There's No Place Like Home: Masculine Honor and the Conquest of Venezuela

The association between masculinity and European imperialism is well established. Two texts by German men about travel to Venezuela in the early sixteenth century show how conquest colonialism was connected to, but insufficient for, the achievement of honorable masculinity. Spanish America offered men opportunities to acquire wealth and display bravery, martial prowess, and dominance. The newly formed colony, however, did not offer the opportunity to fulfill the obligations of mature manhood, i.e., the establishment of a household and the continuation of the lineage. During the initial conquests, the search for honor not only pushed men overseas, but also pulled them back.