Venezuelan Antilles

The Federal Dependencies of Venezuela ( es, link=no, Dependencias Federales de Venezuela) encompass most of Venezuela's offshore islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Venezuela, excluding those islands that form the State of Nueva Esparta and some Caribbean coastal islands that are integrated with nearby states. These islands, with a total area of 342 square kilometres, are sparsely populated – according to the preliminary results of the 2011 Census only 2,155 people live there permanently, with another hundred from Margarita Island who live there seasonally to engage in fishing. Local government is officially under the authority of Central government in Caracas, although ''de facto'' power is often held by the heads of the sparse and somewhat isolated communities that decorate the territories.

History

The origins of the population of the Federal Dependencies can be found in the Archipelago of Los Roques dating back to approximately 1200 BC, when it is believed that indigenous Caribs came from Curaçao, Aruba or the mainland visited the islands, especially Two Mosquises Sur, Crasquí and Cayo Sal, to supply themselves with food and salt.

Sample of the presence of these first settlers are the concheros of botutos that abound in the beaches of Los Roques. These sporadic waves of indigenous ethnic groups became more frequent towards the year 1000 AD, when in Dos Mosquises North fishermen and farmers from Ocumare de la Costa and the Central Coast, who formed the only
ocumaroid settlement in the Venezuelan Antilles, where they exploited their natural resources and cultivated much of its artistic manifestations.

A new migratory wave took place in 1300 approximately, when the carriers of the Valencioid ceramics arrived to the archipelago and settled in Dos Mosquises Sur.

Spanish colonization

Between the 16th and 18th centuries salt was one of the most coveted resources and their exploitation in the Venezuelan natural salt mines was controlled by the authorities of the Colony. At the end of the 18th century in the salt mines of Cayo Sal, located in the southwestern part of the Los Roques archipelago, the Spanish authorities installed a small customs office of which it is believed that there are still remains (foundations of its infrastructure made of coral formations).

Old references indicate that the Dutch expelled from Araya by the Spaniards in 1605 settled in La Tortuga to exploit its salt mines until they were again evicted in 1631. In 1840 Agustín Codazzi made a description of the island mentioning also the extraction of salt. It was not until the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century that La Tortuga aroused the interest of scientists, who have studied its fauna and flora.

One of the most interesting facts in history of the federal dependencies was given between the 8 and the December 12, 1842, when three corvetas that transported to the country the rest of Simón Bolívar managed to flee of a storm when taking refuge in Los Roques.

On November 8, 1777, it was recognised by the Royal Decree of Charles III of Spain that the group of Spanish islands near the southeast of the Caribbean Sea would come under the jurisdiction of the Captaincy General of Venezuela. With the Venezuelan independence, all the islands remained under Venezuelan rule and in the same way until the formation of Gran Colombia. In 1830, Venezuela seceded from Gran Colombia and regained sovereignty over its islands in the Caribbean. On March 30, 1845, Venezuela and Spain signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship in which Isabela II of Spain officially recognised Venezuela's independence and all the territories and islands that belonged to the Captaincy General of Venezuela at the time of independence.

In 1777, when the Captaincy General of Venezuela was created, the island of Patos became part of the province of Cumaná. In 1803, through a treaty known as the Peace of Amiens, Spain ceded the island of Trinidad to England, since it had been occupied by British citizens since 1797.

Independent Venezuela

Although the island of Patos was not mentioned in the treaty.
When the British took over the island, they considered it part of Trinidad and annexed it to their possessions. In 1942 England recognized Venezuelan sovereignty over the island on the occasion of the delimitation of the underwater areas of the Gulf of Paria and the Venezuelan flag was raised on its shores on September 28, 1942.

On April 28, 1856, a new Law of Political Territorial Division was decreed, where the creation of the Province of Margarita was resolved. One of its cantons, called Cantón Norte, was composed of 10 parishes, of which 4 are part of what today are some of the current Federal Dependencies, these are San Juan and the islands of Tortuga, Blanquilla, Testigos and Aves de Barlovento with all those that are adjacent to them.

