BARCELONA  , a

town and port of Venezuela, capital of the state of Bermudez, on the Neveri river, 3 m. from its mouth and 12 M. by'rail from the port of Guanta, which has superseded the incommodious river port in the trade of this district . Pop . (est . 1904) 13,000 . Built on the border of a low plain and having a mean annual temperature of 82° F., the town has the reputation of being unhealthy . There are salt works and important coal deposits in its vicinity, the latter at Naricual and Capiricual, 12 M. distant by rail . Though the adjacent country is fertile, its prosperity has greatly declined, and the exports of coffee, sugar, cacao and forest products are much less important than formerly . The town dates from 1637, when it was located at the foot of the Cerro Santo and was called Nueva Barcelona; it reached a state of much prosperity and commercial importance before the end of the century . The War of Independence, however, and the chronic political disorders that followed nearly ruined its industries and trade .