Melchior Grübel
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Melchior Grübel | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1500 |
| Died | c. 1561 |
| Occupations | Merchant, conquistador, colonial administrator |
| Spouse | Katharina von Vonbühl (divorced 1552) |
| Children | Leonhard (natural son), Beatriz, and two others |
Melchior Grübel (c. 1500 – c. 1561) was a Swiss mercenary, merchant, and conquistador from St. Gallen who became a prominent figure in the early colonial administration of Venezuela. He served as a representative of the Welser banking house and later became a colonial governor, playing a significant role in the founding of several Venezuelan cities during the 16th century.
Melchior Grübel was born around 1500 in St. Gallen into a prosperous merchant family. His father, Stephan Grübel, operated a trading company with family members and held high offices in the city. In 1445, his father and uncle Hans Grübel received a coat of arms from Emperor Frederick III. The family was related to the humanist Sebastian Grübel from Schaffhausen.[1]
Details of Grübel's childhood and youth remain unknown. He later became a textile merchant and member of the Notenstein Society. He owned a residence on Spisergasse and married Katharina von Vonbühl (also known as Katharina Vonwiller), with whom he likely had four children. The couple divorced in 1552.[1]
Military service and early career
In 1531, Grübel participated in the Second War of Kappel as a member of St. Gallen's War Council. Three years later, in 1534, city authorities granted him permission to serve as a mercenary for Baron Georg von Hewen under the foreign service system. However, he chose instead to travel to the Caribbean, likely on behalf of the Welser banking house, a patrician family from Augsburg in southern Germany.[1]
