Maracaibo

**Maracaibo** () is a ceety in northwastren Venezuela, on the wastren shore o the strait that connects Loch Maracaibo tae the Guwf o Venezuela. It is the seicont-lairgest ceety in the kintra (efter the naitional caipital Caracas) an the caipital o the state o Zulia. The population o the ceety is approximately 1,495,200  wi the metropolitan aurie estimatit at 2,108,404 as of 2010.
Maracaibo is elk-namit ***La Tierra del Sol Amada*** ("The Beluvit Laund o the Sun").

## Etymologie
The name Maracaibo is said tae come frae the brave Cacique (Indian Chief) Mara, a young native who valiantly resistit the Spaniards an dee'd fechtin thaim. It is said that when Mara fell, the Indians shoutit "Mara cayo!" (Mara fell!), thus oreeginatin the ceety name. Ither historians say that the first name o this laund in Indian leid wis "Maara-iwo" meanin "Place whaur serpents aboond".

## History

### Foondation
The first indigenous dounsets wur o Arawak an Carib oreegin. Aroond the main group wur the Añu tribe who biggit rows of stilt hooses aw ower the northren riviera o the Loch Maracaibo. The first Europeans arrivit in 1499.

The ceety wis foondit three times: the first time wis durin the Klein-Venedig period (1528&ndash;1546), when the Welser bankin faimily receivit a concession ower Venezuela Province frae Charles I o Spain. In August 1529 the German Ambrosius Ehinger made his first expedeetion tae Loch Maracaibo which wis bitterly opponit bi the indigenous fowk, the Coquibacoa.  Efter winnin a series o bloody battles, he foondit the dounset on 8 September 1529. Ehinger namit the dounset New Nuremberg () an the loch efter the valiant chieftain Mara o the Coquibacoa, who haed dee'd in the fechtin.  The ceety wis renamit Maracaibo efter the Spaingie teuk possession. The lack o activity in the zone made Nikolaus Federmann evacuate the veelage in 1535 an muivit its population tae Cabo de la Vela near the then caipital o Venezuela Province, Santa Ana de Coro.

A seicont attempt bi Captain Alonso Pacheco turned intae failur. The third foondation o the ceety occurs in 1574 when Caiptain Pedro Maldonado, unner Govrenor Diego de Mazariegos' command, establishes the veelage wi the name of Nueva Zamora de Maracaibo. "Nueva Zamora" comes frae Mazariego's place o birth, Zamora, in Spain. Syne its definite foondation, the toun began tae develop as a whole. It is based on the wastren side o Loch Maracaibo, the dominant featur o the ile-rich Maracaibo Basin. Favoured bi prevailin winds an a protectit harbour, the ceety is locatit on the shores o the loch whaur the narraes, which eventually lead tae the Guwf o Venezuela, first acome pronooncit.

### Pirates' attacks

In 1667, François l'Olonnais wi a fleet o aicht ships an a crew o sax hunder pirates sackit Maracaibo an Gibraltar. En route, l'Olonnais crossed paths wi a Spaingie treasur ship, which he captured, alang wi its rich cargo o cacao, gemstanes an mair nor 260,000 pieces o aicht.

In Mairch 1669, Henry Morgan sackit Maracaibo, which emptiet when his fleet wis first spied, an muivit on tae the Spaingie dounset o Gibraltar on the inside o Loch Maracaibo in search o mair treasur.  A few weeks later, when he attemptit tae sail oot o the loch, Morgan foond a occupee'd fort blockin the inlet tae the Caribbean, alang wi three Spaingie ships. These wur the Magdalena, the San Luis, an the Soledad. He destroyed the Magdalena an burnet the San Luis bi sendin a dummy ship full o gunpouder tae explode near them, efter which the crew o the Soledad surrendered. Bi fakkin a landwaird attack on the fort, tharebi convincin the Spainyie govrenor tae shift his cannon, he eludit thair guns an escapit.

