History of Venezuela

Colonial Economy:

Spanish expenditionaries arrived in what is present-day Venezuela in 1498, but generally neglated the area because of its apparent lack of mineral wealth
Encomienda is a system where the Spanish crown granted rights over Indian labor and tribute to individual colonists, who in turn undertook to maintain order and to propogate Christianity among the Indians
The Spanish crown officially ended the encomienda system in 1687, and enslaved Africans replaced the majority of Indian labor
This time was dominated by a plantation culture, more closely resembling the systems of the Carribbean Islands than that of a South American territory
Colonial authorities organized the local Indians into an encomienda system to grow tobacco, cotten, indigo, and cocoa

Post Independence:

Cocoa eclipsed tobacco as the most important crop in the 1700's
Coffee surpassed cocoa in the 1800's. A coffee boom in the 1830's made Venezuela the world's third largest exporter of coffee
Fluctuations in the international coffee market created large swings in the economy throughout the 19th century

Early 20th Century:

The first commercial drilling of oil occured in 1917 and the oil boom of the 1920's brought to an end the coffee era in Venezuela economic history
The oil boom transformed Venezuela from a relatively poor agrarian society into Latin America's wealthiest state
By 1928 Venezuela was the world's leading exporter of oil and second in total petroleum production
Venezuela remained the world's leading oil exporter until 1970
Oil represented over 90 percent of Venezuela's total exports begining in the 1930's
The newfound oil let to widespread corruption and deceit by foreign companies and indifferent military dictators flourished which hindered economic developement

Arrival of Democracy:

Pre-Chavez Economy