USA > Pennsylvania > The Fatherland: (1450-1700) : showing the part it bore in the discovery, exploration and development of the western continent with special reference to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ; pt. I. of a narrative and critical history > Part 4
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45
German Merchants in America.
What was true of Portugal also applied to Spain ; and as soon as definite accounts of the extent of Columbus's dis- covery reached
Europe, we find the factories of the German mer- chants estab- lished at Se- ville. Long be- fore the interdict against non- Spaniards was removed, the chief commer- THE GRUBEL ARMS. cial establish- ment in the western world at San Domingo was in the hands of the Augsburg merchants, who had ob- tained special concessions from the king, and who had German vessels bringing cargoes back and forth.68
63 The names of the leading merchants concerned in these enterprises were the Fugger, Welser, Hochstetter, Hyrssfogel and Imhof families of Augsburg and Ulm. As early as 1503 the Welsers had a resident factor at Lisbon, named Simon Seitz. A German expedition left Portugal for the East Indies, May 25, 1505. It consisted of three vessels, the San Raffael, San Jeronimo and Lionarda. Prominent factors in this venture were Balthasar Sprenger and Hans Mayr, both of whom left a diary and written account of the voyage. (Ruge, p. 148.)
64 According to Las Casas, most persons who had up to that period (1518) settled in America were sailors and soldiers employed in the dis- covery and conquest of the country; the younger sons of noble families, allured by the prospect of acquiring sudden wealth; or desperate adven- turers, whom their indigence or crimes had forced to abandon their native land.
46
The Fatherland 1450-1700.
Coincident with this commercial revolution, com- menced the season of spiritual unrest in Ger- many, coupled with a desire to throw off the shackles of Latin bigo- try and oppression, which resulted in the nailing of the ninety- five Theses against the church door at Witten- berg. The Reforma- ARMS OF KELP V. STERNBERG. tion, which eventually overspread the whole of in- tellectual Germany, and which was followed by the efforts of Calvin and Zwingli, went far to break the power of monastic rule and priestly superstition, and was destined ultimately to prove an active agent in the settlement of Pennsylvania and the adjacent colo- nies by the yeomanry of Germany.
Another important incident which falls within this
65 Never did the Venetians believe the power of their country to be more firmly established, or rely with greater confidence on the continu- ance and increase of its opulence, than toward the close of the fifteenth century, when two events happened that proved fatal to both, viz., the discovery of America and the opening of a direct course to the East Indies by the way of the Cape of Good Hope. (Robertson, Ancient India, p. 130.)
66 Ibid, America, Book, i, p. 79.
67 Lucas Rem, (1481-1541) was a factor or agent of the Welser Com- pany from 1499 to 1517, mainly at Lisbon. Later he became a partner in the firm of Endres, Rem & Company, and Chef of Endres & Lucas den Remen. His mother and daughter-in-law were both members of the Welser family.
88 Welserzüge in America, p. 29.
1450-THE FATHERLAND .- 1700
ZORTIIVDO
KY SPE FRIT VESIRA
MARTIN LUTHER. (BORN NOV. 10. 1483. DIED FEB. 18. 1546.)
FROM FAINTING BY LUCAS CRANACH IN THE PINAKOTHEK AT MUNICH.