### Independencia era
In 1810 the province o Maracaibo did no join the first republic o Venezuela an remained lyal tae the Spaingie croun. Maracaibo then held the seat o the Captaincy General of Venezuela. In 1821 uprisins in favour o unthirldom began conductin tae warfare an hostility. The ryalists, led bi Francisco Tomás Morales, focht wi the patriots, led bi Rafael Urdaneta, tae tak back control ower the province in the Juana de Ávila Battle an Morales brocht back Spaingie rule in 1822 till he wis defeatit at the Battle o Loch Maracaibo on 24 Julie 1823 culminatin Venezuela's struggle for unthirldom.

### Isolation period
For aboot 390 years, Maracaibo remained isolatit an separatit frae the rest o the kintra. Transportation wis anerly possible athort the loch bi ferry or ither marine transport.

Caurs, buses, an lorries, wi thair constant flow o manufactured guids an agricultural product, dependit on the ferry seestem atween the ceety an the eastren shore wi thair roads tae connect tae the kintra's motorwa seestem. Maracaibo an the Loch Maracaibo region's economy wis mair linkit tae Colombie than tae eastren Venezuela due tae the naitural route available throu Loch Maracaibo then leadin tae the sea.

This isolation wis baith a challenge an an advantage. The vera natur o the ceety's location made for a population kent for thair unthirlt thocht an character. The history o this region is rife wi stories aboot the creation o a unthirlt an sovereign naition apairt frae Venezuela, a naition cried *La República Independiente del Zulia*, which means *The Unthirlt Republic o Zulia*, but this haes niver come tae be.

### Biggin o the brig

The dictatorial regime o General Marcos Pérez Jiménez in the 1950s set as a goal the construction o a brig connectin the twa loch shores. Various brig projects for the spannin o the Loch Maracaibo narraes near the ceety wur in the wirks. The general's govrenment haed decidit that this "ceety o unthirlt thocht" shoud be mair "connectit" tae the rest o the kintra.

Proposals for a brig design that includit rail transport an tourist facilities wur seriously considered. The faw o the Pérez Jiménez govrenment on 23 Januar 1958, quickly led tae a less elaborate design project that wis appruivit an fundit bi a democratic an mair conservative govrenment.

The biggin o "El Puente Sobre El Lago de Maracaibo "General Rafael Urdaneta"—(General Rafael Urdaneta Brig ower Loch Maracaibo) namit efter the distinguished General hero o the War o Unthirldom wis opened tae public traffec in 1962. The project wis completit on schedule in 40 month.

This brig construction project wis a remarkable feat. Built unner vera difficult condeetions, when completit, it became the langest prestressed concrete brig in the warld. The structur is in constant uise an remains the day as the maist important link atween Maracaibo, alang wi hintle o the state o Zulia, an the rest o Venezuela.

### Modren times

Maracaibo haes acome a lairge metropolitan ceety, comprisin twa municipalities: tae the north the municipality o Maracaibo an tae the sooth the San Francisco municipality (established in 1995). In recent years, due tae poleetical/economic an cultural raisons, mony hae muivit tae Maracaibo frae landwart auries an ither ceeties (includin Caracas).

In the poleetical arena, the ceetizens o Maracaibo (an maist ither ceeties an municipalities in Zulia state) hae in recent years votit for a competitive poleetical seestem in whaur the govrenor is frae a certain poleetical pairty an the mayor or mayors are frae the opposite poleetical pairty. This seestem haes brocht mony good things tae the ceety an the state; for example, if the govrenor builds a brig, ane o the mayors will big twa, if a mayor cleans a public pairk, the govrenor retaliates bi cleanin an remodellin anither ane.

## Destricts




## Internaitional relations

### Twin touns – Sister ceeties
Maracaibo is twinned wi:

## Line note references

## References

## Freemit airtins

* Panorama Digital  -Lairgest Maracaibo based newspaper
* La Verdad  - Maracaibo-based newspaper.