Cabimas

Cabimas lies on the eastern shore of Lake Maracaibo in Zulia, Venezuela, where dry coastal hills meet one of South America’s great inland lakes. Fishing villages used the lake for fish and transport, while nearby land supported cassava, maize and cattle. The lake shore connected communities with Maracaibo and the Caribbean through shallow channels.

Cistercian missionaries founded the Mission of Saint Ambrosio of Punta de Piedra in 1758. The small settlement combined Catholic mission life with Indigenous and African-descended fishing families. Canoes carried fish, cassava and imported goods, and the lake’s southern marshes supplied waterbirds and aquatic foods.

Cabimas remained a modest mission and fishing coast. Its identity came from the lake, the mission settlement and routes across the Maracaibo basin. Fishing camps used the lake’s southern marshes, plank canoes served fishing families and traders, and salt fish and cassava bread supplied the lake markets.