VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

80th anniversary of the death of Francisco de Miranda.
Map of Orinoco River basin.
First stamp in a set of 5, issued on 04.07.1896.
Face value: 5 Venezuelan cents.
Design: Pius Schlageter (1856-1949).
Printed by Imprenta Nacional, Caracas.
Print: 1,250,000 copies.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 48.
- Scott No. 137.
- StampWorld No. 58.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 169.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 54.

Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza, commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (March 28, 1750 – July 14, 1816), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary. Although his own plans for the independence of the Spanish American colonies failed, he is regarded as a forerunner of Simón Bolívar, who during the Spanish American wars of independence successfully liberated much of South America. He was known as "The First Universal Venezuelan" and "The Great Universal American".

he Orinoco Basin is the part of South America drained by the Orinoco river and its tributaries. The Orinoco watershed covers an area of about 990,000 km² (382,240 sq mi), making it the third largest in South America, covering most of Venezuela and eastern part of Colombia. The Orinoco is one of the most important rivers in the world due to its length (2,140 km, 1,330 mi), the extent of its basin (1 million km²) and especially its historical importance and economic and the meaning it has had for Venezuela.

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Thanks to Daniel Mathieu for his contribution (http://lettresdumonde.blogspot.com/)