Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Venezuela
Spanish explorers sailing along this stretch
of the South American coast in the early
1500s noted the Amerindian dwellings built
on stilts in the water and named the area
Venezuela,
or “little Venice,” after a fancied
resemblance to the Italian city of canals.
The first settlement was planted in 1520,
and eight years later the greater part of the
region was granted to the Welser family of
Augsburg, Germany, a banking house that
had made extensive loans to C
HARLES
I.
Their agents and conquistadores working
either in collaboration or in competition
with them explored Venezuela over the
next several decades, and by the late 1540s
the authority of the Spanish Crown had
been established. Venezuela was made sub-
ordinate to the Viceroyalty of N
EW
G
RANADA
in 1718 and organized as the Captaincy
General of Venezuela in 1731. Although
Venezuela declared its independence from
Spain in 1811, Spanish forces were not
finally defeated and ousted until 1821.
court poet, although some of his productions
were intended to mark great achievements
in the building of Portugal's overseas empire.
He was, thus, also the national laureate of
his country in its great Age of Discovery.
Vicente's early works show the influence of
pastoral and religious productions widely
performed in medieval Portugal, and they
were followed by a growing awareness of
Italian techniques. In his mature period he
was ready and able to shift from one genre
to the other, displaying a light touch when
appropriate but often rising to the eloquence
demanded by more serious subjects. He evi-
dently worked almost entirely for private
and privileged audiences, eschewing the
mass appeal that later playwrights had
always to keep in mind. Yet, while he was
obliged to respect the dignity of royal and
noble patrons, he exhibits satirical wit that
did not spare even the foibles of the clergy.
Among Vicente's notable works are
Auto
da visitaçião
(Play of the visitation, 1502),
the short play that marks the known begin-
ning of his career;
Auto da fama
(Play of
fame, 1515);
Frágua de amor
(
The Forge of
Love,
1524);
Templo de Apolo
(Temple of
Apollo, 1526);
Romagem de agravados
(
Pil-
grimage of the Aggrieved,
1533);
Floresta de
enganos
(Forest of deceits, 1536); and
Ama-
dís de Gaula
(
Amadis of Gaul,
1533). In keep-
ing with the close political and cultural ties
between the two Iberian kingdoms, Vicente
wrote some of his plays in Portuguese, some
in Spanish, and others in a mixture of the
two languages.
Vicente, Gil
(1470-1536)
Portuguese playwright
Generally considered Portugal's greatest dra-
matist, Vicente has also been called the
greatest dramatist of Renaissance Europe
prior to the advent of William Shakespeare.
Little is known with any certainty about his
life or the literary influences that shaped his
art. His earliest known work was presented
in celebration of the birth of the Portuguese
prince who later became John III. A signifi-
cant portion of his 44 plays still extant were
evidently produced to mark notable events
in the reign of the A
VIZ
dynasty (including
one honoring the marriage of that same
prince). Vicente clearly enjoyed the status of
Vieira, António
(1608-1697)
Portuguese writer and orator
Born in Portugal, Vieira was taken to B
RAZIL
by his parents at an early age and educated
Search WWH ::
Custom Search