Philipp von Hutten

Philipp von Hutten (December 18, 1505 – May 17, 1546 in El Tocuyo, Venezuela), German knight, was a relative of Ulrich von Hutten and passed some of his early years at the court of the emperor Charles V.

Later he joined the band of adventurers, under Georg von Speyer, who sailed to
Venezuela, or Venosala as Hutten calls it, with the object of conquering and exploiting this land in the interests of the Augsburg family of Welser. The party landed at Coro in February 1535 and Hutten accompanied von Speyer on his long and toilsome expedition into the interior in search of treasure (El Dorado). In December 1540, after the death of von Speyer in June 1540, he became governor (captain-general) of Venezuela.

Soon after this event he vanished into the interior, returning after five years of wandering to find that a Spaniard, Juan de Carvajal, had been appointed governor in his absence. With his travelling companion, Bartholomew Welser the younger, he was seized by Carvajal in April 1546 and the two were afterwards put to death.

Hutten left some letters, and also a narrative of the earlier part of his adventures, this "Zeitung aus India Junkher Philipps von Hutten" being published in 1785.

In 1983, Venezuelan author Francisco Herrera-Luque (1927-1991) published a novel named "La Luna de Fausto" ("Faust's Moon") where he narrates the adventures of von Hutten (called Felipe de Utre in old Spanish accounts) since he traveled from Europe to Coro, until beheaded by Juan de Carvajal over a power dispute. According to the legend, his death was prophetized by Dr. Faust himself, who told him he was going to die under a "red moon".

References

*von Hutten, Philipp "Zeitung aus India Junkher Philipps von Hutten" 1785.
*Chapman, Walker "The Golden Dream: Seekers of El Dorado." Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis 1967.
*Herrera Luque, Francisco "La Luna de Fausto" 1983.
*Richter, Erich "Die Welser landen in Venezuela" W. Goldmann 1938.
*1911|article=Philipp von Hutten|url=http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Philipp_Von_Hutten