The archipelago of Los Roques is a group of islands and cays in the Lesser Antilles belonging to Venezuela holding an estimated 40.61 km ² and are located between the Archipelago Las Aves (west) and the island of La Orchila surface (the east) to 176 km north of the city of Caracas, which represents one of the main tourist attractions of the country, is part of the Federal Dependencies Venezuelan, is national and estimated park in 2014 had 3,100 permanent inhabitants (being the most populated) federal agency. It has an area of ​​approximately 221,120 hectares between sea and land areas, and is considered the largest marine park in Latin America (see Archipelago Los Roques National Park).

It is believed that the islands appear on maps of the Spanish colonists in 1529, officially being claimed by them from 1589 as part of the Province of Venezuela.

In the eighteenth century, is set in the islands the Royal Trading Corporation Company Guipuzcoa and given name to the first islands of the archipelago (Gran Roque, Careening Cay, Salt Cay, etc) at the time they began arriving seasonal fishermen and in the nineteenth century begins with the exploitation of the salt and guano.

In 1871 President Antonio Guzmán Blanco integrates islands archipelago called Columbus, administrative division created to group part of the Venezuelan Caribbean territories.

Around the year 1886 there is reference to the arrival of people who came from the nearby Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, Curacao, etc. who left a legacy of some of the names given to some exotic island or keys (eg Francisquí, Madrisquí, Krasquí, Selesquí). The suffix "chemical" is the English term (and other languages) "key", which means fall.

A Early twentieth century an epidemic of bubonic plague in La Guaira made the Venezuelan government authorized the use of the island of Gran Roque as a place of quarantine.

From the year 1910 begins to establish the town of Gran Roque with families from Margarita Island, mainly fishermen.

The July 20, 1938 the islands are integrated into the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, and only from 8 August 1972cuando the archipelago was declared a national park.

To give more dynamism to his administration and promote the sustainable development of the islands on November 2, 1990 under Presidential Decree 1214, the figure of the Single Area Authority of Roques, would continue as part of the Federal Agencies created but with a special administrative status.

In October 2011 all the islands of the archipelago Los Roques are integrated into the Insular Territory Miranda, a subdivision of Federal Agencies with capital in Gran Roque.