Barcelona Province (Venezuela)
This article is about the former province in South America. For the similarly-named Spanish province, see Province of Barcelona.
Modern Anzoátegui State, similar in size and location to the former Barcelona Province.
1840 map of the province by Agostino Codazzi.
Barcelona Province (1811 - 1864) was one of the provinces of Venezuela which signed the 1811 Venezuelan Declaration of Independence from the Spanish Empire. It become one of the provinces of Gran Colombia, until Venezuela's independence from Gran Colombia in 1830. During Gran Colombia the province was part of the Orinoco Department.
The territory corresponded roughly to the current Venezuelan state of Anzoátegui, and shared similarities with the short-lived Province of New Catalonia (1633 - 1654) founded by Joan Orpí. Like Orpí's province, the capital was New Barcelona, originally founded by Orpí.
Following the Federal War it became Barcelona State in 1864. In 1909 it was renamed to Anzoátegui, in honor of José Antonio Anzoátegui.