Cacao or Joseph Ermeler's Travels
Copyright© 2026 by Argon
Foreword
The Fugger and Welser families of merchants and bankers were amongst the most powerful people in 16th to 17th century Europe, who could make or break a Holy Roman Emperor, by lending him money or denying it. They had branches — Kontore — all over Europe, and they moved huge sums of money by issuing Wechsel, money orders, that could be transported without fear of loss. This new form of financing, without the tedious and dangerous transfer of bullion or minted gold, is intricately connected to the Age of Discovery, a euphemism for subjugating and plundering indigenous people the World over, something that required share holders who expected a return on their investments, leaving little room for humanity
Travelling to the Spice Islands, or Malukas, in the early 17th century certainly was a dangerous undertaking, given the rudimentary navigation tools, the hand-drawn and -copied sea charts, the health hazards from scurvy and tropical fevers, poorly constructed ships and the frequent — and understandable — hostility of the ‘discovered’ peoples. Merchants perished or became well off, whilst the crews of the ships in which they travelled perished, if not during one, then in one of the next journeys. The only people getting rich and living to enjoy the riches, were those who financed the ships and stayed safely at home.
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