The colonial elite of early Caracas: formation & crisis 1567 - 1767
The Spanish town of Santiago de León de Caracas was founded in 1567. Located high above the Caribbean Sea in a temperate valley, Caracas flourished early because of its moderate climate and its ideal geographical setting, both near enough to the coast for commerce and yet far enough away to discourage attacks by foreign buccaneers. However, in 1567 the conquistadores who forced the Indian inhabitants of this valley to submit to their will and the authority of the Castilian monarchy were little concerned with climate or geography. In the decades before the foundation of Caracas the most dynamic enterprises on this coast had been the pearl fisheries of the islands of Margarita and Cubagua.