XI

VENEZUELA
Venezuela  was  discovered  by  Columbus  on
his  third  voyage  to  America  August  r,  1498,
at  the  time  of  his  visit  being  the  home  of  more
than  150  different  tribes  of  warlike  Indians,
who  resisted  to  their  limit  the  attempts  made
by  Spain  to  conquer  them  and  explore  the
country.  In  1520,  Cumana,  on  the  coast  of
the  Caribbean  Sea,  was  founded  and  is  the  oldest ­
  European  settlement  in  this  hemisphere.
The  Indians,  however,  kept  up  a  continuous
warfare  against  the  invaders,  being  gradually
pushed  into  the  interior  while  the  conquerors
established  themselves  along  the  coast  in  towns
fortified  to  resist  invasion  from  the  buccaneers ­
  who  paid  them  many  visits.
An  attempt  at  independence  was  made  in
1718,  which  was  suppressed.  Although  quasi
loyal  to  the  Spanish  crown,  there  were  many
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