 Historically, much of the original Venezuelan network was designed in the 19th century in the Federalist period and under the administration of Antonio Guzmán Blanco, in order to open up the country for trade and earn foreign revenues.However, the first licenses were signed and revoked nine times before the first stretch was operating.The first lines connected Caracas to its port of La Guaira and then the Great Venezuela Railway to Valencia in the 1870s–80s.