Klein-Venedig (Little Venice)

Timeline

1. 1528–1529Santa Ana de Coro · CoroCharles V granted an American concession in settlement of his debts to the Welsers. Ambrosius Ehinger was appointed governor and arrived at Coro (briefly called New Augsburg) on February 24, 1529, beginning to organize conquest and gold-seeking with family capital.
2. 1529–1540Maracaibo (New Nuremberg) · MaracaiboEhinger advanced from Coro toward Lake Maracaibo, fought the Coquibacoya people, and founded Maracaibo in September 1529. Subsequent governors continued searching inland for El Dorado; the expeditions were enormously costly and, through plundering, alienated Spanish settlers and indigenous people.
3. 1540–1546El Tocuyo · TocuyoPhilipp von Hutten continued inland expeditions after Speyer's death. While he was away from Coro, the Spanish appointed a governor of their own. In 1546 Hutten and Bartholomeus VI Welser were executed by Juan de Carvajal upon their return, and Charles V promptly revoked the Welser concession, ending Klein-Venedig as a German colonial experiment.