Cacao or Joseph Ermeler's Travels
Copyright© 2026 by Argon
Chapter 12: The Richest City in the World
A year had gone by, filled with happiness. Hubert Ermeler, their son, had been born in early summer, and Ursula felt as if her cup of joy was filled to the brim when the little boy, healthy and drinking well, was baptised, with the guilds of Heidingsfeld in presence and his name entered into the Merchant Guild’s Great Ledger as Joseph’s body heir and future member.
Shortly thereafter, Ursula’s beloved sister spoke the vows that bound her in wedlock to Ewald Welser. It was a wedding to behold, for the patriarch of the Welser family of merchants and bankers attended it in person, with rich gifts for the young couple and for his new kinsman, Hubert. The King’s schultheiss1 also bore witness, quite pleased about the connection betwixt the small town he oversaw and the powerful Welsers.
Hubert had to pay for the huge wedding and offer a generous dowry, but his own trade would profit immensely from the new kinship to the Welser family. Barbara’s mother was fairly bursting with pride over the lucky turn of her only daughter’s fate, and she was grateful to Joseph whose business had brought Ewald and Barbara together.
The families lived through happy weeks, but for Joseph and Ursula, there was a bittersweet feeling, too, for Welser had given Joseph a full account of the plans for a kontor in Amsterdam, and it was so grand an offer, that Joseph and Ursula were convinced. The following month, after selling his house and business to his new brother-in-law, the Ermelers travelled to Augsburg, where they spent the winter, as guests of Martin Welser, preparing for the journey to their new destination. The merchant had even found a displaced Dutchman, and Joseph and Ursula spent an hour every day learning the Dutch language, not only for trade, but also for being part of the all-powerful merchant guild of the great City. This was easier for Joseph, who already spoke Italian and Portuguese, but Ursula had a harder time, also because of the Franconian dialect she spoke, with a rolling ‘R’ and soft consonants. Yet, she applied herself to the lessons with tenacity, not wishing to be thought witless by the Dutch.
By early March they were on their way, accompanied by a nurse, a manservant, two maids and a scrivener. It was practical to travel to Heidingsfeld first, there to say goodbye to their kin, but also to board a stout riverboat, to travel downstream on the River Main. The first part of the journey took two weeks on the quiet river until they reached Mainz, where the Main joins the larger and swifter River Rhine, still swelled by the spring snow melt in the Alps. They travelled down that river for another two days until they reached a town named Bingen, where they were set ashore. Here, the wild river tumbled over a wide ledge in the riverbed, with only a narrow, navigable opening, making the boat ride too dangerous for the passengers to stay on board.