In 1528, Charles V issued a charter by which the House of Welser possessed the rights to explore, rule and colonize the area, also with the motivation of searching for the legendary golden city of El Dorado.

Many of the German colonists died of tropical diseases or were attacked and killed during frequent journeys deep into native territory in search of gold.

They possessed great riches, and Bartholomeus was created a prince of the Empire and made privy councillor to the Emperor Charles V, to whom he lent large sums.

The Welser were obligated to conquer the country at their own expenses, enlist only Spanish and Flemish troops, fit out two expeditions of four vessels, and build two cities and three forts within two years after taking possession.

In accordance with his contract, Welser armed a fleet, which sailed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda early in 1528, under the command of Ambrosius Ehinger, whom he appointed captain general.

The House of Welser set up a colonization scheme and sent Ehinger as governor to Santa Ana de Coro (German: Neu-Augsburg[7]), the capital of the Province of Venezuela.

Upon his return, Ehinger, with 40 horses 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.

There the expedition rested about three months, then it continued south, where they met fierce resistance from the indigenous tribes, so they turned east, along the Lebrija River.

Speyer persevered for a long time in his search for the El Dorado, until at last his progress was arrested by a mighty river, probably the Orinoco, or its confluent, the Apure, and early in 1539 he returned to Coro empty-handed with only 80 ragged and sickly men out of the host he had led forth more than four years before.

He led those of his followers who survived back to Coro, in 1546, to find that a Spaniard, Juan de Carvajal, had been appointed by the Royal Audiencia of Santo Domingo to preserve order in Venezuela.

As the years had gone by with no news of Hutten and his followers, Carvajal had founded El Tocuyo with settlers of Coro and begun to feel secure in his position, and the return of the German adventurers was not welcome to him.

In their journey to the coast, the adventurers took no precautions against attack, and were easily captured by Carvajal in April 1546, who, after keeping Hutten and Welser in chains for a time, had them beheaded.