Eugenio de Bellard Pietri
Encyclopedia
Eugenio de Bellard Pietri (born December 17, 1927 in Maracaibo
, Venezuela
, died on in Caracas
) was a noted speleologist. He was the founder of speleology
in Venezuela and a member of the Academy of Sciences and Letters of Venezuela, Vice-President of the Venezuelan Society of Natural Sciences and Director of its Speleological groups since 1952 when he founded this section. He was also a member of several Speleological and Conservation societies such as the French Federation of Speleology, the Explorers Club and the National Speleological Society
(USA).
.
After obtaining his high school Diploma from the Colegio San Ignacio
in Caracas he entered the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV). During the late 1940s several students saw a communist threat in the advent to government of a bunch of radical far-left politicians and decided to forestall the feared red invasion. They began by sticking anti-communism posters throughout the town. After a series of police raids netting several UCV "hotheads" and serious government warnings to the student’s parents, de Bellard Sr. decided to pack his son off to Colombia
, to study at Bogotá University. The elder de Bellard wanted his son to follow in his own steps as a physician. While a sophomore there, Eugenio virtually witnessed the assassination of Colombia’s popular leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan
and the carnage ensuing the murder of Colombia’s hope for democratization in politics. Seeing thousands of deaths, mass imprisonment and a resurfacing of the traditional Colombian animosity against Venezuelans, made Eugenio decide to return to Caracas and tell his father that he wanted to study law. He went to Spain, where he became a lawyer at Salamanca University. Back in Venezuela he obtained his doctorate in law at Merida Los Andes University. Then he joined Shell de Venezuela and in 1969 became secretary of the board of Directors until 1974, a post he again held in PDVSA between 1979 and 1981, and in Corpoven from 1985 until 1987 when he retired.
, now a World monument, when they crossed beyond what was until then thought the end of the cave and instead they found that there were 8 more kilometers left of galleries and stunning rooms.
He headed several cave searching and exploring multi-discipline expeditions; the last of which in 1987, he discovered and/or explored 40 new seashore caves in the eastern Paria Peninsula, and conducted research on the flora and fauna of the peninsula. Among them is that there are more than 300 caves in Paria alone and are populated by guacharos (Steatornis caripensis) which are unusual, because these caves are all at sea level and it was believed that guacharos only dwelled at higher altitudes, never below 500 meters.
He directed and organized three successful explorations into the Amazon jungle, to places like the top of Tepuis with gigantic holes, to Tapirapeco, where they were the first non-Amazonian humans to be seen by several tribes in the border between Brazil and Venezuela. These expedition brought an enormous wealth of new species to science and proved that the high tepuis of the Amazon were isolated enough to allow the evolution of separate species of insects, orchids, lizards and even birds.
Eugenio de Bellard has published several scientific works, among them a History of Speleology in Venezuela that covers the time between 1678 and 1950.
. In his own words: “During the serious international ordeal of October 1962, when the Kennedy/Kruschev crisis blew up due to Russian nuclear missiles shipped to Fidel Castro’s Cuba, he released important information to the Caracas American embassy on caves that had been visited in the country by the polish engineer that was accused in world press as one of the technicians that set up rockets with nuclear warheads in Cuban caves: Maciej Kuczynski” (Letter to the USA Embassy in Caracas Venezuela, August 5, 1995). It happens to be that both himself and Kuczynski were speleologists and had initiated a fair correspondence since June 1958. Thus it happened that Kuczynski mentioned in some detail in his 1962 letters to de Bellard quite a number of Cuban caves he had explored. Such information was presented as a help to be used by American intelligence for exactly locating where the missiles threatening the USA were placed.
Maracaibo
Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, died on in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
) was a noted speleologist. He was the founder of speleology
Speleology
Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form and change over time...
in Venezuela and a member of the Academy of Sciences and Letters of Venezuela, Vice-President of the Venezuelan Society of Natural Sciences and Director of its Speleological groups since 1952 when he founded this section. He was also a member of several Speleological and Conservation societies such as the French Federation of Speleology, the Explorers Club and the National Speleological Society
National Speleological Society
The National Speleological Society is an organization formed in 1941 to advance the exploration, conservation, study, and understanding of caves in the United States. Originally located in Washington D.C., its current offices are in Huntsville, Alabama...
(USA).
