exploration and founding of new towns.

Santa Ana de Coro lost the political capital of the Venezuela Province (also known as the Coro Province in official documents of the time) in 1578 to Caracas, motivated by repeated invasions of pirates (Preston Somers Expedition was one) and especially to the harshness of its climate. Finally it was no longer the seat of the bishopric in 1636.

Fall and rise During the seventeenth century Coro was hit by a hurricane and invasions of pirates, to the point where it appeared in the charts of English and French of the time with the title of "destroyed". However, these calamities left intact the countryside, with its productive power, which allowed it to recover slowly. Thus, in the late 18th and early 19th century reaches its colonial peak. Precisely from this period are the best preserved civilian buildings in the city.

In 1795 a slave uprising occurs, and generally dominated social classes in the Sierra de Coro, led by the free zambo José Leonardo Chirino, which was aimed at the elimination of slavery and the establishment of the republican regime known for the time as "the French law". The movement, which would be the forerunner in the independence process would end in defeat, the capture and killing of rebel leader.

Independence In 1806 an expedition landed in the port of La Vela de Coro led by Francisco de Miranda. It was intended to be liberating, but was not greeted with enthusiasm by the locals. The expedition is still important as the precursor of the Spanish American wars of independence and in particular for bringing the tricolor, eventually adopted as the flag of Gran Colombia. It is now the basis for the official flag of three American republics, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador. The port of La Vela de Coro was where it was raised for the first time in Venezuela.

During the beginning of the Venezuelan War of Independence, Coro, Maracaibo and Guiana did not comply with the provisions of the Junta Suprema de Caracas on April 19, 1810, remaining loyal to Spanish rule. Subsequently, formed a bulwark of the Spanish Empire to land on its coasts the troops that end up destroying the First Republic of Venezuela. In 1821, finally the Coro Province incorporates to the process of independence, with the capture of the city by the troops led by the heroine Josefa Camejo and a group of patriots who came a long time plotting. By the time the General Rafael Urdaneta invades from Maracaibo commanding the Grancolombian army, and the city had been released a few days earlier for the Coro army commanded by Camejo.

The War of Independence and later the civil wars of the 19th century (including the Federal War that began in Coro) leaving the city deserted and destroyed its field, which plunged her into a period of decline that would recover the half- well into the 20th century with the construction of oil refineries in the Paraguaná Peninsula and the changes in Venezuela following the passage of a rural to an urban and oil country.

Since the early 50s Coro was declared a National Heritage.

Geography Coro is located at north of the Coro region, transition between the Venezuelan Coastal Range and the Cordillera de Mérida. Located on a coastal plain of xerophyte vegetation (19 msn) covering the entire western Falcón state and reaches its narrowest point just in the city, closing a few miles east of Coro by foothills of the Sierra de Falcón. To the north lies the Médanos Isthmus, named for it found in a formation of dunes or sand fields that have been formed by persistent trade winds and ocean currents. The isthmus connects the Paraguaná Peninsula with the mainland. at south of the city are the foothills of the Sierra de Falcón.

Economy The economy in Coro is highly dependent on state government expenditure. Retail commercial activity, civil construction, tourism and professional services are the principal activities of the city economy.

Caracas Time 
Caracas Time
Image: Adobe Stock lizfernandezg #81074189

Santa Ana de Coro has a population of over 195,496 people. Santa Ana de Coro also forms the centre of the wider Falcón State which has a population of over 902,847 people. For the location of Santa Ana de Coro see: Coro.

To set up a UBI Lab for Santa Ana de Coro see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to Santa Ana de Coro is: 110.33,-11.417

Locations Near: Santa Ana de Coro -69.67,11.417

🇻🇪 Coro -69.67,11.417 d: 0  

🇻🇪 Punto Fijo -70.183,11.717 d: 65.1  

🇨🇼 Willemstad -68.931,12.102 d: 110.8  

🇦🇼 Oranjestad -70.033,12.517 d: 128.5  

🇻🇪 Barquisimeto -69.323,10.074 d: 154.1  

🇻🇪 Yaritagua -69.117,10.067 d: 161.9  

🇧🇶 Kralendijk -68.272,12.159 d: 173.1  

🇻🇪 Puerto Cabello -68.017,10.467 d: 209.2  

🇻🇪 Acarigua -69.203,9.551 d: 213.7  

🇻🇪 Ciudad Ojeda -71.3,10.2 d: 223.6  

Antipodal to: Santa Ana de Coro 110.33,-11.417

🇮🇩 Yogyakarta 110.35,-7.8 d: 19612.9  

🇮🇩 Sleman 110.357,-7.72 d: 19604  

🇮🇩 Tulungagung 111.9,-8.067 d: 19604.7  

🇮🇩 Purworejo 110.03,-7.722 d: 19602.9  

🇮🇩 Ponorogo 111.462,-7.869 d: 19601.5  

🇮🇩 Sukoharjo 110.833,-7.683 d: 19596.3  

🇮🇩 Klaten 110.633,-7.633 d: 19593.1  

🇮🇩 Kebumen 109.661,-7.671 d: 19592.1  

🇮🇩 Surakarta 110.817,-7.567 d: 19583.6  

🇮🇩 Boyolali 110.6,-7.517 d: 19580.4  

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