Coro: History

Pre-20th-Century History

Coro was founded in 1527 by Juan de Ampiés, making it one of the oldest settlements in the New World and the first capital of colonial Venezuela. That same year, King Carlos I of Spain found himself heavily in debt to German banking firms for loans he had used to buy the title of Holy Roman Emperor Karl V (Charles V) in 1519. As a result, he was forced to lease the entire city and province to the Welsers of Germany.

The Germans were eager to find El Dorado - the mythical City of Gold - and Teutonic expeditions soon began landing on Venezuela's shores. For nearly 20 years, Coro was the jumping-off point for these German conquistadors.

In 1546, the contract with the Welsers was cancelled and the administrative seat of the province moved to El Tocuyo, 200km (120mi) south. When the Germans moved out, the Spanish resettled Coro - very little of the German presence remains.

In the early 19th century, Jews came to Coro from Curaçao, during a period of intensive trade with the Dutch islands. Over the course of time, they formed a small but influential commercial community, despite persecution by post-independence caudillo governments. Today, there are perhaps a dozen Jews still living in Coro, along with a jewish cemetery and synagogue, founded in 1853.

Modern History

Coro's historic colonial architecture and traditional adobe buildings were recognized as a national monument in the 1950s.

The Parque Nacional Médanos de Coro, today a national park, was created in 1974 to protect the unique environment on the isthmus of the Península de Paraguaná. It's located just northeast of the city in a spectacular desert landscape, dominated by sand dunes up to 30m (98ft) high, giving an impression of being in the middle of the Sahara.

In 1993, Coro and its port were declared a Unesco World Heritage site.

Recent History

Coro's economy benefits from the tourism brought in by its World heritage status. In 2005, however, it was placed on Unesco's 'endangered' list, mainly due to heavy rain impacting on its adobe and earthen structures over recent years. The capital of Falcón state, present-day Coro also has several universities, bringing a young and cultured air to the town.

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