The US began exploiting guano on Aves Island in the mid-nineteenth century. Venezuela claimed sovereignty over the islands, and after a long legal dispute, the United States recognized Venezuelan sovereignty over the island in 1861. The Netherlands made claims over these same islands but the conflict was resolved through arbitration in 1865 by recognizing again Venezuelan sovereignty over Isla de Aves.

On August 22, 1871, Venezuelan President Antonio Guzman Blanco decided to group all the Venezuelan islands except Coche, Cubagua, Margarita and Isla de Aves as Federal Territory Colón,4 which would be controlled by a governor appointed by the President of the Republic. Then, under the presidency of Joaquin Crespo, on July 4, 1895, the Aves Island was included within the Federal Territory by national decree. On May 16, 1905, Cipriano Castro decided to include Coche Island within the Federal Territory, establishing its capital in San Pedro de Coche; however, this decision was short-lived due to the protests the government received from Margarita Island. After three years, on August 31, 1908, the island was returned to Nueva Esparta and the Federal Territory of Colon was dissolved, establishing direct control of the islands by the National Executive.

On July 4, 1938, the Ley Orgánica de las Dependencias Federales was passed under the government of Eleazar López Contreras, which completely regulated the situation of the islands. The United Kingdom wanted Isla de Patos, but on February 26, 1942, it was resolved by delimiting the soil and subsoil of the Gulf of Paria. The Archipelago of Los Monjes, which Venezuela integrated as part of its territory, was the subject of controversy but in 1952 the Colombian Foreign Minister recognised Venezuelan sovereignty over the territory through a diplomatic note and in 1992 the Colombian government stated that it would not claim the territory. On August 23, 1972, the Bird Island was declared a national Wildlife Refuge. On June 2, 1978, the "Simón Bolívar" Naval Scientific Base was created on Aves Island.
That same year, an attempt was made in the Chamber of Deputies of the then National Congress to approve a bill for the creation of the Caribbean Archipelago Territory, but this proposal could not be carried out because it was against some provisions of the 1961 Venezuelan Constitution.

On March 28 and 31, 1978 the final maritime limits with the United States were signed (1978 Treaty between the United States and Venezuela or United States–Venezuela Maritime Boundary Treaty) which set the limits with Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. and the Netherlands (1978 Treaty between the Netherlands and Venezuela or Netherlands–Venezuela Boundary Treaty) which set the limits with the Netherlands Antilles, then on July 17, 1983, it did the same with France.

These three treaties establish Venezuela's current continental shelf and exclusive economic zone in the Caribbean Sea. On April 4, 1986, the National Directorate for the Coordination of Border Development and Federal Departments was set up under the Ministry of the Interior and Justice to administer the territory.

21st century

In October 2011, a new decree was approved as an organic law for the Federal Dependencies and island territories. A subdivision called Territorio Insular Francisco de Miranda was then created, which includes Los Roques, Las Aves and La Orchila.

In 2015, a diplomatic problem occurred between Venezuela and Colombia due to the incursion of Colombian and US frigates.

In recent years the Los Roques Airport has been expanded and remodeled and various structures have been built and renovated. On La Tortuga Island an ecological hotel was built and several buildings were erected to attract tourism.

Geography

The federal dependencies are composed of 600 islands and smaller formations; many have an area of less than 10,000 square metres and are essentially simple rocks. The largest island, La Tortuga, accounts for almost half of the territory of the federal dependencies.

Dependencias Federales stretch for along the coast from ''Archipiélago Los Monjes'' in the west at the Gulf of Venezuela to ''Isla de Patos'' southeast of Isla Margarita at the Gulf of Paria in the east.

Biogeographical area

The World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions groups the islands, excluding the abyssal Aves Island, into an area it calls the "Venezuelan Antilles" (Level 3 code "VNA").

Principal islands and archipelagos

These are set out below:

*Los Monjes Archipelago (Archipiélago Los Monjes)
*La Tortuga Island (Isla La Tortuga)
*La Sola Island (Isla La Sola)
*Los Testigos Islands (Islas Los Testigos)
* Los Frailes Islands (Islas los Frailes)
*Patos Island (Isla de Patos)
*Los Roques Archipelago (Archipiélago Los Roques)
*La Blanquilla Island (Isla La Blanquilla)
*Los Hermanos Archipelago (Archipiélago Los Hermanos)
*La Orchila Island (Isla La Orchila)
*Las Aves Archipelago (Archipiélago Las Aves)
*Aves Island (Isla de Aves)

* Note A: within the Dependencias Federales, the Archipiélago Los Roques, the Archipiélago Las Aves and the Isla La Orchila together comprise the Territorio Insular Francisco de Miranda, which was established on November 10, 2011.

