Description
Book SynopsisThe first English translation of Jndianische Historia, an account by the German mercenary Nikolaus Federmann of the incursion he led to the interior of Venezuela in 1530–31. Includes a critical introduction that contextualizes Federmann’s firsthand account within the broader Spanish colonial system.
Trade Review“. . .[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
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
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
Chapter 12. The Nation of the Caquetíos
Chapter 13. The Nation of the Ciparicotos
Chapter 14. Return from the back country to Coro
Chapter 15. Return to Spain from Coro
Chapter 16. Return to Augsburg from Spain
Selected Bibliography
Index
