Venezuelans of European descent

Italian explorer Christopher Columbus arrived in the Venezuela region in 1498. European explorers named Venezuela ("Little Venice") after observing local indigenous houses on stilts over water. During the first quarter-century of contact, the Europeans limited themselves to slave hunting and pearlfishing on the northeastern coast; the first permanent Spanish settlement in Venezuela, Cumaná, was not made until 1523.{{cite book|title= Colonial and Postcolonial Latin America and the Caribbean| isbn=9781508103493 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=AU7VDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT20 | last1=Sebastian | first1=Emily | date=15 December 2016 | publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica }}

European colonization of Venezuela commenced with the arrival of the Spanish in the late 15th century, with settlers predominantly hailing from regions such as Andalusia, Galicia, the Basque Country, and the Canary Islands. The influence of the Canary Islands on Venezuelan culture and customs has been particularly significant, earning Venezuela the occasional nickname "the eighth island of the Canary archipelago".{{cite web |last1=Veloz |first1=Alberto |title=La octava isla de las Canarias se llama Venezuela |url=https://elestimulo.com/de-interes/2022-02-02/la-octava-isla-de-las-canarias-se-llama-venezuela/ |website=El Estimulo |date=2 February 2022 |access-date=15 February 2024}}

Throughout the colonial period, Spanish authorities discouraged non-Spanish migration to safeguard colonial territories from rival European claims, although exceptions existed. The influx of Germans began in the early 16th century, with King Carlos I granting colonization privileges to German families to offset certain debts.{{cite news |last1=Cervera |first1=Cesar |title=La historia olvidada de cómo Venezuela fue vendida por Carlos V a los banqueros alemanes |url=https://www.abc.es/historia/abci-historia-olvidada-como-venezuela-vendida-carlos-banqueros-alemanes-201611180346_noticia.html?ref=https:%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F |access-date=15 February 2024 |agency=ABC |date=Nov 2016}} This led to the renaming of the Province of Venezuela as Klein-Venedig, with its capital established as Neu-Augsburg (now Coro), and the founding of Neu-Nürnberg (now Maracaibo), the country's second-largest city. In 1542, the Dutch seized control of the Araya peninsula for its lucrative salt flats,{{cite book |last1=Mirza |first1=Rocky |title=The Rise and Fall of the American Empire: A Re-Interpretation of History, Economics and Philosophy: 1492-2006 |date=2007 |publisher=Trafford Publishing |isbn=9781425113834 |pages=514 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ubuq0oO-0aIC}} subsequently expanding their presence to other coastal areas such as Falcón, Carabobo, and Zulia due to economic ties with the nearby Netherlands Antilles. Until deep into the 19th century, the now Venezuelan islands of Aves, the Aves archipelago, Los Roques and La Orchila were also considered by the Dutch government to be part of the Dutch West Indies.

During the emergence of the independence movements in the Americas, Venezuela experienced a notable influx of White Dominicans.{{cite book |last1=Soriano |first1=Cristina |title=Tides of Revolution: Information, Insurgencies, and the Crisis of Colonial Rule in Venezuela |date=1 Dec 2018 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |isbn=9780826359872 |pages=336 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9sxwDwAAQBAJ |access-date=15 February 2024}} This surge in migration was largely prompted by a genocide perpetrated by Afro-descendant Haitians following the capture of Hispaniola. As Venezuela pursued independence, it witnessed a significant arrival of Italian immigrants seeking better opportunities, with migration beginning in 1814 and intensifying around 1870 during Italy's unification. These Italian immigrants primarily concentrated in agricultural regions, particularly focusing on coffee and cocoa cultivation in the Andean and the Coastal Range area of the country.{{cite journal |last1=D'Elia |first1=Pierina |title=La inmigración italiana en Venezuela |journal=Cuadernos Americanos |date=2005 |volume=6 |issue=114 |pages=103–110 |url=https://rilzea.cialc.unam.mx/jspui/bitstream/CIALC-UNAM/A_CA538/1/CA114_103_110.pdf}} Concurrently, volunteers from England, Scotland, and Ireland formed the "British Legion", actively engaging in the War of Independence, leaving a lasting impact and contributing to the enduring presence of British descendants in Venezuela.{{cite book |last1=Rey Gonzalez |first1=Juan Carlos |title=Huellas de la inmigración en Venezuela |date=2011 |publisher=Fundación Empresas Polar |isbn=978-980-379-296-1 |pages=296 |url=https://bibliofep.fundacionempresaspolar.org/publicaciones/libros/huellas-de-la-inmigraci%C3%B3n-en-venezuela/ |access-date=15 February 2024}}

