Historical Dictionary of Venezuela PDF
Preview Historical Dictionary of Venezuela
The historical dictionaries present essential information on a broad range of subjects, including American and world history, art, business, cities, countries, cultures, customs, film, global conflicts, international relations, literature, music, philosophy, religion, sports, and theater. Written by experts, all contain highly informative introductory essays on the topic and detailed chronologies that, in some cases, cover vast historical time periods but still manage to heavily feature more recent events. Brief A–Z entries describe the main people, events, politics, social issues, institutions, and policies that make the topic unique, and entries are cross- referenced for ease of browsing. Extensive bibliographies are divided into several general subject areas, providing excellent access points for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more. Additionally, maps, pho- tographs, and appendixes of supplemental information aid high school and college students doing term papers or introductory research projects. In short, the historical dictionaries are the perfect starting point for anyone looking to research in these fields. HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES OF THE AMERICAS Jon Woronoff, Series Editor Costa Rica, 2nd ed., by Theodore S. Creedman. 1991. Honduras, 2nd ed., by Harvey K. Meyer and Jessie H. Meyer. 1994. Trinidad and Tobago, by Michael Anthony. 1997. Cuba, 2nd ed., by Jaime Suchlicki. 2001. Mexico, 2nd ed., by Marvin Àlisky. 2008. Haiti, by Michael R. Hall. 2012. Colombia, by Harvey F. Kline. 2012. Panama, by Thomas M. Leonard. 2015. Dominican Republic, by Eric Paul Roorda. 2016. El Salvador, by Orlando J. Perez. 2016. Chile, 4th ed., by Salvatore Bizzarro. 2017. Peru, by Peter F. Klarén. 2017. Venezuela, 3rd ed. by Tomás Straka, Guillermo Guzmán Mirabal, and Alejandro E. Cáceres. 2018. Historical Dictionary of Venezuela Third Edition Tomás Straka, Guillermo Guzmán Mirabal, and Alejandro E. Cáceres ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD Lanham • Boulder • New York • London Published by Rowman & Littlefield A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowman.com Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB Copyright © 2018 by Tomás Straka, Guillermo Guzmán Mirabal, and Alejandro E. Cáceres All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Straka, Tomás, 1972–, author. | Guzmán Mirabal, Guillermo, 1967– | Cáceres, Alejandro E., 1998- Title: Historical dictionary of Venezuela / Tomás Straka, Guillermo Guzmán Mirabal, and Alejandro E. Cáceres. Description: Third edition. | Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. | Series: Historical dictionaries of the Americas | Includes bibliographical references. | Revision of: Rudolph, Donna Keyse, 1934–. Historical dictionary of Venezuela, 2nd edition, ?1996. Identifiers: LCCN 2017033067 (print) | LCCN 2017033978 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538109502 (electronic) | ISBN 9781538109496 (hardcover : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Venezuela—History—Dictionaries. Classification: LCC F2304 (ebook) | LCC F2304 .S77 2017 (print) | DDC 987.003—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017033067 ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America Contents Editor’s Foreword vii Acknowledgments ix Reader’s Note xi Acronyms and Abbreviations xiii Map xv Chronology xvii Introduction 1 THE DICTIONARY 25 Appendixes A. Venezuela at a Glance 369 B. Presidents of Venezuela 373 C. Population 381 D. Population Pyramid (2011 Census) 385 E. Racial Structure (2011 Census) 387 F. Real GDP 389 G. Inflation 397 Bibliography 401 About the Authors 417 v Editor’s Foreword Venezuela was colonized in 1522 and remained a Spanish colony until 1811, when it became independent, although it was not a country of its own until 1830. Conditions during Spanish rule were not particularly good, at least not for the decreasing indigenous population, or the blacks, or the whites who were not well off. And it has only improved, for some at least, in fits and starts during the two centuries since then. Indeed, every time things looked good, something happened to upset most plans. The most recent ups and downs came in a relatively brief period of democracy, interrupted by the com- ing of a military man as ruler (although not in a coup), namely Hugo Chávez, who was fine as long as the oil price was high, because Venezuela has more oil reserves than any other country, but harder to bear with when the price dropped sharply. After Chávez, with his admitted charm and appeal to part of the population, there was his assistant, Nicolas Maduro, less charming, less talented, and without enough money to solve all problems and make everyone happy. Thus, there has been a growing opposition, put down by force, but for how long? What comes next? That is anybody’s guess. Obviously, it will be easier to guess—although in Venezuela nothing is ever certain—thanks to this wonderful Historical Dictionary of Venezuela. It is big, bigger than most volumes in this series and most other sources, and packed with useful information on people, places, institutions, and events. It also has a long and admittedly complicated chronology as well as a list of acronyms without which it is hard to even read about the country. The intro- duction sums things up nicely and will be especially useful for newcomers. Then there is a large and well-organized bibliography, of items in English and Spanish, pointing to other sources of information. Admittedly, it does not have everything one could want, but it comes very close to that, and there is no real competition elsewhere. So do read about the past and into the pres- ent although, as said, the future is anybody’s guess and now more so than at most times. This volume was written not by one specialist but three. They are all related to the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello of Caracas and have some- what different backgrounds and orientations in order to cover the ground more thoroughly. Guillermo Guzmán Mirabal is specialized in contemporary vii viii • EDITOR’S FOREWORD and business history. Alejandro E. Caceres teaches postgraduate courses on business and economic history. And Tomás Straka is a professor of history and politics as well as an author and columnist and a member of the National Academy of History. Between them they have covered what is a pretty big country, with a population of 31 million, still with access to a lot of oil and with many hardworking and talented people who—if they finally get things right—could turn Venezuela into a real powerhouse. Let us therefore hope that the next turn is upward. Jon Woronoff Series Editor Acknowledgments Every book is the result of a collective effort, especially a book with the characteristics and size of this dictionary. Since the first moment, we had the enthusiastic support of colleagues, friends, and family who helped us in the tasks of seeking and processing information; choosing, amid the ocean of possibilities, the entries that were relevant to include; and even reviewing the English language, which is not the mother tongue of any of the three authors. In this sense, we cannot fail to express our gratitude to our colleague Profes- sor Omar Osorio Amoretti of Universidad Simón Bolívar of Caracas, who on several occasions was able to provide valuable help in gathering data; to our colleague Professor María Soledad Hernández of the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, who made a significant contribution by putting us on the right track in many respects; to our talented and resourceful assistants Jessica Guil- lén, Daniela Moreno, Mercedes Sosa, Yrángela Lavorgna, Abraham Salazar, and Juan Fernando Bernardinelli, who provided effective support in many ways; and to Professor Esther Mobilia of Universidad Central de Venezuela, whose permanent assistance was key to getting this work finished on time and in the quality required. Last but not least, we cannot leave out our edi- tor, Jon Woronoff, whose patience and genuine consideration in the face of delays will be always a reason for gratitude. In the same way, his systematic indications allowed us to give form to the manuscript that became this present volume. To all of them, thank you very much. ix
The list of books you might like