47
$stolta forene propter que focu apostolica elfo Aftens) Et a cenfurio a pente ao cxcomuneadib? omnib" qu revi puatuta quicung Dimigatje a fcoi apoftobec refuatto femel oumtarat A non requat vero eform fedi to - ciens quoaeus to pes.crie ac fennel in vita x in momis articulo plenartam omniu peccator fuor indulgencia are- wiimonem impendere Milon abitantib? quibricegtrefuscionib" a prefato pontifice vi ems preocceffonib" factis. Put in bulla data ID EEf LEXE. pridie nonas Decembris porificatus ciufsem anno occiino plenins atinetuz Ju contus ret hoen et tefamontwins Ego fraser Jobanneo kaufnan Orvinio minorum fubconmifamus cinform Baaction Domins nofri Surt papequart fup prefsto negocio deputarue prefensce literas fiers fect a figilli cru
Formaabfolicois Difereatur tuf omnipotene ocas etcetera. Domin? nofte: ildas spe p fuam pijffimam michi piniffa a tibi acta ego te abfotuo a vincolo ercomunicacionto fi incioiftto refituo te facramentis cedente se yniom se pricipecom fociinnes Es eadem auctoritate teabfoluo ab omni? et fingulio criminib? odlictte a peces na tuto quásúcác grabuna peque aplica finoa che e belphe cacem auctoritate nei plenana iheutgenes s remillionem pfero. In nomine patrio et hlij et Spirisuffanett Emen .
Jta q in montis articolo aviagensacht bee claufala Si ab Uta egritudine non decefferis . plenarias remifio.
FRAGMENT OF A PAPAL INDULGENCE, 1482, ORIGINAL IN POSSESSION OF THE WRITER,
48
The Fatherland 1450-1700.
period was the accession to the throne of Spain (1516) of Charles, the son of caron Philip, arch-duke of Aus- tria and grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella. He, upon the death of Maximilian, was elected emperor of Germany, 69 thus for a time uniting the interests of Spain and the Fatherland.70
AUTOGRAPH OF EMPEROR CHARLES V. (From Original in the Dreer Collection.) The precarious con - dition of the finances of Spain, caused at the time by the drain of the unre- munerative acquisitions in the west, induced Charles to look to the merchants of the powerful Hanseatic League for assistance. Among those applied to were the patrician families of Welser " and Fugger at
6 The ruler's of Europe at this period were: Emperor, Charles V; Pope, Leo X; Spain, Charles I; France, Francis of Valois; England and Ireland, Henry VIII, (the first ruler to assume this dual title); Turkey, Soliman II; Poland, Sigismundus I; Scotland, James IV; Denmark and Norway. Christian II; Hungary, Ludovic II; Bohemia, Vladislaus; Sweden, Gustavus (Biorn), elected after the expulsion of the Danes.
TO When the young king arrived in Spain from the Low Countries, he was accompanied by many of the Flemish and German nobility, who were in the confidence of the monarch, and were at once invested with almost every department of administration, among which was the direc- tion of American affairs
11 The Welser Company, at the time of our period, consisted of Anton Welser Conrad Vöhlin and others. The chief houses were in Augsburg and Memmingen. Anton Welser's wife was Katharina Vöhlin (Vogelin, Fegelin) a daughter of Hans Vöhlin, a leading merchant of Memmingen,
49
The German Bankers.
Augsburg.72 Large loans were negotiated from both, and among the securities given were the choicest parts of Spain's possessions in America.
The northern part of South America fell to the portion of the Welser family, and became known as Welserland, now Venezuela. The extreme southern and western part of the continent, almost immediately
and a sister to Konrad Vöhlin. In 1518, the firm came into possession of the Brothers Bartholomaeus and Anton Welser, sons of Anton Branch houses were then opened at Nürnberg and Ulm. Toward 1540, there were admitted to the firm Bartholomew's three sons: Bartholo- maeus (2), Christoph, and Leonhard; his son-in-law, Christoph Peutin- ger; and Jacob Rembold, father-in-law of Welser's son Hans, together with the two Hans Vöhlin's son and nephew of his uncle Konrad. Of these latter Hans Vöhlin was the resident member of the factory at San Domingo (1534-1539) and upon his return. the elder Bartholomaeus, to- wards the close of the year 1540 sent his eldest son to America to take charge of the government of Welserland. In the year 1553 the elder Bartholomaeus retired from the firm, when the company was recon- structed under the name of Christoph Welser and Company. It was under this firm that the formal loss of Welserland and its reversion to the Spanish crown occurred in 1555 The great banking house failed in 1612. Bartholomeus Welser, the elder, was the chief spirit in all the East Indian (1505) and American (1526-1555) ventures. It was also at his instance that the early broadsides giving the news of America were sent to Augs- burg, and thence reprinted in German. A family history of the Welsers was compiled by the late Johann Michael Anton Freiherr von Welser (ob 1875, ) but unfortunately is still in manuscript. See Anmerkungen zur Geschichte der Welserzuge. Hamb. 1892
12 The old imperial city of Augsburg has thus far failed to receive in his- tory the proper credit due to its former greatness and its position in the commercial world. The same is true of the German merchants: they have ever been deprived of the honor due them for their sagacity and enterprise in many brilliant epochs when they controlled a large portion of the trade of the world. This praise and credit is usually accorded to their rivals. (Arthur Kleinschmidt: Augusburg und Nürnberg und ihre Handels Fürsten. Kassel, 1881.)