Following independence, Venezuela faced challenges attracting immigrants due to economic stagnation and internal conflicts. Despite this, small groups of French settlers, particularly Corsicans, established themselves along the coast of the Paria Peninsula, contributing significantly to the cocoa industry.{{cite web |last1=Grisanti |first1=Luis Xavier |title=Venezuela y la imigración corsa |url=https://www.analitica.com/entretenimiento/venezuela-y-la-imigracion-corsa/ |website=Analítica |date=26 April 2011 |access-date=15 February 2024}} Additionally, Italians were notably present in the Andean region,{{cite book |last1=Colina de Dávila |first1=Nancy |title=Mérida : entre tiempos de cambios |date=1999 |publisher=Laboratorios Valmorca |pages=124 |url=https://sib.ucab.edu.ve/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=189442}}{{cite web |last1=Farias |first1=Isabel |title=Inmigrantes italianos en los Andes |url=https://venezuela.italiani.it/scopricitta/inmigrantes-italianos-en-los-andes/ |website=Italiani.it |access-date=15 February 2024}} while German immigrants formed communities such as Colonia Tovar in the center-north, they also played vital roles in commerce, particularly in Maracaibo's retail sector and informal banking systems.{{cite journal |last1=Espinola |first1=Ebelio |title=Actividades del Banco Aleman antioqueno en Venezuela en el contexto de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. |date=2002 |journal=Montalbán |pages=131–145 |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A104211312/IFME?u=anon~23cfcd24&sid=googleScholar&xid=5aeea7d0}} Towards the late 19th century, White Americans and White Canadians relocated to Venezuela,{{cite book |last1=Venezuela. Embajada (U.S.) |title=Venezuela Up-to-date |date=1954 |publisher=Embassy of Venezuela |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K087AQAAIAAJ |access-date=15 February 2024}} primarily as evangelical missionaries representing various Protestant denominations,{{cite web |last1=Niki |title=Presbyterian Mission to Venezuela: A Brief History |url=https://www.history.pcusa.org/blog/2019/05/presbyterian-mission-venezuela-brief-history |website=Presbyterian Historical Society |date=2 May 2019 |access-date=15 February 2024}} along with engineers drawn by the burgeoning oil industry.{{cite book |last1=Berglund |first1=Susan |title=The "Musiues" in Venezuela : immigration goals and reality, 1936-1961. |date=1980 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Amherst |url=https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/1383/}}

After 1935, Venezuela underwent a period of economic and social advancement with the discovery of oil, positioning itself as an attractive destination for immigrants. From 1940 to 1961, an estimated 900,000 European immigrants arrived in Venezuela, following the Second World War, the Francoist dictatorship and the policies of the governments of the Warsaw Pact.{{cite web|last=Cruz|first=Edgar|date=1997-05-02|title=La Iglesia ortodoxa rumana de Venezuela. UN TROZO DE LOS CÁRPATOS EN EL HATILLO|url=http://www.eluniversal.com/1997/05/02/cul_art_02312A|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722064702/http://www.eluniversal.com/1997/05/02/cul_art_02312A|archivedate=2015-07-22|accessdate=2015-07-22|website=El Universal|language=es}}{{cite book |title=La Comunidad Europea en Venezuela |date=1985 |publisher=Servicio de Prensa e Información, Delegación para América Latina de la Comisión de las Comunidades Europeas |pages=117 |url=https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/1599857}} Among them, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese migrants constituted the majority, while smaller numbers included Germans, French, Swiss, Poles, Greeks, Czechs, Russians, Ukrainians, Serbs, Nordics, Romanians, Slovenes, Croats, Belgians, Austrians and Hungarians.{{cite journal |last1=Banko |first1=Catalina |title=Un refugio en Venezuela: los inmigrantes de Hungría, Croacia, Eslovenia, Rumania y Bulgaria |journal=Tiempo y Espacio |date=2016 |volume=26 |issue=65 |pages=66–75 |url=http://ve.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1315-94962016000100005&lng=es&nrm=iso |access-date=15 February 2024 |issn=1315-9496}}{{cite book|last1=Lameda Luna|first1=Hernán|title=Foundational Cycles of cities in Venezuela. Urban settlements from the colony to the twentieth century.|date=2014|publisher=Revista Arbitrada de la Facultad de Arquitectura y Diseño de la Universidad del Zulia|location=Maracaibo|page=24|url=http://produccioncientificaluz.org/index.php/portafolio/article/download/19922/19859|accessdate=15 February 2024|language=Spanish}}

During the 1970s and 1980s, Southern Cone nations like Argentina and Uruguay with a predominantly Spanish and Italian-descents population, were plagued by oppressive dictatorships. Consequently, many individuals from these countries sought refuge in Venezuela, attracted by the promise of safety and stability.{{cite news |last1=Markous |first1=Paula |title=La Venezuela saudita: cómo era vivir en el país del "dame dos" |url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/el-mundo/la-venezuela-saudita-como-era-vivir-pais-nid2180765/ |access-date=15 February 2024 |agency=La Nación |date=9 Nov 2018}} Additionally, Venezuela became a destination for other European Latin Americans communities, including Colombians, Chileans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Cubans, and others, fleeing economic struggles, political unrest, and autocratic regimes in their homelands.

