Gibraltar is a town located in

Zulia State Zulia State (, ; 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 population among Vene ...

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 ...

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

Maracaibo Lake Lake Maracaibo () is located in northwestern Venezuela, between the states of Zulia, Trujillo (state), Trujillo, and Mérida (state), Mérida. While Maracaibo is commonly referred to as a lake, its current hydrological characteristics may better ...

. The population is around 4,000.

History

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

Gonzalo Piña Ludueña Gonzalo de Piña y Ludueña or Lidueña (Gibraltar, 1545 – Caracas, 1600) was a Spanish Noble, ''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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

(now a

British overseas territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

). 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 1668 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 According to Alexandre Exquemelin's 1684 account ' ...

and

one year later "One Year Later" is a 2006 comic book storyline running through the books published by DC Comics. As the title suggests, it involves a narrative jump exactly one year into the future of the DC Universe following the events of the "Infinite Crisi ...

Sir Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan (; – 25 August 1688) was a Welsh people, Welsh privateer, plantation owner, and, later, the List of governors of Jamaica, lieutenant governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Port Royal, Jamaica, he and those unde ...

. In 1678,

Michel de Grammont Michel de Grammont ( 1645 – 1686?) was a French privateer. He was born in Paris, 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 the flagship ' ...

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