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The Las Aves Archipelago is a pristine
Las Aves was the site of a major Dutch victory over the French in 1678, when a French fleet commanded by Admiral
The archipelago consists of two
Image:Aves_5b.jpg,
Image:Aves111.jpg,
Image:safarisailing01.jpg,
Image:safarisailing02.jpg,
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
in the Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
, and is part of the Federal Dependencies
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 Espar ...
of 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 ...
. It is located north of the Venezuelan states of Aragua
Aragua State ( es, Estado Aragua, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. It is located in the north-central region of Venezuela. It has plains and jungle (terrain), jungles and Caribbean beaches. The most popular are Cata a ...
and Carabobo
, anthem = '' Himno del Estado Carabobo''
, image_map = Carabobo in Venezuela.svg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Location within Venezuela
, pushpin_map =
, pushpin_map_ ...
, between the Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
island Bonaire
Bonaire (; , ; pap, Boneiru, , almost pronounced ) is a Dutch island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west ( leeward) coast of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC i ...
in the west, and the Los Roques Archipelago
The Los Roques Archipelago (Spanish: ''Archipiélago de Los Roques'') is a federal dependency of Venezuela consisting of approximately 350 islands, cays, and islets in a total area of 40.61 square kilometers. The archipelago is located dire ...
in the east, at . The prime economic importance of the islands lies in fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
. "Las Aves" translates to "The Birds" in English.
History
Las Aves was the site of a major Dutch victory over the French in 1678, when a French fleet commanded by Admiral Jean d'Estrées
Jean d'Estrées (; 1666 – 3 March 1718) was a French priest and politician. He was the son of Jean II d'Estrées and his wife Marie Marguerite Morin.
He was born in Paris, the nephew of Cardinal César d'Estrées and brother of Marshal Victo ...
on its way to capture the nearby Dutch island Curaçao
Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...
was decoyed onto the reefs of Aves de Sotovento by a small force of three Dutch ships. When D'Estrees' ship hit the reef, he fired cannons as a warning to the ships behind. However, they interpreted the signal to mean that he was under attack so they came rushing to his aid - and likewise struck the reefs.
The entire French fleet of 13 ships was lost as a result of the Admiral's eagerness to fight. The survivors found no fresh water on Las Aves. They tried to survive on barrels of wine and salted meat that washed up ashore. But these supplies ran out and eventually they perished. The Admiral was one of the few to be rescued. On Curaçao, a Day of Thanksgiving was observed until far into the 18th century to commemorate the island's fortunate escape from being ravaged by the French.
Las Aves was considered by the Dutch as part of their West Indian possessions. In ''The Dutch West Indies'' (Amsterdam, 1836), Marten Douwes Teenstra
Marten Douwes Teenstra (17 September 1795 Het Ruigezand, Groningen - 29 October 1864 Ulrum) was a Dutch writer and traveller in South Africa and the Dutch East Indies. The account of his stay at the Cape from 12 March to 7 July 1825, "''De vruc ...
wrote "The Government of Curaçao also includes the uninhabited islets and rocks Little Curaçao, Aves, Roques and Orchilla."
In 1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
Venezuela and the Kingdom of the Netherlands
, national_anthem = )
, image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg
, map_width = 250px
, image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png
, map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale
, capital = ...
established the marine limits between the Federal Dependencies and the Dutch Antilles
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People ...
in the Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
.
Geography
The archipelago consists of two atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...
-like reef complexes:
*Aves de Barlovento, the eastern group, with a fringing reef of 8 km of diameter and with three cays in the southwest
**Isla Aves de Barlovento
**Isla Tesoro
**Cayo Bubi
**Cayo de Las Bobas
*Aves de Sotavento, the western group, with Isla Maceta, a large mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...
-covered cay in the south.
**Isla Aves de Sotavento
**Isla Larga
**Cayo Tirra
**Isla Saquisaqui
**Cayos de La Colonia
**Isla Maceta
**Cayo Sterna
In total, there are 21 islets and islands in both groups. The archipelago is not to be confused with Aves Island, which is the most remote island claimed by Venezuela, far to the north.
Gallery
See also
*Federal Dependencies of Venezuela
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 Espar ...
*List of marine molluscs of Venezuela
The marine molluscs of Venezuela are a part of the molluscan fauna of Venezuela. The marine molluscs are the snails, clams and mussels, chitons, octopuses, squid and cuttlefish that live in marine and estuarine habitats. The freshwater and land m ...
*List of sponges of Venezuela
The sponges of Venezuela are a part of the Porifera fauna of Venezuela (which is part of the wildlife of Venezuela).
A number of species of sponges are found in the wild in Venezuela.
This is a partial list of the marine and freshwater sponges ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Las Aves Archipelago Federal Dependencies of Venezuela Venezuelan islands of the Leeward Antilles Atolls of Venezuela Coral reefs