Colonization concession granted by Emperor Charles V to the Augsburg Welser banking family within the Province of Venezuela, in settlement of crown debts; German-appointed governors (Ambrosius Ehinger, Georg von Speyer, Philipp von Hutten and others) searched for El Dorado while administering the province, most significant German colonial venture in the Americas.
Concession revoked by the Spanish Crown amid mismanagement complaints (Wikipedia states 1528-1546; Wikidata's dissolved field gives 1556 — flagged discrepancy below).
Recent monograph specifically on this episode (the Welser concession / German colonization of Venezuela), not a general survey.