New Andalusia Province or Province of Cumaná (1537–1864) was a province of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

, and later of

Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), also known as Greater Colombia and officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish language, Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and parts of Central ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. It included the territory of present-day Venezuelan states

Sucre Sucre (; ) is the ''de jure'' capital city of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the sixth most populous city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . This relatively high ...

Anzoátegui Anzoátegui State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, states of Venezuela, located in the northeastern region of the country. Anzoátegui is well known for its beaches that attract many visitors. Its coast consists of a single beach approx ...

and

Monagas Monagas State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. Monagas State covers a total surface area of and, as of the 2011 census, had a population of 905,443. Monagas State is surrounded by Sucre State in the north, Anzoátegui State in the ...

. Its most important cities were the Capital City

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 Sout ...

and New Barcelona.

Spanish Empire

Its provincial capital,

, was refounded in 1569 by explorer

Diego Hernández de Serpa Diego Hernández de Serpa (; 1510 – May 10, 1570) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer, who under the patronage of Philip II of Spain was part of the European conquest and colonization of the New Andalusia Province (Venezuela region) in nor ...

. The Province originally comprised what is now eastern

, western

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

, and far northern

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. In the following centuries, its jurisdiction was reduced to

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and was synonymous with Cumaná Province. Early in its history, the conquistador Joan Orpí founded a new Province, of ''Nueva Cataluña'' (New Catalonia), also known as ''New Barcelona'' after its capital,

, partly from territory belonging to New Andalusia. This lasted from 1637 to 1654, when it was incorporated into New Andalusia.

Guayana Province Guayana Province (1585−1864) was a province of Spanish Colonial Venezuela and independent Venezuela, located in the The Guianas, Guyana region of northeastern South America. The province was part of the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spa ...

(created 1585) provided a southern boundary, while

Venezuela Province The Venezuela Province (or Province of Caracas) was a province of the Spanish Empire (from 1527), of Gran Colombia (1824–1830) and later of Venezuela (from 1830), apart from an interlude (1528–1546) when it was contracted as a concession by t ...

provided a western one. For most of its existence, the

Royal Audience of Santo Domingo The Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo () was the first court of the Spanish crown in America. It was created by Ferdinand V of Castile in his decree of 1511, but due to disagreements between the governor of Hispaniola, Diego Colon and the Crown ...

oversaw its administrative and judicial matters. In the late 18th century, it was incorporated into the newly created

Captaincy General of Venezuela The Captaincy General of Venezuela (), was an administrative district of colonial Spain, created on September 8, 1777, through the Royal Decree of Graces of 1777, to provide more autonomy for the provinces of Venezuela, previously under the ju ...

Gran Colombia

Following the

Venezuelan Declaration of Independence The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence () is a document drafted and adopted by Venezuelan on July 5, 1811, through which Venezuelans made the decision to separate from the History of Spain (1810–1873), Spanish Crown in order to establish a ...

(1811), the Province became one of the

Provinces of Gran Colombia The 37 provinces and their departments, in the Gran Colombia, Republic of Gran Colombia from 1824 to 1831. Gran Colombia was a country in northern South America from 1819 to 1831. Its subdivisions were redrawn in 1824, from the original 3 dep ...

(after 1824, within the Orinoco Department). Capital: Cumaná. Cantones: * Cumaná, * Carupano, * Cumanacoa, * Maturín, * Cariaco, * Aragua Cumanés * Río Caribes. Following Venezuelan independence in 1830, it became a

Province of Venezuela The Venezuela Province (or Province of Caracas) was a province of the Spanish Empire (from 1527), of Gran Colombia (1824–1830) and later of Venezuela (from 1830), apart from an interlude (1528–1546) when it was contracted as a concession by t ...

, until the creation of the

States of Venezuela The Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a federation made up of twenty-three states ('), a Capital District (Venezuela), Capital District (') and the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, Federal Dependencies ('), which consist of many ...

in 1864. Between 1810 and 1840 it lost the Canton Piacoa (covering the

Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

delta) to

; this later became the state of

Delta Amacuro Delta Amacuro State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela, and is the location of the Orinoco Delta. The Paria Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean are found to the north, Bolívar State (Venezuela), Bolívar State is found to th ...

External links

"Venezuela Together with the Southern Part of New Andalusia"
a map from 1630 Provinces of the Spanish Empire Colonial Colombia Colonial Venezuela Former colonies in South America Provinces of Gran Colombia Provinces of Venezuela Spanish colonization of the Americas 16th century in Venezuela 17th century in Venezuela 18th century in Venezuela 16th century in South America 17th century in South America 18th century in South America States and territories established in 1537 16th-century establishments in Venezuela States and territories disestablished in 1864 1537 establishments in the Spanish Empire 1537 establishments in South America 1864 disestablishments in the Spanish Empire 1864 disestablishments in South America Cumaná {{SouthAm-hist-stub