50
The Fatherland 1450-1700.
after the discovery of the straits between the main land and Terra del Fuego, whereby the bounds of the hemisphere were defined, fell, for the time being, to the lot of the Fugger establishment.
Here again German learning and ingenuity had asserted itself, as it was by the aid of Martin Behaim's charts 723 that Magellan was enabled to find and sail through the straits which now bear his name, and thus circumnavigate the world.78
JACOBUS FUGGER Comes Kirchbergenfis.
In the early printed accounts, the Straits are frequently called Fretum Martini Bohemi. See Cosmographia disciplina. Basil 1561, 4to and Ludg. Bat. 1636 16mo Edit. tert, Cap. ii, p. 22. Also Diplomatische Geschichte. Gotha 1801, p. 82 et seq.
13 Die Verdienste Martin Behaim's (Dresden, 1866, p. 61. See also Herrera and Pigafetta. Lösung der Behaim Frage; Gelcich, Hamburg 1892, p. 65 et seq.
THE EARLIEST ATTEMPT AT GERMAN COLONIZATION.
ROM this period (1522) date the first systematic atttempts at German colo- nization in America, which, though interrupted for a time, were destined to be re- sumed as years passed by ; and I venture to say, that if a census could be taken to- day of the population of the whole hemisphere, from Baffins Bay, to the Straits ARMS OF CITY OF AUGSBURG. of Magellan, it would be found that German influence and commercial enter- prise are predominant.
As the interesting facts connected with these early attempts at German colonization are not universally known, having been largely lost sight of by the Hispanicizing of German narratives and names, a
52
The Fatherland 1450-1700.
few particulars of this important episode in America's history will not prove amiss.
It is well known to students of European history, that Charles V, who united so many crowns upon his head, and concentrated so much power in himself, was engaged by his ambition, or by the jealousy of his neighbors, in endless disputes, the expenses of which exceeded his resources.74 In his dire necessity he was apt to turn to the patrician merchants of Augsburg and Ulm.75 These appeals were not in vain, and ultimately his indebtedness to the two houses of Welser and Fugger alone amounted to over twelve tons' weight of gold.76
The Prince offered the former, as secur- ity for the vast loan, a large tract of land in America extend- ing two hundred Stunden, (Leguas) along the coast,77 which they accepted as a fief of Castile. From documents in the Indian archives "A LANDS-KNECHT" OF THE PERIOD. at Seville,"7ª it appears that a special concession was
"+ Raynal's History of the Indies, vol. iv, p. 69.
53
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OLDEST KNOWN MAP OF "VENEZUELA" FROM DELART'S NOVUS ORBIS, ETC., LUGUNDI 1633.
mit sacca de bruy
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C.J. PRIÊM
54
The Fatherland 1450-1700.
granted by the king to the Welser firm at an early date, with permission to establish a factory or trad- ing station at San Domingo, a city which it was in- tended should be the metropolis of the new world. After the lapse of a year or two we find the Ger- mans established there under Ambrose Dalfinger, (Ehinger)78 and in control of the whole commerce
15 An official list of patrician families of Augsburg engaged in mercan- tile pursuits at this period contains the following names: Adler, Arzt, Baumgärtner, Ehinger, Fugger, Herwart, Hochstatter, Ilsing, Imhof, Koch, Köler, Langmantel, Mänlich, Mayr, Neidhardt, Peutinger, Pfister, Pimel, Rehlinger, Rem, Rembold, Rentz, Sayller, Schellenberg, Seitz, Stetten, Vöhlin, Walther, and Welser.
