Editing Venezuela (section)

==Etymology==
<!--Section is linked to -->
According to the most popular and accepted version, in 1499, an expedition led by [[Alonso de Ojeda]] visited the Venezuelan coast. The [[stilt houses]] in the area of [[Lake Maracaibo]] reminded the Italian navigator, [[Amerigo Vespucci]], of the city of [[Venice]], Italy, so he named the region ''Veneziola'', or "Little Venice".{{sfn|Massabié|2008|p=153}} The Spanish version of ''Veneziola'' is {{lang|es|Venezuela}}.{{sfn|Thomas|2005|p=189}}

[[Martín Fernández de Enciso]], a member of the Vespucci and Ojeda crew, gave a different account. In his work {{lang|es|[[Suma de Geographia|Summa de geografía]]}}, he states that the crew found [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous peoples]] who called themselves the ''Veneciuela.'' Thus, the name "Venezuela" may have evolved from the native word.<ref name="ICH_1958_386">{{cite book |year=1958 |title=Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos |publisher=Instituto de Cultura Hispánica (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional) |page=386 |language=es}}</ref>

Previously, the official name was {{lang|es|[[State of Venezuela|Estado de Venezuela]]}} (1830–1856), {{lang|es|República de Venezuela}} (1856–1864), {{lang|es|[[United States of Venezuela|Estados Unidos de Venezuela]]}} (1864–1953), and again {{lang|es|[[Republic of Venezuela|República de Venezuela]]}} (1953–1999).