La Guaira

La Guaira (Spanish pronunciation: [la ˈɣwai.ɾa]) is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Vargas and the country's chief port. It was founded in 1577 as an outlet for Caracas, 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the southeast. The town and the port were badly damaged during the December 1999 floods and mudslides that affected much of the region. Today, La Guaira exports cocoa beans, coffee, and tobacco.

The city hosts its own professional baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, the Tiburones de La Guaira. They have won seven national championships since their founding in 1962.

History

After the founding of Caracas by spanish in 1567, toward the turn of the 16th century, the Port of La Guaira emerged on the coast and, since that time, has been the gateway to Caracas. This coastal city, almost without land to develop and bathed by the Caribbean Sea, became an important harbour during the 18th century. Attacked by buccaneers and by the English, Dutch, and French armadas, La Guaira was transformed into a fortified, walled city. During the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739 - 1748), the Battle of La Guaira took place off the coast of La Guaira. This period also saw the trading monopoly of the Real Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas, which controlled the major ports of La Guaira and Puerto Cabello and was instrumental in the development of large-scale cocoa production along the valleys of the coast. Another small naval battle was fought off La Guaira in 1812, between privateers of the United States and the United Kingdom. Now this is the second port by importance in Venezuela after Port of Puerto Cabello. ^[1]

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