Nicholas Federmann
Nicholas Federmann (also Féderman or Federmán; German: Nikolaus Federmann; Free Imperial City of Ulm, ca. 1505-Valladolid, February 1542) was a German explorer and chronicler who participated in the Spanish conquest of the territories of present-day Colombia and Venezuela, and was appointed lieutenant governor-general of Coro from 1535 to 1539. It was part of the second foundation of Santafé de Bogotá in 1539.
Biography
Nicholas Federmann was born around 1505 in the Free City of Ulm of the Holy Roman Empire.
Exploration in South America
Context
Klein-Venedig (in German): Little Venice, also Welser-Kolonie -Welser colony- or Welserland -Country Welser-) was the name given to a part of the territory of the current Venezuela, which was leased by Carlos I to the German family of Welser bankers from 1528 to 1546 for its colonization in exchange for paying some debts owed by the monarch. The Welser were a patriotic family of the Free Imperial Cities of Augsburg and Nuremberg. Klein-Venedig represents the greatest effort of German colonization in America in the sixteenth century.
The main motivation was the search for the legendary city of El Dorado. The company was directed at the beginning by Ambrosio Alfinger, who founded New Nuremberg in 1529. After the death of Alfinger (1533) and then that of his successor Jorge de Espira (1540), Felipe de Utre continued the exploration inside, and in his absence of the capital of the province the crown of Spain claimed the right to appoint a governor. On the return of Utre to the capital, Santa Ana de Coro, in 1546, Spanish governor Juan de Carvajal executed Utre and Bartolomé Welser. King Charles I then revoked the Welser letter.Serving the Welser family
Federmann was sent as a factor to Seville and, later, to Santo Domingo in 1529. The Welsers had signed an agreement with Carlos I of Spain to explore and exploit the territory of the newly created Province of Venezuela.
First trip
Federmann undertook the company in 1530 in collaboration with Ambrosio Alfinger, following the course of the Orinoco. He was «appointed lieutenant governor, captain general and mayor of Coro [...]. He traveled from Coro to the west, through the current Barquisimeto, Araure, El Baúl and San Felipe; but accused of having carried out the expedition without authorization, he was sentenced to exile from the Indies for four years. »
Then, he returned to Europe and in August 1532 he arrived in Augsburg (Germany), where he wrote an account of his expedition with the first ethnographic notes of numerous tribes in Venezuela, entitled "Indianische Historia", (Indian History), published by his brother-in-law in 1557.
Hans Kiefhaber was the husband of his sister Elisabeth, heir to Nicholas's father, Claus the Elder, who died the same year as his son, in 1542, and custodian of all papers and notes of the explorer.
Second trip
In 1532 Federmann signed another contract with the Welsers, and in July 1534 he was appointed, by royal decree of Carlos I, to succeed Alfinger as governor of the province of Venezuela and Cabo de la Vela. The following year, without taking office yet, he was replaced by Jorge de Espira. Federmann and Espira prepared the trip, but upon reaching Coro in 1535, they separated and each one organized their own expedition. Federmann continued towards Cabo de la Vela passing through Maracaibo, returning later to end up in the Casanare plains. In 1536, probably near the mouth of the Río de la Hacha, Federmann founded a town called Nuestra Señora de las Nieves.
Federmann continued to the upper Meta and then crossed the Andes mountain range through the Sumapaz páramo, being the first European to carry out the feat. He then went down following the Fusagasugá river, arrived at Pasca and then at Bosa, where he met with emissaries of Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. They agreed that the soldiers coming from Venezuela would have the same rights as those from the New Kingdom of Granada. Federmann refused to ally with Sebastián de Belalcázar to strip Quesada of the territories that he had conquered.
After several disagreements between the three conquerors, they agreed to peace and moved to Santafé in February 1539. Federmann and his army arrived in that town the following month. After participating in the legal foundation of the city in April of that same year, the three conquerors decided to leave their men there as settlers and travel to Spain to resolve their differences. King Carlos I appointed Jiménez de Quesada marshal of the New Kingdom of Granada, and Belalcázar governor of Popayán.
Last years
The Protestant Reformation in Germany meant that natives of that European region were prohibited from entering the Indies without a license, which meant that Federmann, accused of being of the Lutheran faith, did not receive any appointment from the king.
According to some sources, Federmann went to Ghent and as the report of his management did not satisfy the Welsers, he was imprisoned in Antwerp. In 1541 he was able to move to Madrid to organize his defense before the Council of the Indies, but he died before obtaining his freedom. Federmann possibly died in Valladolid.
Legacy
However, 64 of Federmann's 106 companions obtained parcels in a territory that included from Santafé, Vélez (Santander), Tunja, Tocaima, Pamplona, as well as in Ibagué, Mariquita and San Juan de los Llanos. This allowed them to become important figures in New Granada society and to form families with European and indigenous women. Some dedicated themselves to mining, while others dedicated themselves to commerce and promoting navigation on the Magdalena River. A pedestrian statue of Nikolaus Federmann was unveiled in the Parque de los Cañones de Rio Hacha (Colombia), one of the few that has not been demolished or destroyed like that of other conquerors of the New World.
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