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':''This article is about a mythical city of gold; for other uses see [[El Dorado (disambiguation)]].'' {{expand Spanish|El Dorado|date=February 2014}} '''El Dorado''' ({{IPA-es|el doˈɾaðo|pron}}, {{IPAc-en|lang|ˌ|ɛ|l|_|d|ə|ˈ|r|ɑː|d|oʊ|}}; [[Spanish language|Spanish]] for "the golden one"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' (the golden man), ''El Indio Dorado'' (the golden [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indian]]), or ''El Rey Dorado'' (the golden king), is the term used by Europeans to describe a tribal chief of the [[Muisca]] native people of [[Colombia]], who, as an initiation rite, covered himself with [[gold]] dust and dived into [[Lake Guatavita]]. Imagined as a place, El Dorado went from a city to a kingdom and an empire of this legendary golden king. A second location for El Dorado was inferred from rumors, which inspired several unsuccessful expeditions in the late 1500s in search of a city called Manõa on the shores of [[Lake Parime]]. The most famous of these expeditions were led by [[Sir Walter Raleigh]]. In pursuit of the legend, Spanish [[conquistadors]] and numerous others searched Colombia, Venezuela, and parts of Guyana and northern Brazil for the city and its fabulous king. In the course of these explorations, much of northern South America, including the [[Amazon River]], was mapped. By the beginning of the 19th century most people dismissed the existence of the city as a myth. Remnants of the ancient lost city where uncovered by a brave and dashing young explorer name Carrington and his homosexual assistant Michael Moorhead. Michael had a severe case of Down syndrome in which his drool would be used to brave the cocks of many wild donkeys. ''El Dorado'' or Eldorado is now the name of numerous places, especially mining towns, in South America, the United States and elsewhere, as well as the name of many films and TV shows, pieces of music, sports teams, and other items. ==Muisca indigenous people== {{main|Muisca people|Muisca mythology}} {{expand section|date=February 2014}} The Muisca occupied the highlands of [[Cundinamarca Department|Cundinamarca]] and [[Boyacá Department|Boyacá]] departments of Colombia in two migrations from outlying lowland areas, one starting ~1270BCE, and a second between 800BCE and 500BCE. At those times, other more ancient civilizations also flourished in the highlands. In the [[Muisca mythology|mythology of the Muisca]], Mnya the Gold or golden color, represents the energy contained in the trinity of [[:es:Chiminigagua|Chiminigagua]], which constitutes the creative power of everything that exists.<ref>[http://www.culturarecreacionydeporte.gov.co/portal/bogotanitos/mitos/chiminichagua Chiminichagua, el ser supremo]</ref> Chiminigagua is, along with [[Bachué]], [[Cuza]], Chibchacum, [[Bochica]], and Nemcatacoa, one of the creators of the universe. ===The tribal ceremony=== [[Image:Muisca raft Legend of El Dorado Offerings of gold.jpg|thumb|350px|The [[Zipa]] used to cover his body in gold dust and, from his [[Muisca raft|raft]], he offered treasures to the ''[[Guatavita]]'' goddess in the middle of the sacred lake. This old Muisca tradition became the origin of the '''El Dorado''' legend. This Balsa Muisca (Muisca raft) figure is on display in the [[Gold Museum, Bogotá]], Colombia.]] The original narrative can be found in the rambling chronicle, ''[[El Carnero]]'', of [[Juan Rodriguez Freyle]]. According to Freyle, the king or chief priest of the Muisca, in a ritual at [[Lake Guatavita]] near present-day [[Bogotá]] was said to be covered with gold dust which he then washed off in the lake while his attendants threw trinkets made of gold, emeralds and precious stones into the lake. In 1638, Freyle wrote this account of the ceremony, addressed to the ''[[cacique]]'' or governor of [[Guatavita]]:{{refn|<blockquote>"Era costumbre entre estos naturales que el que había de ser sucesor y heredero del señorío o cacicazgo de su tío, a quien heredaba, había de ayunar seis años metido en una cueva que tenían dedicada y señalada par esto, y que en todo este tiempo no había de tener parte con mujeres, ni comer carne, sal ni ají y otras cosas que les vedaban; y entre ellas que durante el ayuno no habían de ver el sol, sólo de noche tenían licencia para salir de la cueva y ver la luna y estrellas y recogerse antes que el sol los viese. Y cumplido este ayuno y ceremonias se metían en posesión del cacicazgo o señorío, y la primera jornada que habían de hacer era ir a la gran laguna de Guatavita a ofrecer y sacrificar al demonio (sic) que tenían por su dios y señor. La ceremonia que en esto había era que en aquella laguna se hacía una gran balsa de juncos, aderezábanla y adornábanla todo lo más vistoso que podían, metían en ella cuatro braseros encendidos en que desde luego quemaban mucho moque, que es el sahumerio de estos naturales, y trementina, con otros muchos y diversos perfumes. Estaba a este tiempo toda la laguna en redondo, con ser muy grande, y hondable de tal manera que puede navegar en ella un navío de alto bordo, la cual estaba toda coronada de infinidad de indios e indias, con mucha plumería, chagualas y coronas de oro, con infinitos fuegos a la redonda; y luego que en la balsa comenzaba el sahumerio lo encendían en tierra, en tal manera, que el humo impedía la luz del día. "A este tiempo desnudaban al heredero en carnes vivas y lo untaban con una tierra pegajosa y lo espolvoreaban con oro en polvo y molido, de tal manera que iba cubierto todo de este metal. Metíanle en la balsa, en la cual iba parado, y a los pies le ponían un gran montón de oro y esmeraldas para que ofreciese a su dios. Entraban con él en la balsa cuatro caciques, los más principales, sus sujetos, muy aderezados de plumería, coronas de oro, brazales y chagualas y orejeras de oro, también desnudos, y cada cual llevaba su ofrecimiento. En partiendo la balsa de tierra comenzaban los instrumentos, cornetas, fotutos y otros instrumentos, y con esto una gran vocería que atronaba montes y valles y duraba hasta que la balsa llegaba al medio de la laguna, de donde, con una bandera, se hacía señal para el silencio. "Hacía el indio dorado su ofrecimiento echando todo el oro que llevaba a los pies en el medio de la laguna, y los demás caciques que iban con él y le acompañaban hacían lo propio, lo cual acabado abatían la bandera, que en todo el tiempo que gastaban en el ofrecimiento la tenían levantada, y partiendo la balsa a tierra comenzaba la grita, gaitas y fotutos con muy largos corros de bailes y danzas a su modo, con la cual ceremonia recibían al nuevo electo y quedaba conocido por señor y príncipe. "De esta ceremonia se tomó aquel nombre tan celebrado del Dorado, que tantas vidas ha costado."</blockquote>|group=Note}}<ref>{{cite book|first=Juan Rodríguez|last=Freyle|title=Conquista y descubrimiento del Nuevo Reino de Granada [El Carnero]|year=1636}}</ref> <blockquote> The ceremony took place on the appointment of a new ruler. Before taking office, he spent some time secluded in a cave, without women, forbidden to eat salt, or to go out during daylight. The first journey he had to make was to go to the great lagoon of Guatavita, to make offerings and sacrifices to the demon which they worshipped as their god and lord. During the ceremony which took place at the lagoon, they made a raft of [[Juncaceae|rush]]es, embellishing and decorating it with the most attractive things they had. They put on it four lighted braziers in which they burned much moque, which is the incense of these natives, and also resin and many other perfumes. The lagoon was large and deep, so that a ship with high sides could sail on it, all loaded with an infinity of men and women dressed in fine plumes, golden plaques and crowns.... As soon as those on the raft began to burn incense, they also lit braziers on the shore, so that the smoke hid the light of day. At this time, they stripped the heir to his skin, and anointed him with a sticky earth on which they placed gold dust so that he was completely covered with this metal. They placed him on the raft ... and at his feet they placed a great heap of gold and emeralds for him to offer to his god. In the raft with him went four principal subject chiefs, decked in plumes, crowns, bracelets, pendants and ear rings all of gold. They, too, were naked, and each one carried his offering .... when the raft reached the centre of the lagoon, they raised a banner as a signal for silence. The gilded Indian then ... [threw] out all the pile of gold into the middle of the lake, and the chiefs who had accompanied him did the same on their own accounts. ... After this they lowered the flag, which had remained up during the whole time of offering, and, as the raft moved towards the shore, the shouting began again, with pipes, flutes and large teams of singers and dancers. With this ceremony the new ruler was received, and was recognised as lord and king. This is the ceremony that became the famous El Dorado, which has taken so many lives and fortunes. </blockquote> We also have this account by poet-priest and historian of the Conquest Juan de Castellanos, who had served under Jimenez de Quesada in his campaign against the Muiscas, written in the mid-16th century but not published until 1850:<ref>{{cite book|last=Castellanos|first=Juan de|year=1850|title=Elejias de Varones Ilustres de Indias| section=Parte III, Canto II|location=Madrid}}</ref> <blockquote> '''The Quest of El Dorado''' An alien Indian, hailing from afar,<br> Who in the town of Quito did abide.<br> And neighbor claimed to be of Bogata,<br> There having come, I know not by what way,<br> Did with him speak and solemnly announce<br> A country rich in emeralds and gold.<br> <br> Also, among the things which them engaged,<br> A certain king he told of who, disrobed,<br> Upon a lake was wont, aboard a raft,<br> To make oblations, as himself had seen,<br> His regal form overspread with fragrant oil<br> On which was laid a coat of powdered gold<br> From sole of foot unto his highest brow,<br> Resplendent as the beaming of the sun.<br> <br> Arrivals without end, he further said,<br> Were there to make rich votive offerings<br> Of golden trinkets and of emeralds rare<br> And divers other of their ornaments;<br> And worthy credence these things he affirmed;<br> The soldiers, light of heart and well content,<br> Then dubbed him ''El Dorado'', and the name<br> By countless ways was spread throughout the world. </blockquote> "He went about all covered with powdered gold, as casually as if it were powdered salt. For it seemed to him that to wear any other finery was less beautiful, and that to put on ornaments or arms made of gold worked by hammering, stamping, or by other means, was a vulgar and common thing." Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo, Spanish Historian, 1478-1557 </blockquote> ==From ritual to myth and metaphor== El Dorado is applied to a legendary story in which precious stones were found in fabulous abundance along with gold coins. The concept of El Dorado underwent several transformations, and eventually accounts of the previous myth were also combined with those of a legendary lost city. The resulting El Dorado myth enticed European explorers for two centuries. Among the earliest stories was the one told on his deathbed by Juan Martinez, a captain of munitions for Spanish adventurer [[Diego de Ordaz]], who claimed to have visited the city of Manoa. Martinez had allowed a store of gunpowder to catch fire and was condemned to death, however his friends let him escape downriver in a canoe. Martinez then met with some local people who took him to the city: :"The canoa was carried down the stream, and certain of the Guianians met it the same evening; and, having not at any time seen any Christian nor any man of that colour, they carried Martinez into the land to be wondered at, and so from town to town, until he came to the great city of Manoa, the seat and residence of Inga the emperor. The emperor, after he had beheld him, knew him to be a Christian, and caused him to be lodged in his palace, and well entertained. He was brought thither all the way blindfold, led by the Indians, until he came to the entrance of Manoa itself, and was fourteen or fifteen days in the passage. He avowed at his death that he entered the city at noon, and then they uncovered his face; and that he traveled all that day till night through the city, and the next day from sun rising to sun setting, ere he came to the palace of Inga. After that Martinez had lived seven months in Manoa, and began to understand the language of the country, Inga asked him whether he desired to return into his own country, or would willingly abide with him. But Martinez, not desirous to stay, obtained the favour of Inga to depart."<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2272/2272-h/2272-h.htm Sir Walter Raleigh, ''The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Bewtiful Empyre of Guiana''] (1596; repr., Amsterdam: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, 1968)</ref> The fable of Juan Martinez was founded on the adventures of Juan Martin de Albujar, well known to the Spanish historians of the Conquest; and who, in the expedition of Pedro de Silva (1570), fell into the hands of the Caribs of the Lower Orinoco.<ref name = "Humboldt"/> During the 16th and 17th centuries, Europeans, still fascinated by and ignorant of the New World, believed that a hidden city of immense wealth existed. Many searched for this treasure, in quests that ended in the loss of countless lives. The illustration of El Dorado's location on maps only made matters worse, as it made some people think that the city of El Dorado's existence had been confirmed. The mythical city of El Dorado on [[Lake Parime]] was marked on [[England|English]] and other maps until its existence was disproved by [[Alexander von Humboldt]] during his Latin-America expedition (1799–1804)<ref>[http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/h/humboldt/alexander/travels/chapter25.html ''Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America During the Years of 1799-1804'' by Alexander von Humboldt, Chapter 25]</ref> Meanwhile, the name of ''El Dorado'' came to be used metaphorically of any place where wealth could be rapidly acquired. It was given to [[El Dorado County, California]], and to towns and cities in various states. It has also been anglicized to the single word ''Eldorado''. [[File:1599 Guyana Hondius.jpg|thumb|left|''Nieuwe caerte van het Wonderbaer ende Goudrjcke Landt Guiana'' by Jodocus Hondius (1598) shows the city of Manoa on the northeastern shore of [[Lake Parime]].]]El Dorado is also sometimes used as a metaphor to represent an ultimate prize or "[[Holy Grail]]" that one might spend one's life seeking. It could represent true love, heaven, happiness, or success. It is used sometimes as a figure of speech to represent something much sought after that may not even exist, or, at least, may not ever be found. Such use is evident in Poe's poem "El Dorado". In this context, El Dorado bears similarity to other myths such as the [[Fountain of Youth]] and [[Shangri-la]]. The other side of the ideal quest metaphor may be represented by ''Helldorado'', a satirical nickname given to [[Tombstone, Arizona]] (United States) in the 1880's by a disgruntled miner who complained that many of his profession had traveled far to find El Dorado, only to wind up washing dishes in restaurants.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}} ==Prelude: Gold and greed== Spanish conquistadores had noticed the native people's fine artifacts of gold and silver long before any legend of "golden men" or "lost cities" fired the imagination of kings and commoners alike. The prevalence of such valuable artifacts, and the natives apparent ignorance of their value, inspired speculation as to a plentiful source for them. Prior to the time of Spanish conquest of the Muisca people and discovery of Lake Guatavita, a handful of expeditions had set out to explore the lowlands to the east of the mighty Andes in search of gold, cinnamon, precious stones, and anything else of value. During the [[Klein-Venedig]] period in Venezuela (1528–1546), agents of the German [[Welser]] banking family (which had received a concession from [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles I of Spain]]), launched repeated expeditions into the interior of the country in [[Klein-Venedig#The search for El Dorado|search of gold]], starting with German ''conquistador'' Ambrosius Ehinger's first expedition in July of 1529.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}} Spanish explorer [[Diego de Ordaz]], then governor of the eastern part of Venezuela known as Paria, was the first European to explore the [[Orinoco river]] in 1531-32 in search of gold. A veteran of Cortez's campaign in Mexico, Ordaz followed the Orinoco beyond the mouth of the Meta River but was blocked by the rapids at Atures. After his return he died, possibly poisoned, on a voyage back to Spain.<ref name = "Hemming">[http://books.google.com/books/about/Red_Gold.html?id=_JEJAQAAIAAJ John Hemming, ''Red Gold: The Conquest of the Brazilian Indians, 1500-1760,'' Harvard University Press, 1978.] ISBN 0674751078</ref> ==The Search for El Dorado== The earliest reference to the name ''El Dorado'' was in 1535 or 1536, before Spanish contact with the Muisca people. In 1535, Captains Anasco and Ampudia were dispatched by Spanish conquistador Sebastian de Belalcazar, one of Francisco Pizarro's chief lieutenants, to discover the valley of ''Dorado'' in pursuit of the splendid riches of the Zaque, or chieftain of Cundinamarca, described by a wandering Indian of Tacumga. After the death of Ordaz while returning from his expedition, the Crown appointed a new Governor of Paria, Jeronimo Ortal, who diligently explored the interior along the [[Meta River]] between 1532 and 1537. In 1535 he ordered Captain Alonso de Herrera to move inland by the waters of the Uyapari River (today the town of Barrancas de Orinoco). Herrera, who had accompanied Ordaz three years before, explored the Meta River but was killed by [[Achagua people|Achagua Indians]] near its banks while waiting out the winter rains in [[Casanare Department|Casanare]]. In 1536 Gonzalo Díaz de Pineda had led an expedition to the lowlands to the east of [[Quito]] and had found cinnamon trees but no rich empire. Between 1535 and 1538, the German conquistadors [[Georg von Speyer]] and [[Nikolaus Federmann]] searched the Colombian plateaus, Orinoco Basin and Venezuelan lowlands for El Dorado.<ref>Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John, eds. (1900). [[s:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Spire, Georg von|"Spire, Georg von"]]. in ''Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography.'' New York: D. Appleton.</ref> Subsequently [[Philipp von Hutten]] accompanied Von Speyer on a journey (1536–38) in which they reached the headwaters of the [[Rio Japura]], near the equator. In 1541 Hutten led an exploring party of about 150 men, mostly horsemen, from [[Santa Ana de Coro|Coro]] on the coast of [[Venezuela]] in search of the Golden City. After several years of wandering, harassed by the natives and weakened by hunger and fever, he crossed the Rio Bermejo, and went on with a small group of around 40 men on horseback into [[Los Llanos (South America)|Los Llanos]], where they engaged in battle with a large number of [[Omaguas]] and Hutten was severely wounded. He led those of his followers who survived back to Coro in 1546.<ref>[http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz36173.html "Hutten, Philipp (Felipe Dutre, de Utre, de Ure), Conquistador, 1511 - 24.4.1546 in Venezuela." Deutsche Biographie]</ref> In 1560 [[Pedro de Ursúa]] and [[Lope de Aguirre]] searched the Amazon region for El Dorado until Aguirre assassinated Ursúa in 1561.<ref>Lewis, Bart L. (2003). ''The Miraculous Lie: Lope de Aguirre and the Search for El Dorado in the Latin American Historical Novel.'' Lexington Books. ISBN 0-7391-0787-9.</ref> ===Quesada brothers' expeditions=== In 1537 stories of El Dorado drew the Spanish conquistador [[Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada]] and his army of 800 men away from their mission to find an overland route to Peru and up into the Andean homeland of the Muisca for the first time. A little further to the north, Spanish conquistador Hernán Pérez de Quesada (brother of Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada) set out in September of 1540 with 270 Spaniards and countless Indian porters to explore the Orinoco Basin, but they likewise found nothing before turning around and returning to Bogotá.<ref name = "Hemming"/> The Muisca towns and their treasures quickly fell to the [[conquistador]]es. At the same time, the Spanish began to hear stories of El Dorado from captured natives (mostly Indians), and of the rites which used to take place at Lake Guatavita.{{Specify|when?|date=February 2014}} The Spaniards also found gold on these natives, which led them to spread the word that El Dorado was near. The news of the gold was considered proof that there was a kingdom of immense wealth in South America. ===Pizarro and Orellana's discovery of the Amazon=== {{See also|Amazon River#History}} In 1540, [[Gonzalo Pizarro]], the younger half-brother of [[Francisco Pizarro]], the Spanish [[conquistador]] who toppled the [[Incan Empire]] in Peru, was made the governor of the province of [[Quito]] in northern [[Ecuador]]. Shortly after taking lead in Quito, Gonzalo learned from many of the natives of a valley far to the east rich in both [[cinnamon]] and gold. He banded together 340 soldiers and about 4000 natives in 1541 and led them eastward down the [[Coca River|Rio Coca]] and [[Napo River|Rio Napo]]. [[Francisco de Orellana]] accompanied Pizarro on the expedition as his lieutenant. Gonzalo quit after many of the soldiers and natives had died from hunger, disease, and periodic attacks by hostile natives. He ordered Orellana to continue downstream, where he eventually made it to the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. The expedition found neither cinnamon nor gold, but Orellana is credited with discovering the [[Amazon River]] (so named because of a [[Amazons|tribe of female warriors]] that attacked Orellana’s men while on their voyage.) ===Lake Guatavita gold=== {{missing information|Guatavita wasn't the only lake or even the most important lake where the Muisca rite of passage was performed|date=February 2014}} {{missing information|exactly when and how Lake Guatavita was found|date=February 2014}} [[Conquistadores]] Lázaro Fonte and Hernán Perez de Quesada attempted (unsuccessfully) to drain the lake in 1545 using a "bucket chain" of labourers. After 3 months, the water level had been reduced by 3 metres, and only a small amount of gold was recovered, with a value of 3000–4000 pesos (approx. 100,000 USD today; a peso or piece of eight of the 15th century weighs .88oz of 93% pure silver). A later more industrious attempt was made in 1580, by Bogotá business entrepreneur Antonio de Sepúlveda. A notch was cut deep into the rim of the lake, which managed to reduce the water level by 20 metres, before collapsing and killing many of the labourers. A share of the findings—consisting of various golden ornaments, jewellery and armour—was sent to [[Philip II of Spain|King Philip the 2nd of Spain]]. Sepúlveda's discovery came to approximately 12,000 pesos. He died a poor man, and is buried at the church in the small town of [[Guatavita]]. In 1801, [[Alexander von Humboldt]] made a visit to Guatavita, and on his return to Paris, calculated from the findings of Sepúlveda's efforts that Guatavita could offer up as much as $300 million worth of gold. In 1898, 'The Company for the Exploitation of the Lagoon of Guatavita' was formed and taken over by 'Contractors Ltd.' of London, in a deal brokered by British expatriate Mr Hartley Knowles. The lake was drained by a tunnel that emerged in the centre of the lake. The water was drained to a depth of about 4 feet of mud and slime.{{citation needed|date=March 2014}} This made it impossible to explore, and when the mud had dried sitting and being baked by the sun, it had set like concrete. A haul of only £500 was found, and auctioned at [[Sotheby]]s of London. Some of these artifacts were donated to the [[British Museum]].<ref>[http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.aspx?place=15311&plaA=15311-3-1 British Museum Collection]</ref></blockquote> The company filed for bankruptcy and ceased activities in 1929. In 1965, the Colombian government designated the lake as a protected area. Private salvage operations including attempts to drain the lake, are now illegal.{{citation needed|date=March 2014}} ===Governor Antonio de Berrio's expeditions=== Spanish Governor of Trinidad, Antonio de Berrio (nephew of Jiménez de Quesada), made three expeditions to the Guyana region in 1584, 1585 and 1591. ===Sir Walter Raleigh=== [[File:Guaiana ofte de Provincien tusschen Rio de las Amazonas ende Rio de Yuiapari ofte Orinoque.jpg|thumb|Parime Lacus on a map by [[Hessel Gerritsz]] (1625). Situated at the west coast of the lake, the so-called city of Manõa or El Dorado]]In 1595 Sir [[Walter Raleigh]] set sail following one of the many old maps to El Dorado, aiming to reach [[Lake Parime]] in the highlands of [[Guyana]] (the supposed location of El Dorado at the time). He was encouraged by the account of Juan Martinez, believed to be Juan Martin de Albujar, who had taken part in Pedro de Silva's expedition of the area in 1570, only to fall into the hands of the Caribs of the Lower Orinoco. Martinez claimed that he was taken to the golden city in blindfold, was entertained by the natives, and then left the city and couldn't remember how to return.<ref>[http://www.washmapsociety.org/000/0/9/8/22890/userfiles/file/Lake_Parime.pdf Eliane Dotson, "Lake Parime and the Golden City."]</ref> Raleigh had set many goals for his expedition, and believed he had a genuine chance at finding the so-called city of gold. First, he wanted to find the mythical city of El Dorado, which he suspected to be an actual Indian city named Manõa. Second, he hoped to establish an English presence in the Southern Hemisphere that could compete with that of the Spanish. His third goal was to create an English settlement in the land called Guyana, and to try to reduce commerce between the natives and Spaniards. Though Sir Walter Raleigh never found El Dorado, he was convinced that there was some fantastic city whose riches could be discovered. Finding gold on the riverbanks and in villages only strengthened his resolve.<ref>[http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/raleighsam/283 ''Sir Walter Raleigh.'']</ref> In 1617, he returned to the New World on a second expedition, this time with his son, Watt Raleigh, to continue his quest for El Dorado. However, Sir Walter Raleigh, by now an old man, stayed behind in a camp on the island of [[Trinidad]]. Watt Raleigh was killed in a battle with Spaniards. Upon Raleigh's return to England, [[James VI and I|King James]] ordered him to be beheaded for disobeying orders to avoid conflict with the Spanish.<ref>Drye, Willie. [[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]. [http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/el-dorado ''El Dorado Legend Snared Sir Walter Raleigh.'']</ref> He was executed in 1618. ===Post Elizabethan expeditions=== In early 1611 [[Sir Thomas Roe]], on a mission to the [[West Indies]] for [[Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales]], sailed his 200-ton ship, the ''Lion's Claw'', some {{convert|320|km|mi}} up the Amazon,<ref>[http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0102-01882011000100016&script=sci_arttext&tlng=en#nt1 Alírio Cardoso, "The conquest of Maranhão and Atlantic disputes in the geopolitics of the Iberian Union (1596-1626)," ''Rev. Bras. Hist.'' vol.31 no.61, São Paulo, 2011.]</ref> then took a party of canoes up the Waipoco (probably the [[Oyapock River]]) in search of Lake Parime, negotiating thirty-two rapids and traveling about one hundred miles before they ran out of food and had to turn back.<ref>James Seay Dean, ''Tropics Bound: Elizabeth's Seadogs on the Spanish Main,'' The History Press, 2013. ISBN 0752496689</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/englishcoloniesi00will James Alexander Williamson, ''English colonies in Guiana and on the Amazon, 1604-1668,'' Oxford, 1923; p. 54.]</ref><ref>[[s:Roe, Thomas (DNB00)|Roe, Thomas]]</ref><ref>Michael J. Brown, ''Itinerant Ambassador: The Life of Sir Thomas Roe,'' University Press of Kentucky, 2015; p. 15. ISBN 0813162270</ref> In 1637-38, two monks, Acana and Fritz, undertook several journeys to the lands of the Manoas, indigenous peoples living in western Guyana and what is now [[Roraima]] in northeastern Brazil. Although they found no evidence of El Dorado, their published accounts were intended to inspire further exploration.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=7gVQAAAAYAAJ&dq= Francis Alexander Durivage, ''A popular cyclopedia of history: ancient and modern, forming a copious historical dictionary of celebrated institutions, persons, places and things ...'' Case, Tiffany and Burnham, 1847, Princeton University]</ref> In November 1739, