German colonization of the Americas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In this map of German colonies, yellow marks Klein-Venedig and red the Prussia colonies, some of them in the Caribbean.

European colonization of the Americas
History of the Americas
British colonization
Courland colonization
Danish colonization
Dutch colonization
French colonization
German colonization
Portuguese colonization
Russian colonization
Scottish colonization
Spanish colonization
Swedish colonization
Norse colonization
Decolonization

The German colonization of the Americas consisted of failed attempts to settle Venezuela (Klein-Venedig in German), St. Thomas, the Crab Island (Guyana) and Tertholen in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Augsburg banking families of Anton and Bartholomeus Welser obtained rights to Venezuela from Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, in 1528. These rights were negotiated by Heinrich Ehinger and Hieronymus Sailer, either independently or as agents of the Welsers. However, by 1531, the Welsers certainly controlled the privilege. A colonization scheme was set up, with Ambrosius Ehinger arriving as governor in 1529.

Ehinger left Seville on 7 October 1528 with the Spaniard García de Lerma and 281 settlers. At Santo Domingo, de Lerma with 50 companions left for his mission to Santa Marta, to reestablish Spanish control following the murder of the governor there. Ehinger and the remainder headed for the Venezuelan coast and landed on 24 February 1529 at Santa Ana de Coro. From there, he explored the interior in search of the legendary golden city of El Dorado. Other German governors followed: Nikolaus Federmann, Georg Hohermuth von Speyer, Philipp von Hutten, all of whom engaged primarily in the search for gold. Federmann crossed the Andes to Bogotá, where he and Sebastián de Belalcázar initially contested Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada's claims to that province. German miners were brought over, as well as 4,000 African slaves to work sugar plantations. By 1541 disputes had arisen with Spain, and the bankers were stripped of control of their colony in 1556.

Many of the German colonists died from tropical diseases or hostile Indian attacks during frequent journeys deep into Indian territory in search of gold.

The Brandenburgisch-Africanische Compagnie of Brandenburg, which became the Kingdom of Prussia, established colonies in Africa and on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas. Meanwhile, the German-led Duchy of Courland also colonized Tobago and St. Andrews Island.

German settlement in Southern Brazil. Major places in red and black spots for towns with German churches.

Later attempts were made to colonise Chile's Southern Zone and Patagonia and set up a few towns in Paraguay at about the same time as the Welsh migrated to the Argentinean Patagonia. They have now merged into the local populations of those countries.