Immigration to Venezuela

Immigration to Venezuela has been significant. After the Spanish colonization of the Americas brought some Europeans and some African slaves, immigration to Venezuela was significant particularly in the period after World War II, with large numbers of immigrants from Europe, particularly southern Europe. In addition, Venezuela shares a 1000-mile border with Colombia and has long had substantial numbers of Colombian residents. Since the 1980s, the Colombian conflict has seen largescale Colombian immigration, with Venezuela the number one destination for displaced Colombians: by 2008, there were over 4 million, compared to a total Venezuelan population of around 27 million.

The nineteenth century saw Corsican immigration to Venezuela, with Corsicans playing a substantial role in the cocoa industry. German immigration included the founding of Colonia Tovar in 1843, and German traders played a significant economic role particularly around Maracaibo. By the turn of the nineteenth century and the Venezuela Crisis of 1902–1903, German traders dominated Venezuela's import/export sector and informal banking system.

Because of the Venezuelan geographical location that welcomes to South America, this nation has been the plot for many newcomers, even taking place before Colombus' discovery when lots of aboriginal inhabitants came and left Venezuela. During the later centuries African-descendants from the Caribbean islands entered Venezuela as immigrants. Among them Trinidadians, Cubans, Dominicans, Haitians, Dutch Antilleans, Grenadians; in summary people from all the Caribbean nations. To summarize Antillian blacks coming even from British, Dutch and French Guianas.

As victims of racism and classism that exists in Venezuela, the Haitian immigration has been neither valued nor documented unlike the European immigration. However, they have left their legacy in the nation of Bolivar. On 24 December 1815 our Liberator first set foot on Haitian soil. Bolivar in 1816 with 400 men all of them Haitians and the freedom cause reach Venezuela. Francisco de Miranda design the first Venezuelan flag in Jacmel (South of Haiti).

...
Wikipedia