Its name, Nueva Esparta ("New Sparta"), comes from the heroism shown by its inhabitants during the Venezuelan War of Independence, deemed similar to that of the Spartan soldiers of Ancient Greece.

Shortly after its discovery, other European sailors confirmed the existence of rich pearl deposits in Cubagua, whose exploitation gave rise to the first Spanish establishment in Venezuela.

According to Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, in 1500, only 2 years after his sighting, there were already 50 adventurers installed in Cubagua who were eagerly looking for the precious mother-of-pearl gems used by the natives in their personal ornaments.

Under the protection of the Cumaná fortress, which was finally built in early 1523, the village of Cubagua was quickly organized and an extraordinary boom emerged in the exploitation of pearl pleasures.

When pearls were scarce, they sought new fisheries, and with the authorization of the Royal Court of Santo Domingo and King Carlos I, they moved to Cabo de la Vela.

The disappearance of the Cubagua population was a slow process due mainly to the lack of water, the resistance of the Indians to the exhausting work of the pearl fisheries, and to the conquests of distant lands.

Igneous-metamorphic rocks of the Mesozoic era form the foundation of the mountainous areas and their foothills, including the hill landscape, with the exception of the undulating reliefs of Pampatar, constituted by tertiary sediments, as well as the coastal plain.

The lowest marine areas are Pleistocene and Holocene formations, composed of alluviums, coastal and alluvial terraces, calcareous sandstones and lagoon deposits.

The eastern sector of Margarita Island has three small mountain ranges, aligned in a southeast–northwest direction, whose altitude stops are the Copey,[13] Matasiete, La Guardia and Guayamurí hills; To the southwest, the relief is flat, with the exception of moderate elevations, known as Las Tetas de María Guevara.

Among the highest elevations found in the state, there are: There are no significant permanent water currents, but thin rivers lately seasonal due to climatic changes that have raised temperatures throughout the planet in recent years.

The lagoons of La Restinga, Los Mártires and Las Marites, together with the hot springs of the Holy Spirit Valley and the San Francisco sector, complete a scarce, insufficient and unsuitable hydrographic system to supply the local population with potable water.

The valleys' soils, the best quality lands, are well developed, have an organic layer, are protected from the erosive action of the wind and are covered with vegetation, but only occupy a small proportion of the state.

The islands of Coche and Cubagua have soils with salinity and strong erosion, resulting from the action of the winds, which gives their surface layer a stony character.

Many species of birds can be found and seen in many places on the island, such as the paraulata llanera, or tropical mockingbird (Mimus gilvus), the Carib grackle or llanero (Quiscalus lugubris), the scaled dove (Columbina squammata), the spectacled thrush (Turdus nudigenis), the glaucous tanager (Thraupis glaucocolpa), red-crowned woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus), the tucusito hummingbird (Leucippus fallax), the emerald hummingbird or mellisbanero (Chlorostilbon), barred antshrike (Thamnophilus doliatus), the rufous-vented chachalaca or guacharaca (Ortalis ruficauda ruficauda), the Venezuelan turpial (Icterus icterus), the vermillion cardinal or cardenalito (Cardinalis phoeniceus), partridges, turtledoves, and the yellow-shouldered amazon or cotorra margariteña (Amazona barbadensis), a natural symbol of the island.

The State stands out for its scenic resources, represented in natural landscapes, such as lagoons, beaches, hills, salt flats and wind formations, all of great tourist potential.

However, it does not have large energy resources, and its availability of minerals is limited to the existence of gravel, sand, limestone, dolomite, chromite, manganese, talc and stone.

The vegetation and natural resources of the state are few for being an arid zone in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, but plants such as cacti and palm trees are seen in warm areas.

The State has its own police force called INEPOL on the basis of what is established in the National Constitution of Venezuela, 19 being the one in charge of regional security and organized under the legal figure of the Autonomous Institute.

The tourist activity has stimulated the construction industry, as evidenced by the existence of hotels, restaurants, holiday homes and entertainment centers, as part of an infrastructure that revalue this area for visitors of both national and international origin.

Fishing has allowed the production of: needle, anchovy, tuna, snapper, corocoro, lamparosa, carite, torito, lisa, catfish, cazón, vaquita, horse mackerel, picua and sardine (shellfish); shrimp and lobster (crustacean); clam, squid, chipichipi, guacuco, pearl casing and oysters (mollusks).

Agriculture is also seen as a complementary economic activity, especially on the island of Margarita, where the cultivation of eggplant, corn, melon, paprika, pinilla, sweet pepper and tomato stand out, as well as poultry farming, goats and pigs.

The Nueva Esparta State has become a place of rest and escape for the inhabitants of the great cities of the center of the country, being a popular tourist destination of Venezuela.

In recent years, several projects have been planned to boost tourism, such as the Puerto la Mar Cruise Port, the expansion of the Santiago Mariño Caribbean International Airport, the Punta Ballena Lighthouse (in cooperation with the Venezuelan Navy), among others.

Other important populations are Villa Rosa, Pampatar, San Juan Bautista, La Asunción, Paraguachí, Juangriego and El Pilar (Los Robles).

Statistics according to the 2001 census: In total: 655,235 The native inhabitants of Nueva Esparta State were indigenous people of the Guaiquerí nation, who called the current island of Margarita Paraguachoa ("place where there are fish in abundance").

They were fishermen and farmers, and made canoes, hammocks, bows, arrows, wooden mortars, bamboo tubes to extract palm oil, and clay utensils.

Grouped in nomadic tribes ruled by chiefs, firm believers of the eventual advent of a demigod of the color of the sun, the guaiqueríes provided a friendly reception to the conquerors who arrived at the islands, so they were favored by Spain with the status of free vassals.

This week there are cultural activities, dances, food fairs and the famous procession in Honor of San José, where hundreds of parishioners tour the town.

[citation needed] The Nueva Esparta state has a wide range of native dishes, usually made from seafood products or obtained through local sowing.

1 the largest to 12 or 13 the smallest), are marked on them and then cut; After trimming, they are drawn with very special knives (plotters), which indicates where the gaps will be made, this task corresponds to the specialist in using the pin, a knife used for this purpose.