Delta Amacuro State

Delta Amacuro is a state of Venezuela located in the Guayana region, bordered to the north by the Gulf of Paria (Atlantic Ocean), to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and the claimed territory of Guayana Esequiba, to the south with the Bolívar state and to the west with Monagas. With 40,200 km², it is the seventh largest —behind Bolívar, Amazonas, Apure, Guárico, Zulia and Anzoátegui— and with 4.65 inhab/km², the second least densely populated, behind Amazonas.

It has 4 autonomous municipalities and 20 civil parishes. Its main cities are: Tucupita, Sierra Imataca, Pedernales and Curiapo.

History

Pre-Colony

Based on theories, anthropological evidence and oral tradition, the antecedents of human activity within said territory date from the time of the first displacements across America; Groups from the eastern slope of the Peruvian Andes were introduced into the Lower Orinoco, they are called Kotoch; They developed knowledge of pottery -of which formal reminiscences and techniques in ceramics are kept- and horticulture.

Over time other groups settled on its surface, oral tradition highlights among them the Barrancas, who through the cultivation of bitter yucca achieved remarkable economic development and social structuring, even with agricultural surpluses that could have stimulated some type of trade through the monopoly of their production. The expansion of this and other tribes could date from the beginning of the first millennium, reaching the northeastern coast, a large part of the central coast and the Lesser Antilles by the end of the millennium.

The most recent archaeological evidence of pre-Columbian human activity is attributed to the Warao Ethnic Group, according to verbally documented stories; its members joined as deserters from other hostile tribes, probably being displaced from northern Brazil or the Eastern Savannah. Currently some residents of the state continue to identify themselves as part of this tribe and are a legally recognized group within their demographics. Originally they were fishermen, hunters and gatherers, later they became farmers with the introduction of the Chinese Ocumo from the island of Trinidad and from Guyana.

Colony, exploration and occupation

Its first survey was by Alonso de Ojeda, in 1499, documenting the mouth of the Orinoco River. Vicente Yáñez Pinzón discovered the Delta in 1500 and Diego de Ordaz, commander of the Order of Santiago, captain of Hernán Cortés, in 1532 went up the Orinoco to the confluence with the Meta River.

The first documented naval expedition to this region occurred in June 1531 (38 years after the Discovery of America) by Diego de Ordaz, who decided to explore the Orinoco with several ships. Antonio Berrío penetrated the region in the 1990s 1580. Beginning in 1598, Fernando de Berrío, son of Antonio Berrío, explored the region in his search for El Dorado. Walter Raleigh then explored the area in 1594, 1595 and finally on his last expedition in 1616.

The Delta as a region formed part of Nueva Andalucía from 1568. It was the entry point for ships to the Orinoco.

The first religious mission was the Jesuit order, which was founded in 1682. From this order, Father Gumilla dedicated himself, among other things, to documenting the Warao culture in detail from 1791. During this century, various rulers, both Spanish as Englishmen (from Trinidad) they tried to couple the Warao and structure them into populations, which caused their desertion towards the territories of Suriname.

Pirate Walter Raleigh explored the region three times

Raleigh referred to the tivativa as the inhabitants of that region. He said they were divided into two tribes, the Ciawani and the Waraweete >.

Raleigh wrote: they never eat anything that is sown or cultivated, and since they do not plant or raise anything at home, when they go to other places they refuse to eat anything that is not provided by nature without labor. They use the tops of palmetto trees for bread; and they kill deer, fish, and pigs to supplement their diet. They also have many kinds of fruits that grow in the forests and a large number of birds and birds.

Alexander von Humboldt documented in his Travels to the Equinoctial Regions that the Waraos were the only indigenous people who still remained outside the control of the Colony. He mentioned that for 1799 some estimated its population at 6,000-7,000 people, although he considered that it must be less. Humboldt said that the Guaiqueríes considered their language to be related to Warao.