16 The indebtedness of the Emperor to the Welser Company is variously stated by contemporary accounts to have been from five and one-half to twelve tons of gold. See Weyermann, Nachrichten. (Ulm, 1829.)
17 See Novus Orbis (Lunduni Bat., 1633); also Marci Velseri Opera Historica. Provincia in America. Velseri patricii Augustani, etc. (Chris. Arnoldus, Norimbergiae, 1772.)
77& The original documents relating to the Welser grants have lately been found in the British Museum at London. (Catalogued among the Spanish Mss. under the title: Cedulas reales tocantes a la provincia de Venezuela 1529 a 1535.) The volume is known as the "Welser Codex;" it consists of 159 folios of heavy paper upon which are engrossed 191 different acts, all relating to the Welser grants in South America. These documents extend from September 23, 1529, to May II. 1535. Many of these papers are written in an almost undecipherable hand. The value of this MSS. will be appreciated when it is understood that all the various royal concessions to the firm of Welser and Company within the above period are recorded here. The volume is bound in parchment and the covers are secured with curious leather thongs. Just how this docu- ment was abstracted from the Indian Office at Seville, and found its resting place in the Manuscript room of the British Museum does not appear. This valuable find was thoroughly examined in 1894 by Doctor Konrad Haebler of Dresden, who published extracts and comments of the same in the Allgemeine Zeitung, München, Dec. 1894. See also "Welser und Ehinger in Venezuela. Haebler Zeitschrift für Schwaben und Neuburg, Augsburg 1894.
1450-THE FATHERLAND-1700.
Vad
BARTHOLOMAEUS WELSER. ( BORN 1484: DIED 1561.)
FROM MEDAL IN CABINET OF THE GERMANISCHE NATIONAL MUSEUM. NURNBERG, GERMANY.
55
Royal Grant to Ehinger.
and carrying trade of the new world. About the year 1526, Dalfinger, who, according to his instruc- tions, had investigated the probable value of the Em- peror's grant to his principals, returned to Europe, and advised his superiors to accept the security.
Patents were then issued by the crown, under date of March 27, 1528, granting the right of possession to Bartholomä and Anton
Welser,"Sb their heirs and assigns, for the northern portion of South America, extending from Cabo de la Veta to Cabo de Mar- capana, bounded by San Marta in the west, and Paria in the east.79
Heinrich Ehinger, of Ulm, merchant,79a knight of Santiago and royal chamberlain, together with Hieronymus Sailer, So were named as their MARCUS VELSERUS. Confil. Cafe'Srunvir A woust. agents.80b It is further stipulated by the king that the Welsers, through Heinrich Siger 81 and the
78 Ambrose Dalfinger [Talfinger] in Spanish documents, Micer Ambrosio, also Micer Ambrosio Alfinger. There appears to be more or less uncertainty as to the identity of Ambrose Dalfinger, some author- ities in both Germany and Spain holding to the theory that Ambrose Dalfinger was in reality an Ehinger. This theory is partly based upon the Concession of March 27, 1528, which reads verbatim: "Primera-
56
The Fatherland 1450-1700.
