Welser was aGermanbanking andmerchantfamily, originally apatrician family based inAugsburg andNuremberg, that rose to great prominence in international highfinance in the 16th century as bankers to theHabsburgs and financiers ofCharles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Along with theFugger family, the Welser family controlled large sectors of theEuropean economy, and accumulated enormouswealth throughtrade and theGerman colonization of the Americas, includingslave trade. The family received colonial rights of theProvince of Venezuela from Charles V, who was also King of Spain, in 1528, becoming owners and rulers of the South American colony ofKlein-Venedig (within modernVenezuela), but were deprived of their rule in 1546.Philippine Welser (1527–1580), famed for both her learning and her beauty, was married toArchduke Ferdinand,Emperor Ferdinand I's son.[1][2]
Claiming descent from the Byzantine generalBelisarius, the family is known since the 13th century. By the earlyAge of Discovery, the Welser family had establishedtrading posts inAntwerp,Lyon,Madrid,Nuremberg,Sevilla,Lisbon,Venice,Rome, andSanto Domingo. The Welsers financed not only the Emperor, but also other Europeanmonarchs. After theReformation, both Welser and Fugger families remained in theRoman Catholic Church.[3]
The history of the family can be traced back to the 13th century, when its members held official positions in the city of Augsburg. Later, the family became widely known as prominent merchants. During the 15th century, when the brothers Bartholomew and Lucas Welser carried on an extensive trade with theLevant and elsewhere, they had branches in the principal trading centres ofsouthern Germany andItaly, and also inAntwerp,London, andLisbon.[4] In the 15th and 16th centuries, branches of the family settled atNuremberg and inAustria. They were represented in the inner council by theDance Statute of Nuremberg.
The business was continued by Antony (died 1518), a son of Lucas Welser. He was one of the first Germans to use the sea route to the East, which had been discovered byVasco da Gama.[4]
Contrary to many historiographical depictions, the conquest of the Americas would not have been as successful as it was without the help of many other foreign actors, such as the Welser Family. Historian Julia Roth claims that a "relational perspective" on the Welser Family's contributions to the colonization of the Americas explains how the Welsers have continued to be an example for other "German colonial endeavors and fantasies."[5]
The Welser Family saw its chance to participate in the conquest of the Americas in the early to mid-1500s. In the Contract of Madrid (1528), King Charles V provided the Welsers with privileges within the African slave trade and conquests of the Americas as a reward for their financial contributions to his election in 1519. By March 1528, they were also granted the province of Venezuela.[5]
The Welser merchants also contributed to the mining industry in Cuba, as they discovered copper there. German traders (Welsers andFuggers) contributed to the importation of German products to Cuba, such as equipment for mining and building railways. Historians Álvarez Estévez and Guzmàn Pascual argue that the Welser and Fugger contributions in Cuba led to the island's "first contact with international finance capital," and that these interrelations opened Cuban trade up to the "financial powers of the world."[6]
Bartholomeus Welser V lent theEmperor Charles V a great sum of money for which, in 1528, he received as security theProvince of Venezuela, developing it asKlein-Venedig (little Venice), but in consequence of their rapacious acts, the Welsers were deprived of their rule before the Emperor's reign was over.[citation needed] His son,Bartholomeus Welser VI, explored Venezuela along withPhilipp von Hutten and both were executed atEl Tocuyo by local Spanish GovernorJuan de Carvajal in 1546.
From 1528 to 1556, sevenentradas (expeditions) led to the plunder and exploitation of local civilizations, but these colonial foundations led to future trade within the Americas. The first governors of Venezuela,Ambrosius Alfinger (1529–1533),Nicolas Federmann, andGeorg von Speyer captured and enslaved local amerindians after their failed attempts to find gold on theVenezuelan coast. The Welsers contributed to the establishment of cities such asCoro,Maracaibo, andBogotá.[5]
The Welsers' hold of theslave trade in theCaribbean began in 1523, as they had begun their own sugar production inSanto Domingo. According to historian Julia Roth, "In 1532, the company purchased the sugar mill Santa Bàrbara in the department ofSan Juan de la Maguana through the Welsers' overseas agent Sebastian Renz from Ulm for the price of 3427 Pesos, 202 Arrobas sugar, and 4 slaves."[5] Slaves were notably listed in the same category as animals, signaling the early dehumanization of African enslaved workers. Over the next 15 years, thousands of enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas.
Bartholomäus's niece,Philippine (1527–80), daughter of Franz Welser, was renowned for her learning and beauty. She secretly married theArchduke Ferdinand, second son of theEmperor Ferdinand I. She was given the titlesBaroness of Zinnenburg,Margravine ofBurgau,Landgravine ofNellenburg, andCountess ofOberhohenberg and Niederhohenberg. Their children were debarred from inheriting their father's rank as Archdukes of Austria; their sonMargrave Andrew of Burgau became acardinal andCharles, Margrave of Burgau became a noted general.
Another member of the Welser family,Markus Welser (1558–1614), was famed for his learning. He was a humanist, historian, publisher, and (from 1611) mayor of Augsburg.
Carl Wilhelm Welser von Neunhof (1663–1711) was a mayor of Nuremberg.
Bartholomeus Welser V was ennobled by the Emperor in 1532. The Augsburg main line became extinct in 1797, the Nuremberg branch in 1878. The Ulm branch, who became Imperial Barons in 1713, still exists.[4] The Welsersche Familienstiftung (in English, the "Welser Family Foundation"), founded on 1 April 1539, still exists and has owned numerous castles in Germany. Following the extinction of the more senior lines of the family, the Ulm branch became administrators of the foundation.
In Augsburg there is theFugger and Welser Adventure Museum [de;nl] that exhibits Welser andFugger history.[7]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Welser".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 516.
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