“. . .[A] much-needed addition to the English-language scholarship on colonial Venezuela during the first half of the sixteenth century.”—Vikram Tamboli, Hispanic American Historical Review
Media
Description
Reviews
Bio
Table of Contents
Subjects
Media
Watch “PSU Press Presents: Latin American Originals,” a virtual author event hosted by the Press on February 16th, 2022 with Peter Hess, Kris Lane, Andrea Martínez Baracs, and series editor Matthew Restall:
Description
Published in 1557, Nikolaus Federmann’s Jndianische Historia is a fascinating narrative describing the German military commander’s incursion into what is now Venezuela. Designed not only for classroom use but also for the use of scholars, this English translation is accompanied by a critical introduction that contextualizes Federmann’s firsthand account within the broader Spanish colonial system.
Having gained the rights to colonize Venezuela from the Spanish Crown in 1528, the Welser merchant house of Augsburg, Germany, sent mercenaries, settlers, and miners to set up colonial structures. The venture never turned a profit, and operations ceased in 1546 after two Welser officials were murdered. Federmann’s text gives an account of his foray into the interior of Venezuela in 1530–31. It describes violent first contact with Indigenous peoples as well as Federmann’s communication strategies, how he managed to prevail in hostile terrain, and how he related to other agents of the conquests. It also documents his unwavering belief in the intrinsic preeminence of European Christians and, ultimately, in the righteousness of his mission.
The only detailed record of this incursion, Federmann’s text adds a unique and important perspective to our understanding of first colonial contact on the Caribbean coast of South America. It provides insight into the first-contact dynamic, the techniques of subjugation and dominance, and the web of diverging interests among stakeholders. This volume will be a valuable resource for courses and for scholarship on conquest and colonialism in Latin America.
Reviews
“. . .[A] much-needed addition to the English-language scholarship on colonial Venezuela during the first half of the sixteenth century.”—Vikram Tamboli, Hispanic American Historical Review
“An unvarnished description of the brutal mechanics and motivations of the Welser Company’s short-lived colonial project in the Americas. Early sixteenth-century narratives of European exploration in the Americas often mix conquistador ambition and expeditionary ethnography. In contrast, Nikolaus Federmann’s account of his military band’s methodical shakedowns of successive Indigenous groups for provisions and forced labor makes explicit the violent dynamics of early racial capitalism.”—Carina L. Johnson, author of Cultural Hierarchy in Sixteenth-Century Europe: The Ottomans and Mexicans
Bio
Peter Hess is Associate Professor of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of Resisting Pluralization and Globalization in German Culture, 1490–1540: Visions of a Nation in Decline.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Map
Introduction
Indian History
To the noble and mighty Johann Wilhelm von Laubenberg
Chapter 1. About the departure of Nikolaus Federmann the Younger from Spain
Chapter 2. How Nikolaus Federmann acted after his arrival in Coro
Chapter 3. The beginning of Nikolaus Federmann’s journey from Coro inland
Chapter 4. The Nation of the Jirajaras
Chapter 5. The Nation of the Ayamanes
Chapter 6. The Nation of the Gayones Chapter 7. The Nation of the Achagua
Chapter 8. The Nation of the Caquetíos Chapter 9. The Nation of the Cuibas
Chapter 10. The Nation of the Coyones Chapter 11. The Nation of the Guaiqueríes
