Nueva Esparta

Nueva Esparta
Symbols
flag	coat of arms
Basic data
Country	Venezuela
Capital	La Asunción
surface	1150 km²
Residents	584,900 (2017 estimate)
density	509 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2	VE-O
Website	www.guaiqueri.net (Spanish)
politics
governor	Carlos Mata Figueroa
Political party	Acción Democrática

10.996589 -63.91133Coordinates: 11 ° 0 ′ N , 63 ° 55 ′ W

Nueva Esparta is a federal state of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela founded in 1909 . It consists of the islands of Isla Margarita , Coche and Cubagua . The state's islands are part of the Lesser Antilles and are part of the Leeward Islands .

The name Nueva Esparta , Spanish for 'New Sparta', is borrowed from the city of Sparta in the Greek Peloponnese to commemorate the heroism of the inhabitants during the wars of independence.

Topographical aspects

The main island of Margarita is covered in a separate article.

The two islands of Coche and Cubagua only rise slightly above sea level . The island's surfaces are partly very rugged due to rainfall and the resulting runoff of rainwater in streams. The coastline is mostly steep. The surrounding waters that cover the continental landmass are shallow.

The barren vegetation of Coches and Cubaguas (and also the Macanao peninsula , which belongs to Margarita ) consists largely of cacti and low bushes. It is the logical consequence of the lack of natural water reservoirs and low and irregular rainfall.

history

From a historical point of view, next to Margarita, only Cubagua plays a role. Excavations of the fortress La Villa de la Nueva Cádiz , founded by Cristóbal Guerra in 1528, have been taking place here since the 1950s . Cristóbal Guerra later became synonymous with the suppression of the indigenous population of South America by the Spanish conquistadores . The earlier abundance of pearls in the waters around Nueva Esparta led to the nickname Margaritas La perla del Caribe and the death of many indigenous people who had to dive for pearls under the compulsion of the conquistadores .

Economy and population

Cubagua is uninhabited except for a few fishermen's huts, which are mostly not used continuously. Coche has several smaller settlements and hotels and is an insider tip among kite surfers. The total population of the two islands is over 8,000.

Important buildings

San Antonio Prison

Administrative division

Nueva Esparta consists of eleven districts ( Municipalities together), one of which is located on the west peninsula Macanao and another ( Villalba ) to Coche is. The sparsely populated island of Cubagua is part of the Tubores district .

district	Area km²	Population census 2011	Administrative headquarters
Antolin del Campo	66	28,294	La Plaza de Paraguachí
Arismendi	55	28,309	La Asunción
Díaz	141	71,466	Parroquia San Juan Bautista
García	89	68,490	El Valle del Espiritu Santo
Gomez	91	40,409	Santa Ana
Maneiro	38	48,952	Pampatar
Marcano	43	35,691	Juan Griego
Mariño	39	97,667	Porlamar
Macanao ¹⁾	320	26,423	Boca de Río
Tubores ²⁾	207	36,924	Punta de Piedras
Villalba ³⁾	61	8,985	San Pedro de Coche
Nueva Esparta	1,150	491.610	La Asunción
¹⁾ the western peninsula
²⁾ including Cubagua Island
³⁾ consists of the island of Coche

Picture gallery

The Fortín (little fort ) La Galera
The Laguna de las Marites
Festival on the day of the "Virgen del Valle"; right: the basilica "Nuestra Señora del Valle".
The Church of San Juan

Web links

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^ RF Willis: Nueva Cádiz. In: HF Dobyns (Ed.): Spanish colonial frontier research. Center for Anthr. Studies (Albuquerque), 1980, pp. 27-40. (Spanish Borderlands Research. No. 1)

[1] RF Willis: Nueva Cádiz. In: HF Dobyns (Ed.): Spanish colonial frontier research. Center for Anthr. Studies (Albuquerque), 1980, pp. 27-40. (Spanish Borderlands Research. No. 1)