German Venezuela

[Mecanimetales]

During the early colonial period of Venezuela, a wealthy German family (the Welser Family) took temporary control of Venezuela for almost 20 years with the objective of discover El Dorado. King Carlos V of Spain allowed this as a repayment of the debts that he had with the Welser's, and having them wandering in the Venezuelan amazonia was kind of neat for them.
But what if instead of searching this completely mythological treasure, the Welser's instead decided to choose for settle germans there, and also mine for tangible resources that (despite mostly weren't discovered until later) were already being exploited by the spaniards.

Which consequences would leave this german colonizers here? How could they co-exist with the spanish creoles? Would they leave major repercussions in the Venezuelan and American history? (Even during their short stance, they founded the prototype of one of the biggest cities of the country, Maracaibo aka New Nuremberg.)

 

[AlfLandonFan]

I doubt German migrants would come to Venezuela, and even then it was still under Spanish rule, but that's boring.
So let's say for the sake of the scenario, German migrants come to Venezuela, and eventually outpopulate any Spanish colonists. History would go the same until the Napoleonic wars, were the Germanic populations would not want to be ruled by a Bonaparte, and so they join the rebellion against Spain in Latin America. The Germanic Venezuela would not be included in the German Confederation, and I doubt there would be much of a movement to join a unified Germany due to the 300 years of cultural separation at this point.
This new nation would be a lot like Brazil, or the antebellum American south. I suspect a few powerful families owning plantations and trade companies on the coast, enslaving Africans they got through the slave trade. The white upper class' strangle hold on this country would lead to slavery being abolished around the 1880s, or even the 1890s. Eventually business would slow as nations boycott sugar farmed off the backs of slave labor.
An apartheid Government would exist following the abolition of slavery, with white Germanic and Spanish citizens being on top, black africans on the bottom, and Spanish creoles somewhere in the middle.
By the cold war, the wealth disparity between black and white citizens could lead to a black supremacist Marxist group forming, like the OTL Black Panthers in America. The USSR would obviously support these Marxists, and the US would go against them. This move could be seen by black citizens in the US as America supporting an apartheid regime, which they are, so the Black Panther movement could be strengthened.

Overall, an interesting but depressing scenario.

 

[Mecanimetales]

I doubt German migrants would come to Venezuela

German migrants weren't uncommon in America. Due to the constant state of war due to the religious wars between protestants and Catholics in germany, many fled to safe places were they could safely practice their religion – having the control of a greatly undiscovered colony in the edge of the world where noone would harm you for your beliefs, sounds neat; we have the Thirteen colonies as a prime example.
Obviously the settlement of Germans would last decades or even centuries, but they would ultimately arrive.

The white upper class' strangle hold on this country would lead to slavery being abolished around the 1880s, or even the 1890s.

I agree. The creoles banned the slavery in Venezuela by late 1830's, but taking in consideration that the intention of the colony itself was to mine and exploit any possible resources (like the British in India, or the Dutchs in Indonesia) they would hold the slavery even further than the US had, by the end of the ACW.

the wealth disparity between black and white citizens could lead to a black supremacist Marxist group forming

More than a "black and white" it would be an indigenous vs whites and creoles. Black population in Venezuela wasn't excessive, as much a 20%. The white population in Venezuela IRL is above 40%, being Venezuela one of the most white-ish latin american states. Even so, I believe that radicalism would arise in some point against the german and spaniards by an union of indigenous, mulattoes and blacks, but not to the point of racial supremacism but mostly as equalitarian groups that would seek for the same government and civil positions that the whites held.

 

[raharris1973]

I imagine while the Spanish sphere is running strong around them, up until circa 1800, if there is a continuous flow of Germans and natural increase of Germans, the surrounding Spanish will only tolerate if the local regime promotes a regime only recognizing Catholicism and encouraging Catholic German immigration.

So Rhenish, Swabians, Bavarians, Austrians, Bohemians. But not some of the unique groups that went to the English colonies or Russia like Amish and Mennonites.

Only an English or Dutch conquest setting up a new equilibrium might open up the territory to a true multi-sectarian Germanophone migration.

Let's set that idea aside and assume Klein-Venedig remains a Spanish vassal, even after Spain switches from Habsburg to Bourbon or something else.

Being a Catholic monolith doesn't mean that enlightenment ideas won't eventually spread by the end of the 1700s, even if it reduces receptivity a little.

By the 1820s, a recovering Germany is again in an immigrant exporting mood. Klein-Venedig may be a destination. If it's follow a similar path to independence as surrounding Spanish America, sectarianism may be less of an issue in accepting immigrants. Climate would be slavery an attractive economic option, but enlightenment ideas, and the specifics of any independence struggle --- and this state really would not have a European German state as a metropole, just sort of Spain --- could still make slavery quite controversial. Even more so if a big wave of 48ers or Garibaldian idealists move there. Of course if Klein-Venedig political, social, and civic leaders center their economic lives and social system on slavery like those of South Carolina did, well they will repulse the '48ers and let them know they are not wanted and be set up to be that Apartheid state. On the other hand, the country could end up thoroughly mestizofied while Germanophone, so pretty tan with natural blondes rare, but with a fairly unique local German language with Spanish and Amerindian influences.