Independence

At the time of Venezuelan independence, the Delta became part of the province of Guayana.

19th century

Delta Amacuro in 1840: Canton Piacoa, part of the Province of Guayana.

The settlement of non-indigenous settlers began in 1848 when Julián Flores, Juan Millán, Tomás Rodríguez, Regino Suiva and others founded the town Cuarenta y Ocho, which is the predecessor of the current Tucupita. Later, farmers and merchants continued to establish themselves, mostly from the island of Margarita and from the states of Sucre and Monagas.

Before 1884, this region was part of the Zea Department, within the Guayana State, which was segregated in 1884.

On February 27, 1884, the delimitation of the Federal Delta Territory was constitutionally established with an area of 63,667 km²; formed by the Manoa and Guzmán Blanco districts, Pedernales being its capital.

On October 21, 1893, the entity disappeared from the federal map, after being annexed to the Bolívar state during international tensions with the United Kingdom over the surface of the Delta claimed by British Guyana.

On October 3, 1899 through the Paris Arbitration Award and the representation of the United States based on the Monroe Doctrine, the government of Ignacio Andrade lost 23,467 km² of this region to the United Kingdom, being annexed to British Guyana.

20th century

• On 26 April 1901 it is re-established with the name of Federal Territory Delta Amacuro, composed of the Barima and Tucupita districts. After this year his political division varied from districts and departments to municipalities. Its capital was moved to Tucupita, a city previously known as Forty-eight.

During this time multiple religious orders of Catholic affinity made their way into the region. In 1925 a new Catholic religious order, called Capuchinos del Caroní, -whose Mission at that time included the Delta Amacuro Territory- founded the first of the current missions,

• • The Divine Pastor of Araguaimujo, on the right bank of the Araguaimujo cany, near the Aragua cany, in the middle of the Delta. The Catholic missionary Barral was established in the area in the 1930s and established a mission in Guayo. In the following decades he collected information about the warao language and published a Spanish-warao dictionary.

Beginning in 1932, other missionaries founded new missions in San José de Tucupita, San Francisco de Guayo, Nabasanuka and Ajotejana. In 1940 the Organic Law of the Delta Amacuro Federal Territory was promulgated, which divided it into the departments of Tucupita, Pedernales and Antonio Díaz. According to Extraordinary Official Gazette No. 4,295 of August 3, 1991, the Special Law that gives the Territory the status of State is promulgated, with the same previous political-territorial division,

• On January 25, 1995, the Legislative Assembly of the State issued its second Territorial Political Division Law, with the current 4 municipalities; it also annexes to the state the New World, Platanal, Triomphe and Triumphite, before under the jurisdiction of the Bolivar State.

Romantic poetry

“We are talking about a delta, the “Orinoco River Delta”, 40,200 square kilometers of water, mangroves, palm trees, ravines, hamlets, people and jungle silences barely broken, during the day by the singing of the more exotic birds than memory can recall; and also during the day, or in the deep nights, by the unison cry of the howler and jaguar”. Humberto Mata.

“From the very entrance of the Land of Grace flows a river. The waters of the high Andean mountains, of the vast plains, of the dense jungle flow into it until they turn it into a sweet sea that pours its tawny waters into the ocean through a labyrinth of pipes. For a long time it will be known as the Uyapari, the name given by the Indians to the most robust of its pipes. The Tamanaco called it Orinoco which means "Coiled Serpent". Isaac J. Pardo. Uyapari the Indians called the pipe that they later called Manamo.

Geography

The Delta Amacuro state has an extension of 40,200 kilometers, which represents a little more than 4.6% of the national territory of Venezuela, added to this, corresponds to the northern part of the Essequibo claimed from Guyana. It has strategic importance for being one of the few Venezuelan territories with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean (most of the Venezuelan coast is made up of waters in the Caribbean Sea or Sea of the Antilles).

