Ambrosius Ehinger

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Ambrosius Ehinger , also Dalfinger, Alfinger, Thalfinger , (* before 1500 in Thalfingen ; † May 31, 1533 near Chinácota , Colombia ) was a German conquistador and the first governor of Little Venice . However, the economic historian Hermann Kellenbenz , who died in 1990, doubted that Ambrosius Dalfinger belonged to the Ehinger family, or that there was an Ambrosius Ehinger at all.

Life

Ambrosius Ehinger (or Dalfinger, Alfinger or Thalfinger) was probably born before 1500 in Thalfingen near Ulm or in Konstanz. Little is known about his origins and his earlier life, presumably he comes from the patrician family of the same name from Ulm. In 1527 he urged the Welser to found their colony in Venezuela (German: Little Venice). The Welser made him the first governor (governor) of Little Venice. His deputy was the Spaniard Luis González de Leyva , who was later replaced by Nikolaus Federmann .

In October 1528 a fleet led by Ambrosius Dalfinger reached the island of Hispaniola . With 281 colonists, Dalfinger sailed on to Venezuela. In August 1529 he made his first expedition west from Coro to Lake Maracaibo . There there were bloody battles with the indigenous people, the Coquibacoa . After a victory, Ambrosius Dalfinger founded New Nuremberg on September 8, 1529 on the place of the later Maracaibo . Maracaibo is the name of the ruler of the Coquibacoa who fell in battle.

Ambrosius Ehinger returned to Coro with a fever. Before he went to Hispaniola to cure the malaria disease, he handed over the power of attorney for Venezuela to his deputy Nikolaus Federmann on July 30, 1530.

On September 1st, 1531, Ambrosius Ehinger went with 40 horsemen, 130 foot soldiers and some natives on his second expedition to a fabulous gold country in the west. They crossed the Oca Mountains , came via Valledupar , along the Río Cesar , and finally to the Zapatosa lagoon. The expedition stayed there for about three months, then continued south. Here they met resistance from the natives and so they marched east along the Río Lebrija. In the mountains they came across warriors who attacked the troops. Since there was hardly any food, the men began to slaughter their bloodhounds and later their horses. In addition, around 105 natives who were not used to the cold climate froze to death. Shortly thereafter, in 1532, Ambrosius Ehinger founded the place Silos ("grain store"). Then the conquistadors made their way home, but on May 27, 1533 they were attacked by Chitareros. Ambrosius Ehinger and the captain Estéban Martín fled to a nearby ravine, where they were attacked by other opponents with arrows. An arrow hit Ehinger's neck. After his followers chased the natives away, the arrow poison began to work. The Augustinian Father Vicente de Requejada took his confession from him. Ambrosius Ehinger died four days later, on May 31, 1533. His people buried him and returned to Coro.

literature

Movie

  • Gisela Graichen, Michael Tauchert: Schliemanns Gold - The gold of the conquistadors . D, 2005

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hermann Kellenbenz: Art. Ehinger . In: New German Biography , Vol. 4: Dittel - Falck . Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, pp. 344-345, here p. 344.
  2. ↑ Hartmut Fröschle : The Germans in Venezuela . In the S. (Ed.): The Germans in Latin America - Fate and Achievement . Erdmann, Tübingen and Basel 1979, ISBN 3-77110-293-6 , pp. 767-805, here p. 768.
  3. ↑ Hartmut Fröschle: The Germans in Venezuela . In the S. (Ed.): The Germans in Latin America - Fate and Achievement . Erdmann, Tübingen and Basel 1979, pp. 767–805, here p. 769.
personal data
SURNAME Ehinger, Ambrosius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thalfinger; Dalfinger; Alfinger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German conquistador and the first governor of Little Venice
DATE OF BIRTH before 1500
PLACE OF BIRTH Thalfingen
DATE OF DEATH May 31, 1533
Place of death at Chinácota