Gibraltar is a town located in

Zulia State Zulia State ( es, Estado Zulia, ; Wayuu language, Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the States of Venezuela, 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest popu ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

between Bobures to the south and Boscan to the north. It is on the shore of

Maracaibo Lake Lake Maracaibo (Spanish: Lago de Maracaibo; Anu: Coquivacoa) is a lagoon in northwestern Venezuela, the largest lake in South America and one of the oldest on Earth, formed 36 million years ago in the Andes Mountains. The fault in the northern sec ...

. The population is around 4,000.

History

It was founded as San Antonio de Gibraltar in February 1592 by

Gonzalo Piña Ludueña Gonzalo Piña Ludueña or Lidueña (Gibraltar, 1545 – Caracas, 1600) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' and colonial administrator in the Province of Venezuela between 1597 and 1600.

and took its name from his home town, the then

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

(now a

British overseas territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

). It was, during the colonial period, the most important harbour of the city of Mérida and a major center for the exportation of cocoa. Gibraltar was taken and ransacked in 1667 by the french pirate

François l'Olonnais Jean-David Nau () (c. 1630 – c. 1669), better known as François l'Olonnais () (also l'Olonnois, Lolonois and Lolona), was a French pirate active in the Caribbean during the 1660s. Early life In his 1684 account ''The History of the Buccaneer ...

and two years later by

Sir Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan ( cy, Harri Morgan; – 25 August 1688) was a privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Port Royal, Jamaica, he raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, ...

. In 1678,

Michel de Grammont Michel de Grammont (c. 1645 – 1686?) was a French privateer. He was born in Paris, Kingdom of France and was lost at sea in the north-east Caribbean, April 1686. His privateer career lasted from around 1670 to 1686 during which he commanded th ...

captured and plundered the small town, penetrating as far inland as Trujillo. The damage was so severe that it had nearly ceased to exist by 1680.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Zulia 1592 establishments in the Spanish Empire Populated places established in 1592