VENEZUELA

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abortive  attempts  at  revolution,  which  finally
assumed  definite  form  in  1810  when  the  citizens ­
  of  Caracas  revolted  openly,  and  declared
Venezuela  independent  July  5,  1811.  Spain,
however,  put  down  this  uprising  and  reestablished ­
  its  authority,  maintaining  control  of  the
colony  until  August  7,  1819,  when  Simon  Bolivar ­
  defeated  the  Castilian  army,  and  made
Venezuela  one  of  the  three  States  of  Greater
Colombia.  With  the  breaking  up  of  this  alliance ­
  Venezuela  became  absolutely  independent ­
  September  22,  1830.
Venezuela  is  situated  in  the  northern  tip  of
South  America  with  a  northwestern  boundary
of  2000  miles  on  the  Caribbean  Sea.  To  the
east  she  is  bounded  by  British  Guiana,  on  the
south  by  Brazil  and  the  west  by  Colombia,
a  total  area  of  393,976  square  miles,  although
it  is  really  doubtful  if  the  exact  extent  of  the
country  is  known,  especially  along  the  Brazilian ­
  frontier.  It  is  as  large  as  Illinois,  Indiana, ­
  Ohio,  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Iowa.
There  are  three  different  mountain  regions
in  Venezuela—a  continuation  of  the  Andes—