Paraguachoa

Paraguachoa is an Indigenous name associated with Margarita Island, off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. The island was inhabited by the Guaiquerí, whose communities fished and gathered the rich marine resources of its shores. Margarita lies close to Cubagua and the northeastern mainland coast of South America, in waters famed for their pearl beds.

European voyages reached the island at the end of the fifteenth century, and pearls soon drew Spanish interest to the neighbouring waters. The exploitation of the fisheries transformed the coast, bringing settlers and demanding labour from Indigenous people. Margarita remained an important island in the Caribbean approaches to the Venezuelan mainland throughout the colonial period, close to the pearl-rich waters that had first attracted European voyages.

The later city of La Asunción lies here.