Margarita Island is called the “Island of the Pearls”, and was discovered by Columbus on his third journey to America in 1498. The Spaniards settled here due to having discovered beautiful pearls, which were fetched by the Guaiqueri Indians at the bottom of the sea. In terms of wealth, the value of the pearls equaled the gold treasures brought back to Spain from the Inca Empire. Actually, it may not be entirely true to claim that Columbus discovered America, as the entire South, Middle and North America had already been inhabited by Indians for thousands of years prior to the arrival of Columbus. The Indians had spread out over the whole continent and adapted themselves to different conditions and environments. As a result, the Indians in the Andes were very skilled at making agricultural terraces, making cultivation in the steep mountainsides easier. The Indians called these terraces “Andenas”, and hence the Andes. Likewise, the Indians in the rainforest were very capable hunters, and the Indians living along the coast were skilled fishermen.
After Columbus, another expedition reached the shores of America the following year -an expedition headed by Alonso de Ojeada. He brought along the Italian, Amerigo Vespucci, with whom he sailed into the lake of Maracaibo. When they observed how the Indians lived in huts sustained by pillars in the water, Mr Vespucci named the country Venezuela, which means “Little Italy” in Italian. What really made Venezuela known to world was the enormous wealth in pearls, which was brought home by the Spaniards. These pearls were found in the surrounding sea of the small island Cubagua, which is situated south of Margarita. The first Spanish town, Nueva Cadiz, was founded on this island in approximately 1500. The town grew bigger from 1519 to 1541, and loads of pearls were taken out of the water. An earthquake, followed by a tsunami destroyed Nueva Cadiz in 1541.
However, Margarita had a lot more than pearls to offer. During the 16th and 17th centuries there was an increasing interest for the island, and a lot of Spanish colonists moved to Margarita. They primarily settled in the areas where the towns of La Asunción and Porlamar are situated today. In these locations they built impressive fortresses in order to defend the island from foreign maritime states and pirates. During the 18th century the first colonists were joined by ordinary farmers, from Spain, determined to try their luck on the other side of the Atlantic.
This emigration had a high toll on the indigenous people, as well as the African slaves who had been brought here by sea in the beginning of the 18th century. During time these different ethnical groups were mixed. As of today, at least 70% of the Venezuelan population is considered of mixed origin between Indians, Europeans and Africans. This mixture resulted in a sense of shared nationality among the poorest part of the population, which in turn caused a revolt against the Spanish government in 1810. Until the island was finally liberated from Spanish rule in 1817, the Islanders endured many battles, against the Spaniards, fought on the island itself and in the surrounding sea.
