Nikolaus Federmann
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Nikolaus Federmann (, ) (c. 1505, Ulm – February 1542,
Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
) was a German adventurer and
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
in what is modern-day
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
and
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
. He is a significant figure in the history of Klein-Venedig (1528–1546), the concession of Venezuela Province that
Charles I of Spain Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...
granted to the Welser banking family and the foundation of Santafe de Bogotá.


Life

Nikolaus Federmann was born in Ulm (
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...
) around 1505. In 1529, he was sent to
Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...
by the Welser family of
Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
, who had signed an agreement to explore the territory of
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
. As an agent of the Welser family, Federmann took settlers and miners from
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
to Coro in Venezuela in 1529 and 1530. Upon his arrival the governor Ambrosius Ehinger appointed him as his deputy. On 30 July 1530 Federmann became responsible for the colony of "Little Venice" (''Klein Venedig''). Governor Ehinger temporarily handed over authority to Federmann, because he had to go
Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...
for health reasons. Without the authorisation of the Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo, Federmann undertook an expedition in September 1530 in the northern river basin of the
Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...
, searching for the "South Sea" (the Pacific), with 110 foot soldiers, 16 mounted soldiers, and 100 natives. However, he did not achieve his goal to open a new trade route to Asia. On 17 March 1531 he returned to Coro with 5,565 pesos of gold. Because of the unauthorized expedition, the governor Ehinger banished Federmann to Europe for a period of four years. When he returned to Augsburg, he wrote ''Indianische Historia. Ein schöne kurtzweilige Historia Niclaus Federmanns des Jüngern von Ulm erster raise'' (published in 1557).


Expedition in La Guajira

Leaving from Coro in Paraguaná, Federmann left for the present-day territory of La Guajira, in northernmost Colombia. One of his goals was to secure the
pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...
s that can be found in the Caribbean waters at the coast, and one version of history has it that he founded Riohacha in 1535. However, Federmann did not secure native divers to search for pearls, and his mission to found a city he wanted to call "Ulma", after his place of birth Ulm, failed. Federmann returned to Coro after reaching Cabo de la Vela in February 1536 without having founded a settlement on the Caribbean coast of La Guajira.Official website Riohacha – history, present and future
/ref>


Foundation of Bogotá

From Coro, he traveled along the eastern edges of the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian
Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
, through the Llanos and, following the salt trade route, he encountered the eastern part of the
Muisca Confederation The Muisca Confederation was a loose confederation of different Muisca rulers (''zaques'', ''zipas'', ''iraca'', and ''tundama'') in the central Andes, Andean highlands of what is today Colombia before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, Spanis ...
. Their realm had already been largely conquered and occupied by
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (; 1509 – 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory n ...
, who considered the arrival of another conquistador unpleasant.Conquista rápida y saqueo cuantioso de Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
/ref> Together with Sebastián de Belalcázar, Federmann re-founded the city of
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
on 27 April 1539. Jiménez de Quesada had failed to fulfill the official requirements of the Spanish Crown concerning the founding of a settlement when he attempted to establish a first Bogotá on 6 August 1538. The three leaders of the conquest expeditions; Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, Sebastián de Belalcázar and Federmann, met in Bosa and agreed to travel back to Spain to ask for compensation for their exploration for the Spanish Crown. Gonzalo assigned his brother Hernán Pérez de Quesada as interim governor of the New Kingdom of Granada and chose the first mayor and council for the capital. The chaplain of the team of Federmann, Juan Verdejo, was named priest. Most of the soldiers of the expeditions of Federmann and De Belalcázar decided to stay in Bogotá, reinforcing the troops of De Quesada. Without having found '' El Dorado'', ten years after his arrival in the New World, in mid May 1539, Federmann returned to the Caribbean coast, to sail to Spain from Cartagena. The work '' Epítome de la conquista del Nuevo Reino de Granada'' reports they arrived in Spain in November 1539, when the Spanish King was crossing France to reach
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
.''Epítome'', p. 96


Back in Europe

In Europe, Federmann was intercepted by the Welser family, who accused him of breaching his contract and suppressing funds. The Welser family demanded a remuneration of 100,000 ducats in emeralds and 15,000 ducats in gold. Since Federmann could not pay, he spent weeks in an
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
prison. Federmann tried to defend himself in court, first in
Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
and finally in
Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
before the Council of the Indies. He filed counter-lawsuits, accusing the Welser family of evading taxes and acting against the interests of the Spanish king. On 19 October 1541 Federmann finally agreed to a settlement. The Welser family abandoned their financial revendications, and Federmann ceded the property rights of his lands in New Granada. Accused by the Welser family of unfaithfulness, and suspected of being a
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by the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...
, Federmann died in February 1542 in prison in
Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
.


Works

* "''Indianische Historia. Ein schöne kurtzweilige Historia Niclaus Federmanns des Jüngern von Ulm erster raise''" (about the first expedition), 1557 in Hagenau


Miscellaneous

* As a homage to his figure a pedestrian statue of Nikolaus Federmann was unveiled in the Parque de los Cañones of Rio Hacha (Colombia), one of the few that has not been demolished or destroyed like that of other conquistadors of the New World * There is a neighborhood in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
named Nicolás de Federmán, the Spanish rendering of his own name and as he was known by his fellow Spanish
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
s.


References


Bibliography

* , reprint of


External links


Nikolaus Federmann: "Indianische Historia" online (In German)

Literature from and about Nikolaus Federmann (In German)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Federmann, Nikolaus German conquistadors 16th-century explorers from the Holy Roman Empire Year of birth uncertain 1500s births 1542 deaths People from the Spanish Empire People from Ulm