Around 42-43% of the population are identified as white Venezuelan although most have Native American and African mixtures. The highest concentrations, ranging from 65 to 80%, are found in the Venezuelan Andes (Mérida, San Cristóbal, Tovar, Valera, and numerous others towns), the Coastal Range (Eastern Caracas, San Antonio de Los Altos, El Junko, Colonia Tovar, among others) and areas of the north-eastern Caribbean coast (Lechería, Porlamar, Pampatar, Araya Peninsula).

Census data reveals that in major urban areas like Maracaibo, Valencia, Maracay, Barquisimeto, Ciudad Guayana, Puerto La Cruz, among others, several districts or parishes boast "white" majorities exceeding 50%. These areas typically align with medium to higher socioeconomic levels, resembling Latin American cities of European descent such as Montevideo and Buenos Aires.{{cite journal |last1=Martinez |first1=Helios |last2=Rodriguez-Larralde |first2=Alvaro |last3=Castro de Guerra |first3=Dinora |last4=Izaguirre |first4=Mary |title=Admixture Estimates for Caracas, Venezuela, Based on Autosomal, Y-Chromosome, and mtDNA Markers |journal=Human Biology |date=May 2007 |volume=2 |issue=79 |pages=201–13 |doi=10.1353/hub.2007.0032 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5819150 |access-date=15 February 2024}} Conversely, regions like Amazonas state, Orinoco Delta, and Alta Guajira exhibit minimal white presence, often less than 1% of the local population.

The following is a sortable table of the white Venezuelan proportion of the population in each Venezuelan state, according to the 2011 Census data.{{rp|table 2.12 on page 30}}

The top 20 communities (municipalities) with the highest percentage of White Venezuelans according to the 2011 Census:{{cite web|url=http://www.redatam.ine.gob.ve/Censo2011/index.html|title=Censo 2011 Redatam|website=www.redatam.ine.gob.ve}}

1. Chacao (Metropolitan District of Caracas) 72.20%
2. Umuquena (San Judas Tadeo), Táchira 71.80%
3. Cordero (Andrés Bello), Táchira 70.11%
4. Lechería (Diego Bautista), Anzoátegui 70.10%
5. El Hatillo (Metropolitan District of Caracas) 68.80%
6. San Antonio de Los Altos (Los Salias), Miranda 66.90%
7. Baruta (Metropolitan District of Caracas) 66.40%
8. Canaguá (Arzobispo Chacón), Mérida and Lobatera (Lobatera), Táchira 65.50%
9. La Grita (Jáuregui), Táchira 64.70%
10. San Cristóbal, Táchira 64.50%
11. El Junko (Metropolitan District of Caracas) 63.20%
12. Táriba, Táchira 62.80%
13. Michelena, Táchira 62.50
14. Palmira (Guásimos), Táchira 62.30%
15. Seboruco (Seboruco), Táchira 61.90%
16. Pueblo Llano, Mérida 61.30
17. Tovar, Mérida 60.90%
18. Colonia Tovar (Tovar), Aragua 60.80%
19. Capacho Nuevo (Independencia), Táchira 60.20%
20. El Cobre (José María Vargas), Táchira 60.00%

The top 20 communities (municipalities) by population density (per km2) of white Venezuelans, according to the 2011 Census:

1. Chacao (Metropolitan District of Caracas) 3,962.69
2. Santa Rita (Francisco Linares Alcántara), Aragua 2,604.25
3. Carlos Soublette, Vargas 2,506.08
4. Capital District (Metropolitan District of Caracas) 2,493.38
5. Baruta (Metropolitan District of Caracas) 2,479.77
6. Sucre (Metropolitan District of Caracas) 1,967.07
7. Maracaibo, Zulia 1,835.49
8. Lechería (Diego Bautista), Anzoátegui 1,668.23
9. Porlamar (Mariño), Nueva Esparta 1,176.69
10. San Francisco, Zulia 1,110.25
11. Los Guayos, Carabobo 1,107.78
12. Catia La Mar, Vargas 1,094.47
13. San Antonio de Los Altos (Los Salias), Miranda 1065.68
14. Carrizal, Miranda 970.25
15. El Limón (Mario Briceño Iragorry), Aragua 944.04
16. Palmira (Guásimos), Táchira 932.00
17. Santa Cruz (José Angel Lamas), Aragua 800.90
18. San Cristóbal, Táchira 766.64
19. Cagua (Sucre), Aragua 761.63
20. Pampatar (Maneiro), Nueva Esparta 749.08

{{Portal|Europe|Venezuela}}

• Demographics of Venezuela
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• Greeks in Venezuela
• Italian Venezuelans
• White people
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• Croatian Venezuelans
• Serbian Venezuelans
• Polish Venezuelans
• Slovene Venezuelans
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• Ukrainian Venezuelans
• History of the Jews in Venezuela

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