of pearls. The Caracas valley had a good environment for both agricultural and arable farming, which contributed to the system of commerce. However, the town's population was initially sparse, as it was only large enough to support a few farms.

In 1577, Caracas became the capital of the Spanish Empire's Venezuela Province, under the province's new governor Juan de Pimentel, leader from 1576-1583. In the 1580s,