above named Hieronymus Sailer 81a their agents, should deliver, within a given period, not less than 4000 negro slaves to the royal colonies in the West Indies.82
In return it was agreed that all communication henceforth with this part of the Indies, whether from Europe or Africa, should be by vessels owned or controlled by the Augsburg firm of Welser and Company.83 Arrange- ments were now made for the imme- diate possession, ex- ploration, develop- ment, and settlement of the newly acquired territory, which was named Welserland.84 ARMS OF THE EHINGER FAMILY. The first expedition and German colony, consisting of about 500 persons,
mente cumpliendo vos lo quo os ofreceis en ir o embiar la dicha armada con el dicho nuestro governador de Santa Marta é pacificando aquella como dicho es, vos doy licencia y facultad para que vos o qualquier de vos y en defecto de cualquier de vosotros Ambrosio e Jorge de Einguer, hermanos de vos el dicho Enrique, o qualquiera dellos, podais descubrir, etc.". The argument is further strengthened by the entry in the Historia de la Conquista de Venezuela; Oveido y Baños, Duro Edition vol i, chap. iv. "Asistian por aquel tiempo en la corte de nuestro emperador Carlos V, Enrique de Alfinger y Jeronimo Sailler, agentes y factors de los Belzares, etc." From the above it would certainly appear that if
57
Departure from Europe.
who were all Germans & set out from San Lucar with that of Gracia de Lerma, who was interested in the adjoining colony, known as Santa Marta. The Ger- man contingent was under the command of Ambrose Dalfinger, the late factor at San Do- mingo, who now was commissioned as governor of the new colony, and Bartholomäus Sailer, his lieuten-
ant.86 The party consisted of sol- diery, 400 foot and So mounted men, the latter under command of Casi-
mir of Nürnberg; .. 86a a number of Ger- man miners 86b ARMS OF THE IMPERIAL CITY OF ULM. (Bergknappen) ; negro slaves; and a full band of
Heinrich Ehinger was an Alfinger, his brother Ambrosio de Alfinger must also have been an Ehinger. See Dr. K. Haebler Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin vol xxvii, p. 419.
Although the first royal concession made at Seville, March 27, 1528, as well as the amplification granted April 4, 1529, was apparently made to Sailer and the Ehinger brothers in fee-simple, the grant was in reality for the Welsers as stated in above text. Positive proof of the above is presented by a document in the Welser Codex in the British Museum; wherein Ehinger and Sailer as repentant sinners transfer all their right and title to their principals and further state, that, although the grant
58
The Fatherland 1450-1700.
musicians, playing chiefly of fifes, trombones, bass kettledrums, pauken and tambours. These men were enlisted and organized for the purpose of inspir- ing the natives.87
was secured in their names. they acted collectively and exclusively as agents for Bartholomaeus Welser and Company.
79 The actual bounds of Welserland are not definitely known. Even Herrera, Historia ii p. 311, 1528, merely gives them in a general manner. The grant evidently covered a large tract extending rom the Province of San Marta well towards the Atlantic Ocean. The distance into the interior was evidently unlimited.
798. Heinrich Ehinger was evidently the trusted representative of the Welser company for many years, if he was not a full partner. We first meet with him in the present investigations at the Imperial Court at Saragossa, January 9. 1519, where he, together with Sebastian Schopperl, issues two drafts on Anton Welser and Company, in favor of the Emperor Charles V. Again at Saragossa he appears July 4, 1521, as a witness to the Testament of Simon Seitz. Later in 1522-3 we find him at Seville, where upon the arrival of Maghelhaes vessel "Victory" from the first circumnavigation of the Globe, he purchases for the German merchants the entire cargo of Spices brought from the East Indies. Five years later he appears, together with Hieronymus Sailer in the Venezuela contract.
80 Haebler, Koloniale Unternehmungen im xvi Jahrhundert. (Berlin 1892. ) p. 406.
80b For a full insight into this phase of the royal grant, see Dr. Haebler's comments upon the Welser-Codex. From this it would appear that the Ehinger Brothers together with Sailer attempted to hold the concession independent of the Welser Company. See foot note 78b. 81 Ciguer in Herrera. Liguer in original.