The region is located in the extreme east of Venezuela, its main geographical characteristic being the Delta of the Orinoco River (the most important and longest in Venezuela) with 18,810 square kilometers and the so-called Serrania del Imataca that has 21,390 square kilometers and extends even to the neighboring states of Bolívar and Monagas.

Four types of plant formations can be recognized: Forest mainly mangrove and more important in the Imataca forest reserve, Forest mainly in the center of the state, Savannah mostly in the west of the Region and estuary in the eastern part facing the Atlantic Ocean. The state has its highest point in the so-called Monte Indira with 687 meters above sea level, which contrasts with its lowest point in the Casacoima sector with -48 meters above sea level.

Demography and Ethnography

The region's population went from just 5,766 in 1873 to 33,648 in 1950 when it was still a federal territory. At the beginning of 1990, when it was preparing to become a state of Venezuela, it had 84,564 inhabitants, the estimated population for 2017 being 197,200 people. Most of the Warao ethnic group inhabits the state. According to the INE's census of indigenous communities, there were some 26,080 indigenous people, mainly Waraos, in the state in 2001. The Warao ethnic group maintains its language, although bilingualism is becoming more extensive.

Languages

According to article 13 of the constitution of the Delta Amacuro State of 2015, the official language of the State is Spanish, but in recognition of the multi-ethnic and multicultural condition of the region, the indigenous languages of the state are also official, highlighted in this article the fundamental use of the Warao language. According to article 14 of the same legal text, education in the state will be taught in Spanish, but in indigenous communities it will be accompanied by the respective local language, taking into account indigenous educators to guarantee bilingual education.

Hydrography and islands

The Orinoco Delta region is crossed by a multitude of rivers and streams with numerous islands, including Isla Barril, Isla Borojo, Isla Bongo Burojoda Island, Baroco Sanuca Island, Corosimo Island, Capure Island, Caneima Island, Coboima Island, Cocuina Island, Curiapo Island, Guasi Borujo Island, Janejo Island, Jebu Cebenoco Island, Mánamo Island, Mono Island, Burojo, Parrot, Silver Island, Tortola Island, Tucupita Island, Macareo, Manamito, Guara, El Cidral Island or Crab Island, El Barco Island, Morocoto Island, Middle Island, Guaranoco Island, Las Islitas Island, Mysterious Island, Noina Island, Guasina Island, Sacupana Island, Island Tobejuba (Tobajuba), Tobeima Island, Corocoro Island, Cocuina Island, Pedernales Island, Pagayos Island, Caneima Island, Remolinos Island and Remediadora Island

Main rivers

• Orinoco River: one of the most important rivers in South America, The name of the river comes from the Ottoman Orinucu. In the Delta Amacuro the river reaches 200 km long, in the part in the river flows into the Gulf of Paria and the Atlantic forming a large delta branched in hundreds of branches, called cranks, that cover a zone of wet jungle and pantanous forests of between 22 500-41 000 km2 and 370 km at its widest point. In the rainy season, the Orinoco can increase to a width of 22 km and a depth of 100 m. The region of alluvial plains north of the river, whose altitude does not exceed 100 msnm, is flooded at that time of rain, leaving the rest of the year lands whose vegetation is of intertropical grasslands of savannah.
• River Barima flows directly into the Atlantic Ocean, in the large mouth of the Orinoco River in (Venezuela), and that is why it is sometimes considered part of the Orinoco basin.
• Río Yocoima, short river with a river course of approximately 75 km of longitudinal route, located in the municipalities Piar and Caroní north of the Bolivar state, where it forms the northern border of this federal entity with the Delta Amacuro.

Climate

Its climate is affected by its proximity to the coast and the rivers that cross it, being mostly rainy tropical in the continental or internal zone but Savannah when approaching the coast. The entire region has heavy rainfall most of the year, but decreases in the western part of the state.

Economy

Orinoco Delta.

Warao Indians.

