Welser Banking House

Timeline

1. c. 1480–1518Augsburg and Lisbon trading posts · AugsburgAnton of Lukas's line extended the family business from the Levant and Italy to Lisbon, to tap into Portugal's newly opened sea route to the East, and engaged in mining investments. Augsburg thus became one of the hubs linking southern German capital to Iberian imperial trade.
2. 1519–1528Augsburg–Madrid court credit line · SpainBartholomäus V lent huge sums to Charles V in return for the honors of an imperial prince, the status of privy councillor, and compensating concessions in American colonization and the slave trade. The 1528 Madrid contract placed the province of Venezuela under Welser rule as part of the debt arrangement.
3. 1528–1556Augsburg · AugsburgThe Venezuela venture failed for want of gold, abuse of the population, and conflict with Spanish officials; the concession was revoked after 1546. The family's banking business continued under Bartholomäus's sons and nephews until bankruptcy in 1614; his niece Philippina later married into the Habsburg Austrian line.