Early life
He was the son of Eugene Pignat de Bellard and Mercedes Pietri Boulton. Eugene Pignat de Bellard was an American physician giving his services to the oil industry of the area of Maracaibo. Mercedes Pietri was the daughter of a well-respected family in Caracas, who own a large cacao plantation in BarloventoBarlovento
Several places have the name Barlovento :*Barlovento, a municipality in the northern part of the island of La Palma in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands...
.
After obtaining his high school Diploma from the Colegio San Ignacio
Colegio San Ignacio
Colegio San Ignacio may refer to*Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola, a school in San Juan, Puerto Rico, founded in 1952.*Colegio San Ignacio , a school founded in 1856*Colegio San Ignacio, Medellín, Colombia...
in Caracas he entered the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV). During the late 1940s several students saw a communist threat in the advent to government of a bunch of radical far-left politicians and decided to forestall the feared red invasion. They began by sticking anti-communism posters throughout the town. After a series of police raids netting several UCV "hotheads" and serious government warnings to the student’s parents, de Bellard Sr. decided to pack his son off to Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, to study at Bogotá University. The elder de Bellard wanted his son to follow in his own steps as a physician. While a sophomore there, Eugenio virtually witnessed the assassination of Colombia’s popular leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala was a politician, a leader of a populist movement in Colombia, a former Education Minister and Labor Minister , mayor of Bogotá and one of the most charismatic leaders of the Liberal Party.He was assassinated during his second presidential campaign in 1948, setting off...
and the carnage ensuing the murder of Colombia’s hope for democratization in politics. Seeing thousands of deaths, mass imprisonment and a resurfacing of the traditional Colombian animosity against Venezuelans, made Eugenio decide to return to Caracas and tell his father that he wanted to study law. He went to Spain, where he became a lawyer at Salamanca University. Back in Venezuela he obtained his doctorate in law at Merida Los Andes University. Then he joined Shell de Venezuela and in 1969 became secretary of the board of Directors until 1974, a post he again held in PDVSA between 1979 and 1981, and in Corpoven from 1985 until 1987 when he retired.
Cave exploration
Eugenio de Bellard was the first Venezuelan to make cave exploration a serious dedication, and throughout his life he worked to make the first speleological atlas of Venezuela. Among the many explorations he carried the best and most appreciated is the one he headed in 1957 to reach the end of the Cueva del Guácharo National ParkCueva del Guácharo National Park
The Guácharo Cave National Park is located 12 km from the town of Caripe, Monagas, Venezuela. It has as its centerpiece a large limestone cave, which is home to thousands of oilbirds...
, now a World monument, when they crossed beyond what was until then thought the end of the cave and instead they found that there were 8 more kilometers left of galleries and stunning rooms.
He headed several cave searching and exploring multi-discipline expeditions; the last of which in 1987, he discovered and/or explored 40 new seashore caves in the eastern Paria Peninsula, and conducted research on the flora and fauna of the peninsula. Among them is that there are more than 300 caves in Paria alone and are populated by guacharos (Steatornis caripensis) which are unusual, because these caves are all at sea level and it was believed that guacharos only dwelled at higher altitudes, never below 500 meters.
He directed and organized three successful explorations into the Amazon jungle, to places like the top of Tepuis with gigantic holes, to Tapirapeco, where they were the first non-Amazonian humans to be seen by several tribes in the border between Brazil and Venezuela. These expedition brought an enormous wealth of new species to science and proved that the high tepuis of the Amazon were isolated enough to allow the evolution of separate species of insects, orchids, lizards and even birds.
Eugenio de Bellard has published several scientific works, among them a History of Speleology in Venezuela that covers the time between 1678 and 1950.
Missile crisis
During the missile crisis in the USA with RussiaCuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
. In his own words: “During the serious international ordeal of October 1962, when the Kennedy/Kruschev crisis blew up due to Russian nuclear missiles shipped to Fidel Castro’s Cuba, he released important information to the Caracas American embassy on caves that had been visited in the country by the polish engineer that was accused in world press as one of the technicians that set up rockets with nuclear warheads in Cuban caves: Maciej Kuczynski” (Letter to the USA Embassy in Caracas Venezuela, August 5, 1995). It happens to be that both himself and Kuczynski were speleologists and had initiated a fair correspondence since June 1958. Thus it happened that Kuczynski mentioned in some detail in his 1962 letters to de Bellard quite a number of Cuban caves he had explored. Such information was presented as a help to be used by American intelligence for exactly locating where the missiles threatening the USA were placed.