Corsican immigration to Venezuela

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Corsicans started arriving in the late 19th Century and settling mainly in the coastal towns of Carúpano and Rio Caribe. Known locally as Los Corsos, Corsicans played a central role in the development of the cocoa industry in Venezuela. Around the 1950s many Corsican families left Paria and settled in Caracas, and have been active in politics, commerce, medicine and the arts.

[edit] Historical Background

With the decline of agriculture on the island in the late 19th Century, many Corsicans felt the need to move to larger cities or leave the island in search of a better life. A series of droughts coupled by the rise of Napoleon III led to a depopulation of the island.

Under president Antonio Guzmán Blanco, the Venezuelan government opened its borders to immigrants from Europe in an attempt to modernize the country's infrastructure and agricultural sector.

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