Spanish immigration to Venezuela

Spanish Venezuelans are Venezuelan citizens of Spanish origin or descent. There are many Venezuelans of Spanish origin, especially from the Canary Islands (known as Isleños). Most Venezuelans have some Spanish ancestry.

Spanish Venezuelans

Regions with significant populations
unknown
Languages
Spanish
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic

Spanish immigration to Venezuela begins with the Spanish colonization of the Americas and it continued during Colonial Venezuela and after independence (1830). Further immigration has taken place since, particularly following World War II.

History

From the beginning of the colonial period and until the end of the Second World War, most European immigrants in Venezuela were Spanish, predominantly Canary Islanders. Their cultural impact was significant, influencing both the development of Castilian Spanish in the country as well as its cuisine and customs. Venezuela has perhaps the largest population of Canarian origin, and it is commonly said in the Canary Islands that "Venezuela is the eighth island of the Canary Islands." In the 16th century, the German conquistador Georg von Speyer in the Canary Islands recruited 200 men to colonize Venezuela, as did Diego Hernández de Serpa, governor of New Andalusia Province, who sent another 200 soldiers and 400 slaves from Gran Canaria to Venezuela,[1] where some of these Canarians were among the founders of Cumaná.

Since 1936, most Canarian immigrants have gone either to Cuba or to Venezuela (some of those who emigrated to Venezuela came from Cuba) due to encouraged immigration by the government, especially Spanish citizens, and since 1948, most have emigrated to Venezuela. Large-scale immigration did not end until the early 1980s with a significant decrease in the 1970s, and the beginning of Canarian emigration to other European countries. Canary Islanders and their descendants are now scattered throughout Venezuela.[2]

Demographics

In addition, as of 2010, there were around 200,000 Venezuelans residing in Spain.[3] As of January 2016, there were 188,025 Spanish citizens in Venezuela.[4] Most Venezuelans in Spain have Spanish nationality.

See also

• Isleño#Venezuela
• Venezuelan Spanish
• Spain–Venezuela relations

References

1. Jesús Silva Herzog (2008). Cuadernos americanos. p. 138. Retrieved January 8, 2020. Diego Hernández de Serpa, gobernador de la Nueva Andalucía (Venezuela), parte de Sanlúcar en 1569, y concierta con su pariente Adriano Padilla el envío a su costa de doscientos hombres.
2. Manuel Hernández González (1 January 2005). La Emigración Canaria a América. Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria. p. 24. ISBN 978-84-7926-488-8. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
3. "Venezolanos en el exterior - Infografías | Últimas Noticias". Archived from the original on December 5, 2014.
4. Fonseca, Diego (March 17, 2016). "Los españoles en el extranjero aumentan un 56,6% desde 2009" – via elpais.com.