- Ambrosius Ehinger
Ambrosius Ehinger, also (Ambrosio Alfínger in Spanish) Dalfinger, Thalfinger, (* c. 1500 in
Thalfingen nearUlm ,Bavaria ; †31 May 1533 nearChinácota Colombia ) was a German conquistador and the first governor of the Welser concession, also known as “Little Venice” (Klein-Venedig), in New Granada, nowVenezuela andColombia .Ehinger was a factor in
Madrid for theWelser banking family when they began planning for the colonization of New Granada. The Welsers appointed him as the first governor, and sent as his deputy the Spaniard Luis González de Leyva. They arrived in Coro in 1529 with 281 colonists and called the new colony “Little Venice” (Klein-Venedig). Almost immediately Ehinger replaced González de Leyva withNicolaus Federmann .In August 1529 Ehinger made his first expedition to
Lake Maracaibo which was bitterly opposed by the indigenous people, the Coquibacao. After winning a series of bloody battles, he founded the settlement atMaracaibo on September 8, 1529. Ehinger named the city Neu Nürnberg (New Nuremberg) and the lake after the valiant chieftain of the Coquibacao, who had died in the fighting. The city was renamed Maracaibo after the Spanish took possession.Ehinger came down with malaria and decided to recuperate in the relatively civilized comforts of
Hispaniola , so he handed temporary authority over to Federmann on July 30, 1530.Upon his return, Ehinger, with 40 horse and 130 foot soldiers and an uncounted number of allied Indians, set off from Coro on September 1, 1531 on his second expedition to the alleged gold country to the west. They crossed the Oca mountains, came over to
Valledupar , along theCesar River , and finally to the Zapatosa marsh. There the expedition rested about 3 months, then it continued south, where they met fierce resistance from the indigenous tribes, so they turned east, along theLebrija River . During this expedition they were forced to eat their horses and dogs, and lost most of their Indian allies, many dying from the cold as they crossed the mountains. As they made their way home, they were attacked by the Chitareros onMay 27 1533 . Ehinger and Captain Estéban Martín fled into a low-lying ravine, where they were pinned down by Indians shooting arrows. Ehinger received an arrow in the neck, unfortunately the arrow was poisoned. Despite the attentions of the Augustine father Vicente de Requejada, Ambrosius Ehinger died on May 31, 1533, and was buried under a tree. The expedition returned without him to Coro.References
* Chapman, Walker "The Golden Dream: Seekers of El Dorado." Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis 1967.
* Richter, Erich "Die Welser landen in Venezuela" W. Goldmann 1938.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
