Cubagua Island

Cubagua is a small island off the northeastern coast of Venezuela, part of Nueva Esparta state, and historically important for its early colonial pearl-fishing settlements. In the 16th century it supported a significant Spanish-period settlement associated with the pearling industry.

The island today is sparsely populated and noted for its ruins and historical importance rather than for contemporary settlement or tourism infrastructure. Archaeological remains from the early colonial period are a primary feature of interest.

Geographically Cubagua lies just south of the Araya Peninsula and west of Isla Margarita in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the insular state of Nueva Esparta and visible from nearby islands and coastal points.

• Pearl-fishing history: Cubagua was a major center of pearl fisheries in the early colonial period and was one of the earliest Spanish settlements in the Caribbean region, but is now sparsely inhabited and largely archaeological.

What to See #

• Nueva Cádiz ruins: The archaeological remains of the early colonial settlement known as Nueva Cádiz, a 16th-century pearl-fishing town that became an important early Spanish colonial site.