Learn how and when to remove this template message At the time of the founding of the city in , [16] the valley of Caracas was populated by indigenous peoples. Francisco Fajardo , the son of a Spanish captain and a Guaiqueri cacica , attempted to establish a plantation in the valley in after founding a series of coastal towns. Fajardo's settlement did not last long.
It was destroyed by natives of the region led by Terepaima and Guaicaipuro. This was the last rebellion on the part of the natives. During the 17th century, the coast of Venezuela was frequently raided by pirates. With the coastal mountains as a barrier, Caracas was relatively immune to such attacks. However, in , around English privateers including George Sommers and Amyas Preston crossed the mountains through a little-used pass while the town's defenders were guarding the more often-used one.
Encountering little resistance, the invaders sacked and set fire to the town after a failed ransom negotiation. In , Caracas became the capital of the Captaincy General of Venezuela. Caracas was ultimately the site of the signing of a Declaration of independence on 17 August In , an earthquake destroyed Caracas. Later, during the s, Caracas began an intensive modernization program which continued throughout the s and early s.
New working- and middle-class residential districts sprouted in the valley, extending the urban area toward the east and southeast. Joining El Silencio , also designed by Villanueva, were several workers' housing districts, 23 de Enero and Simon Rodriguez.
The dramatic change in the economic structure of the country, which went from being primarily agricultural to dependent on oil production, stimulated the fast development of Caracas, and made it a magnet for people in rural communities who migrated to the capital city in an unplanned fashion searching for greater economic opportunity. This migration created the rancho slum belt of the valley of Caracas.