81a As late as March one of these documents was to be found in the Deposito historografico of the Spanish government at Madrid. It bore the following title: "Ano de 1526. Asiento y Capitulacione de los Alemanes Enrique Liguer y Geronimo Sailler, Obligandose a' hacer una Armada de 4 Narrios con 200, hombres o mas Armados y harrtuallados por imano, para la pacificacione y poblacion dela Provencia de Santa Marta." A transcription of this document was made in 1857 for the late Samuel Barlow, Esq, of New York. It consisted of thirty-four pages folio At the public sale of that library, it was sold to an unknown purchaser for the sum of three dollars ..
59
1528
அமை
THE ARRIVAL OF THE WELSER REPE DISH PAT CONG, PR ... R. 12:
60
The Fatherland 1450-1700.
The fleet of four heavily laden vessels towards the end of 1527, arrived safely at San Domingo, where they reported to Sebastian Rentz,88 Welser's factor,89 and successor to Dalfinger.
After landing the Spaniards under de Lerma, the voyage was continued to the South American coast,
82 From the above it would appear that the Welser Company were active agents in the development of the African slave trade. In this phase of our history, their commercial rivals, the Fuggers, stand out in glowing contrast. See above.
83 According to Oviedo (Weyland, p 35) the Welser Company agreed; (1) To build within two years two cities and three forts within their possessions. (2) Four ships were to be sent out during the first year at their own cost, taking out at least 300 Spaniards and 50 Germans, who were to explore the various Spanish possessions in the Indies, and pros- pect for gold and silver mines; the Welser Company to have the right to work and develope all such mines. (3) The Emperor conferred the title ot "Adelantado," or Stadthalter, upon such persons appointed by the Welsers. (4) The Emperor granted to the Germans the right to enslave all such Indians as would not subject themselves to their authority except by force of arms. Oviedo goes on to state that only such por- tions of the above contract were complied with, as reverted to the profit of the Germans.
84 Although "Welserland" for years was the accepted name for this Province (exclusively so in Germany), in official Spanish documents, so far as known to the writer, it was usually called Venezuela. Bonny- castle, who, in his history of Spanish America, closely follows Las Casas, gives the following explanation of the derivation of the name Venezuela. "The shores in the immediate vicinity of its waters (Lake Maracaybo) are unhealthy, owing to the vapors arising in the night after the great heat of the day. "When the Spaniards first landed in this country, they ob- served several villages built in the lake, which is the mode adopted by the Indians at present, [1810?] considering this plan the healthiest. The appearance of one of these little towns amid the waters, caused the Spanish adventurers to name it Little Venice, or Venezuela. Which title was afterwards transferred to the whole Province in the neighbour- hood. "Four of these villages still remain [18to?] and are under the government of a monk, who has a church and the spiritual charge of the people."
-
61
Unfurling the Imperial Standard.
and a landing made on February 23, 1528.59b Upon the following day, Dalfinger, with four hundred men and eighty horses, entered the native village of Coro,0 unfurled the Imperial standard, and under its folds had himself acknowledged Governor and Cap- tain-General of Welserland, the first German colony to be established in America, amid salvos of musketry and strains of martial music. A regular government was organized, a town projected and foundations were laid for a christian church,90a whose titular patron was St. Anna.91
85 Karl von Klöden, Die Welser in Augsburg als besitzer von Venezuela, (Berlin, 1855), p. 437. Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Erdkunde, P. 437.
86 Bartholomaeus Sailer, [Seyler] evidently a relation to Hieronymus Sailer and Johannes Sailer of Bamberg, for whom Johannes Schöner in 1520 constructed his celebrated globe. See above, p. 70.
86% He died during the last Dalfinger expedition, a few days before his commander.
86b These miners, all experienced men, were mainly from the St. Joachimsthal in the Erzgebirge. The negotiations were made by Hans Ehinger, who went to Joachimsthal for that purpose with Bergmeister Reiss and Jorg Neusesser, upon the part of the miners. 'After signing the contract the men were referred to Hieronymus Walther of Leipzig, who furnished the transportation to Seville.
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