Reefs

Coral reefs form one of the most outstanding and valuable ecosystems on the planet, thanks to their enormous biodiversity, their high productivity, their appreciated fishing resources and their spectacular scenic beauty, which makes them highly complex and fragile. Six of the twelve islands of the Federal Dependencies have recent reef formations. Venezuela has some of the most important reef formations in the Caribbean, such as the complex reefs of Las Aves Archipelago and Los Roques.

These complexes describe spectacular barrier reefs, fringing or coastal reefs, keys or coral islands and reef patches. The rest of the islands present recent coral formations of lesser extension
and complexity, as is the case with Aves Island, which is mostly a fringing reef. La Blanquilla Island has only fringing reefs along the west and south coast. According to Méndez, the southern reef is more developed and not
has as much coral variety as in Los Roques and Las Aves archipelago.

In primary formation is the northeastern barrier reef of the archipelago La Orchila and in the island LaTortuga the southern fringe reef is discontinuous. The archipelago Los Roques, Aves of Barlovento, Aves de Sotavento and La Blanquilla present similar characteristics in terms of the underwater morphology of the southern reef fronts. The reefs that extend along the southern perimeters of these complex reefs have
a steep slope that extends to 40 m where there are two intermediate terraces at 14 and 22 m".

This rugged barrier reef exhibits a biological diversity of coral communities, of different forms of expression, associated with a fauna
characteristic. In terms of threats, coral reefs are exposed to natural disturbances, such as coral bleaching, mainly due to warming waters. Other natural phenomena that impact the Coral reefs are storms and hurricanes, as is the case with Aves Island.
As well as natural disturbances, anthropogenic impacts also affect them, as is the case with pollution produced by sewage, hydrocarbons and tourist activity. Among the tourist activities, snorkeling, the diving, sport fishing, collecting fish, corals and snails, cause some damage. Also the grounding of ships and boats generates a great environmental impact on the reefs, which leads to their destruction.

Mangroves

The mangrove ecosystem is one of the most characteristic of the tropical zone and is very well represented in some of the islands of the Federal Dependencies. They constitute coastal forests of incredible biodiversity and are, therefore, one of the most productive and diverse in the world. Their ecological function is decisive as a site of reproduction, refuge and feeding of different species of terrestrial animals such as birds, reptiles and mammals, and marine life, such as molluscs, crustaceans and algae, among others.

Some mangroves are important sanctuaries for the maintenance of some species that are born in nearby ecosystems, such as coral reefs or seagrass beds, which are currently threatened with extinction, such as some species of sea turtles. The main mangrove ecosystems are represented in the List of Wetlands of International Importance, as is the case of Los Roques National Park, which is promoting the conservation, integrated management and sustainable use of its resources (Ramsar Convention, 1988).

Its width can vary from less than 100 meters to several kilometers. Its apparent homogeneity is reflected by a tree structure arranged in bands, according to the adaptability of the species, the instability of the substrate and salinity. The floristic representatives are the following: the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), the black mangrove (Avicenniae germinans), the white mangrove of the family Laguncularia and the button mangrove (Conocarpus erectus). The mangroves of the islands of the Federal Dependencies correspond to geomorphological environments associated with surfaces of recent or old low energy carbonates, of the type of shallow tropical areas. They are located on the coast line and its limit can end abruptly on a cliff or can extend to plains muddy or offshore banks of marine angiosperms. Some researchers point to coral island mangroves as the least productive.

At present, there is no accurate assessment of the distribution and extent of mangroves of the islands of the Federal Dependencies. Those of the archipelago Los Roques are very well-known, where they present/display better development; these are distributed ample and densely in the southeastern part of its islands and cays, represented by the four characteristic species. The predominant species is the red mangrove