Venezuela's national colonization programme: the Tovar colony,a German agricultural settlement

A decision by the Council of the Indies in 1801 authorizing the colonies to accept overseas immigrants cleared the way for the colonization of Spanish America by foreign settlers. In Venezuela, the first practical attempt to promote immigration came ten years later, when the Marquis del Toro offered to donate land to incoming white immigrants. Immigration schemes were planned and executed by private agents, most of whom were closely connected with the Caraqueño landowners. However, it proved very difficult to attract Europeans because Venezuela offered potential immigrants few economic advantages, and most outsiders viewed the country as politically unstable. There was, however, one exception to encourage European immigration, the Tovar colony, founded by one of the oldest and most powerful families within the government, which awarded the Tovars, through their intermediary and project director, General Codazzi, the largest loan ever granted under the immigration programme. The Tovars were ably assisted in this task by Codazzi, whose geographical knowledge and experience were crucial to the success of the Tovar colony. The project dovetailed perfectly within the ideological interest of the government. Although the scheme benefited only the Tovar family, in public, it was presented as essential to the national economic interest.