Caracas
[key], city (2021 pop. 2,945,858), Federal Dist., N Venezuela, the capital
and largest city of the country, near the Caribbean Sea. Its port is
La Guaira. With
an elevation of c.3,100 ft (945 m), Caracas has a pleasant climate, which
contributed to making it rather than Valencia the economic and political
center of Spanish colonization in Venezuela. Caracas is the commercial,
industrial, and cultural hub of the nation. As a result of the oil boom of
the 1950s the city expanded prodigiously. Enormous sums were spent on public
works, notably the futuristic University City, school construction, slum
clearance projects, a new aqueduct, and an impressive highway cloverleaf,
known to Caracans as “the octopus.” The symbol of the new
Caracas is the twin-towered complex housing government offices known as
Centro Bolívar. The city has a noted contemporary art museum, and a
colossal shopping center, the Helicoid, was built on a hill outside the
city. Rapid population growth continues to exacerbate the city's housing
problems and unemployment rate. In addition to oil refining, industries
include textile milling, clothing manufactures, processed foods, tobacco
products, publishing, glassworks, rubber goods, chemicals, and ceramics.
Caracas was founded in 1567 as Santiago de León de Caracas by Diego de Losada. The city was sacked by the English in 1595 and by the French in 1766. Two of South America's great revolutionary leaders, Francisco de Miranda (1750) and Simón Bolívar (1783), were born in the city. Independence from Spain was declared in Caracas in July, 1811. However, the city was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake on Mar. 26, 1812, negating the revolution led by Miranda. Bolívar captured the city in Aug., 1813, but abandoned it after a crushing defeat in June, 1814. Finally, after his victory at Carabobo, he made a triumphal entry in June, 1821.
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