The main economic activities of the state of Delta Amacuro are fishing, livestock, and activities related to the exploitation and refining of oil. It also relies on an incipient tourism industry that benefits from the various natural beauties of the region.

Economic resources

• Agricultural products: rice, corn, beef cattle and porcine, birds, coconut, banana, yuca, pineapple, eggplants.
• Industrial Products: refined petroleum products.
• Forest resources: garlic, mangle, moriche, seje, yagrumo.
• Mineral Resources: oil, gold, peat.

Political-administrative division

Delta Amacuro state is made up of four Autonomous Municipalities and a territory in dispute with Guyana

The state of Delta Amacuro is divided into 20 Civil Parishes

Tourism

Balance The Monkey in the Sierra de Imataca.

The Delta Amacuro State stands out for its natural landscapes, rivers, islands and streams, its tropical jungle and variety of animals that can be observed in their natural habitat.

Natural Heritage

• Caño Araguaimujo.
• Caño Macareo.
• Manamo Caño.
• Guaisina and Sacupana Islands.
• National Park Delta del Orinoco-Mariusa.
• Salts of Toro and Acoima.
• The Salto de Casacoima: is located in the jurisdiction of the Piacoa farmhouse, in the Sierra Imataca from afar you can admire it as it stands out among the green foliage of the mountain.

Built heritage

Tropical jungle.

• The fort of San Francisco de Assisi.
• The Padrastro or San Diego.
• The Castles of Guayana.
• Indigenous rashes.
• Paseo Malecón Manamo

Sports

Various sports disciplines are practiced in the state, among the facilities that are under the administration of the Regional Institute of Sports of the Delta Amacuro State we can mention

• Polideportivo del municipio Tucupita (Polideportivo Pinto Salinas apto para Atletismo yFootball)
• Estadio Isaiah Látigo Chávez de Tucupita (also called Estadio 23 de enero, suitable for the headquarters Baseball of Waraos de Delta Amacuro).
• Estadio Efraín Zapata, Tucupita (basbol)
• Estadio Pedro Elías Montero, Tucupita
• Stadium Los Cocos.
• Stadium Santa Marta de Cocuina.
• Stadium Los Bravos, El Triunfo

Politics and government

It is an autonomous state and politically equal to the rest of the Federation, it organizes its administration and its Public Powers through the Constitution of the Delta Amacuro State, dictated by the Legislative Council.

Executive Branch

It is made up of the Governor of the State of Delta Amacuro and a group of State Secretaries who are appointed by him and serve as assistants in the management of the Government. The Governor is elected by the people by direct and secret vote for a period of four years with the possibility of re-election. The governor is the head of state administration. Since the creation as a Federal State by special law in 1992, the Delta Amacuro state has elected its governors in direct elections. The current governor is Lizeta Hernández Abchi, belonging to the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), re-elected for the period 2017-2021.

Legislative branch

The state legislature falls on the unicameral Delta Amacuro State Legislative Council, elected by the people by direct and secret vote every four years and may be re-elected for two consecutive periods, under a system of proportional representation of the state population and its municipalities, the State has 7 deputies, the 7 belong to the ruling party.

Police

Delta Amacuro state, like the other 23 federal entities in Venezuela, has its own police force called the Delta Amacuro State Police, whose general headquarters are located in the city of Tucupita. The Police Corps is supported and complemented by the National Police and the National Guard of Venezuela.

Anthem

CHORUS

Amacuro, shred of the Homeland,

of progress banner and coat of arms,

in your Delta the fiber germinates

that will give more firmness and union.

I

Your beautiful countryside and rivers

of progress generate action;

your soil is immense and fertile

that trembles with great emotion.

II

The star shines in your sky

of the noble and heroic deity;

honorable site and fruitful work

You will always have great freedom.

III

Your strength and courage is a lesson

that spills grandiose in History,

and that increases the anal patrios

with the beautiful brilliance of glory.