Georg von Speyer (* 1500 in Speyer, Rhineland; † 11 June 1540 in Coro, Venezuela) was a German conquistador in New Granada, now Venezuela and Colombia. His birth name was Georg Hohermuth but he chose to call himself after his place of birth. He is sometimes referred to as Jorge de la Espira, his name in Spanish. 1500 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Speyer (English formerly Spires) is a city in Germany (Rhineland-Palatinate) with approx. ... The Rhineland (Rheinland in German) is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany, although some consider the lands to the east of the river culturally distinct, jovially referring to them as Schäl Sick; the bad or wrong side... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... Events January 6 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves, his fourth Queen consort. ... The city of Santa Ana de Coro was founded in 1527 by Spanish colonists. ... New Granada was the name given to a group of colonial provinces in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia. ...

Von Speyer was among the young fortune seekers solicited by the Augsburg banking families of Anton and Bartholomeus Welser to colonize New Granada in 1534. He was placed in charge of a new group of colonists who arrived in 1535, only to find himself the governor of the Welser concession, since the former governor Ambrosius Ehinger had died in 1533. Between 1535 and 1538 he searched in southwestern Venezuela and northern Colombia for El Dorado, in the company of Philipp von Hutten. Because of ill health he resigned as governor in 1539. Welser is the surname of an important German banking and merchant family, originally from Augsburg. ... The German colonization of the Americas consisted of a failed attempt to settle Venezuela in the 16th century. ... New Granada was the name given to a group of colonial provinces in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia. ... Events January 18 - Lima, Peru founded by Francisco Pizarro April - Jacques Cartier discovers the Iroquois city of Stadacona, Canada (now Quebec) and in May, the even greater Huron city of Hochelaga June 24 - The Anabaptist state of Münster (see Münster Rebellion) is conquered and disbanded. ... The German colonization of the Americas consisted of a failed attempt to settle Venezuela in the 16th century. ... El Dorado (sometimes spelled Eldorado) is a mythical city of gold (sometimes called the Lost City of Gold) which was thought to be located somewhere in the Americas, more specifically South America. ... Philipp von Hutten. ... Events May 30 - In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal to find gold. ...

References

• Chapman, Walker The Golden Dream: Seekers of El Dorado. Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis 1967.
• Richter, Erich Die Welser landen in Venezuela W. Goldmann, Leipzig 1938.