colony · South America
Captaincy General of Venezuela
Origins
On 8 September 1777 Charles III united the provinces of Venezuela, Cumaná, Guayana, Maracaibo, Trinidad and Margarita under the captain-general in Caracas, separating them from the Viceroyalty of New Granada for military and financial purposes. It built on the old Province of Venezuela.
Rule and society
An intendancy for finance was created in 1776, an Audiencia at Caracas in 1786 and a merchant guild in 1793, giving Caracas real autonomy. Cacao, indigo and coffee were exported by a Creole planter elite using enslaved labour. Revolutionary ideas spread, and Francisco de Miranda led a failed invasion in 1806. Britain took Trinidad in 1797.
Decline and legacy
On 19 April 1810 a junta in Caracas deposed the captain-general, and the First Republic of Venezuela declared independence on 5 July 1811. Years of war followed until Bolívar's victory at Carabobo in 1821; the last royalists left Puerto Cabello in 1823.
Lineage
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- Captaincy General of Venezuela was a colony of Spanish Empire1777 CE – 1823 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Captaincy General of Venezuela. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/captaincy-general-of-venezuela
- MLA
- “Captaincy General of Venezuela.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/captaincy-general-of-venezuela. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Captaincy General of Venezuela.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/captaincy-general-of-venezuela.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Captaincy General of Venezuela’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/captaincy-general-of-venezuela (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