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Christopher Columbus was the first European to visit Venezuela. He came in 1498 during his third voyage to the New World, and landed on the Peninsula de Paria.
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First rebellion against Spanish colonial rule.
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Venezuela declared independence from Spain.
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Venezuela gained full independence in 1845.
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During the 19th and 20th centuries Venezuela experiences political turmoil and is alternately ruled by a handful of military strongmen, each overthrowing the other. A civil war rages through the country for four years from 1859, killing hundreds of thousands of people.
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Venezuela becomes world's largest oil exporter.
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Rómulo Betancourt is heralded as the Father of Venezuelan Democracy, serving two elected presidencies. The first, a short-lived period from 1945, and then again for five years from 1959 after the military dictator Pérez Jiménez is ousted.
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Hugo Chavez elected president
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Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez died at age 58, after 14 years in power. Mr Chavez had been seriously ill with cancer for more than a year, undergoing several operations in Cuba.
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Hundreds of thousands of people take part in a protest in Caracas calling for the removal of President Maduro, blaming him for the economic crisis and accusing the electoral commission of delaying a referendum which could shorten his term in office.