Villa de Todos los Santos de Calabozo, an inland town of Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, once capital of the Province of Caracas in the colonial period, formerly in the State of Miranda

Miranda (state)

Miranda State is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided. It is ranked second in population among Venezuelan states, after Zulia State. In June 30, 2010, it had approximately 2,987,968 residents. It also has the greatest Human Development Index in Venezuela, according to the...

 and former capital of the state of Guárico

Guárico

Guárico State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Juan de Los Morros. Guárico State covers a total surface area of 64 986 km² and, in 2007, had an estimated population of 745,100.-Municipalities and municipal seats:...

.

It is the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Calabozo.

Geography

Calabozo is situated in the midst of an extensive llano

Llano

Llano is the Spanish word for plain. It may refer to:* Llano, California* Llano Estacado, a region in northwest Texas and eastern New Mexico* Llano, Texas, a small city in Llano County, Texas* Llano County, Texas* Llano River, a Texan river...

 on the left bank of the Guárico River

Guárico River

Guárico River is a river in Venezuela....

, on low ground, 325 feet above sea-level and 123 miles S.S.W. of Caracas. The plain lies slightly above the level of intersecting rivers and is frequently flooded in the rainy season; in summer the heat is most oppressive, the average temperature being 69 Fahrenheit.

In its vicinity are thermal springs. The principal occupation of its inhabitants is cattle-raising. The town is well built, regularly laid out with streets crossing at right angles, and possesses several fine old churches, a college and public school. It is a place of considerable commercial importance because of its situation in the midst of a rich cattle-raising country.

History

It is believed to have been an Indian town originally, and was made a town as one of the trading stations of the Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas in 1730. However, like most Venezuelan towns, Calabozo made little growth during the 19th century. In 1820 the Spanish forces under Francisco Tomás Morales were defeated here by the revolutionists under Simón Bolívar

Simón Bolívar

Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...

 and José Antonio Páez

José Antonio Páez

José Antonio Páez Herrera was General in Chief of the army fighting Spain during the Venezuelan Wars of Independence, in addition to becoming the President of Venezuela once it was independent of the Gran Colombia...

.

Economy

Its waters have accumulated large numbers of Caribbean fish, this book changed the economic face of Calabozo happened to become the pilot site of a complex agricultural economy.

Agriculture

The irrigation system has encouraged the cultivation of rice, maize, pulses, snuff, tomatoes, paprika, cotton and cassava among others such as hunting and herding.

Livestock

Cattle farming predominates and has encouraged the planting of grass in large areas for food, use for meat, livestock is mostly used for milk, is one of its strengths, as Dungeon is one of the main producers national cheese, considered by many the best cheese in Venezuela.