In West-Indien 259

Title

In West-Indien 259

View shows the Spaniards on a river in Venezula with sea monsters, locals and native wildlife.

ca. 1599

Artist

Bry, de (1528-1598)

Theodor de Bry (1528–1598) was a Frankfurt-based engraver and publisher who, beginning in 1590, produced two of the most important early modern travel collections: the West Indian (America) and East Indian voyages. Richly illustrated with copper engravings and published in both German and Latin, these works were aimed at a European audience. With the help of his sons, Johann Theodor and Johann Israel, de Bry published six volumes before his death. The project was continued by his descendants until 1634, ultimately comprising 25 volumes with over 1,500 engravings. In 1594, he famously depicted Columbus's arrival in the New World. The West Indian series (1590–1618) chronicled the European discovery and conquest of the Americas, while the East Indian series followed the rise of Dutch trade power in Asia around 1600.

Historical Description

In pre-Columbian times, Indian groups, nomadic hunters and gatherers as well as fishermen and farmers lived in Venezuela. Christopher Columbus reached the eastern coast of Venezuela on his third voyage in 1498 and landed at the mouth of the Orinoco River. It was the first time that he and his team had entered mainland America. On August 24, 1499, an expedition by Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci followed, which supposedly gave the country the name Venezuela (Little Venice) because of the frequent use of stilt houses. The first permanent settlement of the Spaniards called Nueva Cadiz was founded in 1522. From 1528 to 1545, the province of Venezuela was pledged by Charles V to the Welser family, who ran the Little Venice colony during this period. The current capital, Caracas, was founded in 1567, and in 1577 the Spanish crown appointed a governor to administer it.The colony was rather neglected by the Spaniards in the 16th and 17th centuries, since they concentrated on gold from other parts of America. The cultivation of cocoa, sugar, tobacco, coffee and cotton resulted in a large number of slaves being brought to Venezuela, which, after much of the native culture had been largely destroyed, influenced the culture in Venezuela. From 1797 to 1821 there were repeated attempts to detach New Granada, whose sub-region was Venezuela, from Spanish rule. In 1821 Simón Bolívar managed to bring the wars of independence to a victorious end in Venezuela.