A Lebanese Venezuelan is a

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 ...

n citizen of Lebanese origin or descent. There is around 340,000 to 500,000 people of Lebanese ancestry.

Migration history

Lebanese immigration to Venezuela started when the first wave began to arrive to the country during 1862, in the last months of the

Federal War The Federal War ( es, Guerra Federal) — also known as the Great War or the Five Year War — was a civil war (1859–1863) in Venezuela between the Conservative party and the Liberal party over the monopoly the Conservatives held over governm ...

. Once disembarked in the ports of Venezuela, they were classified by the authorities as

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

, because they had only been issued passports with that nationality. According to research, 2 the entry points were

Margarita Island Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island. History ...

and

Puerto Cabello Puerto Cabello () is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State, about 210 km west of Caracas. As of 2011, the city had a population of around 182,400. The city is home to the largest and busiest port in the coun ...

. The first contingent of Lebanese settled in these ports and also in

Cumaná Cumaná () is the capital city of Venezuela's Sucre State. It is located east of Caracas. Cumaná was one of the first cities founded by Spain in the mainland Americas and is the oldest continuously-inhabited Hispanic-established city in South ...

La Guaira La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port. It was founded in 1577 as an outlet for Caracas, to the southeast. The town and the port were badly damaged during ...

and

Punto Fijo Punto Fijo is the capital city of the municipality of Carirubana in northern Falcón State, Venezuela. It is located on the southwestern coast of the Paraguaná Peninsula. Its metropolitan area includes the parishes of Norte, Carirubana, Punta C ...

, from where they spread to the interior of the country. They worked mainly in the commercial sector, helping to develop this sector in the national economy that until the moment presented little progress. The second wave of Lebanese immigration developed after 1918. Next to the defeat of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the

French Mandate of Syria The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (french: Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban; ar, الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان, al-intidāb al-fransi 'ala suriya wa-lubnān) (1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate foun ...

was established, with one of its subdivisions being the

State of Greater Lebanon The State of Greater Lebanon ( ar, دولة لبنان الكبير, Dawlat Lubnān al-Kabīr; french: État du Grand Liban), informally known as French Lebanon, was a state declared on 1 September 1920, which became the Lebanese Republic ( ar, ...

. The harsh conditions of the postwar period once again motivated the Lebanese to embark on a path similar to that of the 19th century towards the American continent, including Venezuela. Despite the fact that the Lebanese had arrived in Venezuela on several occasions, it was not until the mid-1960s and early 1970s that immigration became more forceful, since at that time Venezuela had many employment opportunities and of good living. The Lebanese were able to maintain their traditions and their identity already in Venezuelan territory, which they prioritize in relation to the education of young people in their community.

Religion

In religion, the majority of Lebanese-Venezuelans are

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

who belong to the

Maronite Catholic Church The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Th ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

and

Melkite Catholic el, Μελχιτική Ελληνική Καθολική Εκκλησία , image = Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Damascus, Syria.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = , abbreviatio ...

. A scant number are

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

. Venezuela is home of the largest

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

communities outside the Middle East, the

community are estimated around 60,000, and they are mostly Lebanese and

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

Notable people

Tareck El Aissami Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah (; ar, طارق زيدان العيسمي مداح; born 12 November 1974) is a Venezuelan politician serving as Minister of Industries and National Production since 14 June 2018, and as Minister of Petroleum sin ...

, politician who has served as

Vice President of Venezuela The vice president of Venezuela ( es, Vicepresidente de Venezuela), officially known as the Executive Vice President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Vicepresidente Ejecutivo de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is the second ...

from 4 January 2017 to 14 June 2018. * Elias Eljuri, politician. * Samir Bazzi, singer and TV host. *

Dad Dager A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fath ...

, actress. *

Jorge Dager Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker". The Latin form ''Georgius'' ...

, politician. *

Elías Jaua Elías José Jaua Milano (born 16 December 1969) is a Venezuelan politician and former university professor who serves as the Minister of Education of Venezuela. He served as the vice president of Venezuela from January 2010 to October 2012 and ha ...

, politician, former

and university professor. *

Braulio Jatar Braulio Jatar is a Chilean-Venezuelan lawyer and journalist, director of the ''Reporte Confidencial'' website, and political prisoner. Career In addition to being a journalist, Jatar has served as a lawyer and political activist. He worked clos ...

Dotti, politician *

, lawyer and journalist *

Coraima Torres Coraima Alejandra Torres Díaz (born June 6, 1973, in Valencia, Venezuela) is a telenovela actress. She started her acting career in Venezuela, in the late 1980s. Her first roles were in the telenovelas "Gardenia" and "Alondra". She got her first l ...

, actress. *

Elizabeth Ayoub Elizabeth Ayoub is a Venezuelan singer and actress of Lebanese descent. She performs in Spanish, Arabic, English, and French, though emphasizing the Latino and Arabian music scenes. Her first album, ''Prelude'' (2006), was released via Sony BMG ...

, singer and actress. *

Julian Chela-Flores Julian Chela-Flores (born 13 June 1942) is a Venezuelan astrobiologist and physicist. He is known for his contributions to the field of planetary habitability. Biography His father, Raimundo Chela a mathematician of Lebanese family, encouraged ...

, astrobiologist and physicist. * Edmundo Kabchi - businessman * Georges David Kabchi Zakia - businessman * Antonio Ghamra - businessman *

Nelson Mezerhane Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

- banker, owner of

Diario Las Americas Diario (Italian, Spanish "Diary") and ''El Diario'' (Spanish, "The Daily") may refer to: Newspapers, periodicals and websites * ''El Diario'' (Argentina) * ''Diario'' (Aruba) * ''El Diario'' (La Paz), Bolivia * ''Diario Extra'' (Costa Rica) *''Di ...

of Miami, Florida *

Abelardo Raidi Abelardo Raidi raɪ-dɪ(December 25, 1914 – January 27, 2002) was a Venezuelan sportswriter and radio broadcaster. He was born in Valencia, Carabobo. Raidi began his career as a radio announcer and play-by-play sports broadcaster in several stat ...

- journalist *

Henry Ramos Allup Henry Lisandro Ramos Allup (born 17 October 1943) is a Venezuelan politician and lawyer and former President of the National Assembly who was born in Valencia, Carabobo, Valencia, Carabobo. He has been leader of the social democracy, social democr ...

, politician and former

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

* Kauthar Mecias - philosopher * Joanna Hausmann Jatar, comedian, writer and actress. * Carolina Acosta-Alzuru - media studies writer, UGA professor. * Carlos Lavaud- trader, founder of Navegantes del Magallanes baseball team. * Alberto Salomón - founder of Navegantes del Magallanes baseball team. * Ricardo Salomón - founder of Navegantes del Magallanes baseball team. * Vicente Issa - founder of Navegantes del Magallanes baseball team. * Eduardo Kalil - founder of Navegantes del Magallanes baseball team. * Jorge Saldivia Gil - politician, engineer, architect, member of the

Generation of 1928 The Generation of 1928 (Spanish: ''Generación del 28'') was a group of Venezuelan students who led protests in Caracas in 1928 against the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez. Members and exile Many politicians prominent in Venezuela's transi ...

and first secretary of the

Communist Party of Venezuela The Communist Party of Venezuela ( es, Partido Comunista de Venezuela, PCV) is a communist party and the oldest continuously existing party in Venezuela. It was the main leftist political party in Venezuela from its foundation in 1931 until it ...

* Elias Sayegh- politician, mayor of

El Hatillo Municipality El Hatillo Municipality ( es, Municipio El Hatillo) is an administrative division of the Miranda State, State of Miranda, Venezuela; along with Baruta Municipality, Baruta, Chacao Municipality, Chacao, Libertador Municipality (Venezuelan Capital ...

References

External links

Al Jadid: Arabs making their mark in Latin America
{{Ethnic groups in Venezuela Arab Venezuelan Lebanese diaspora in South America

Migration history

Religion

Notable people

See also

References

External links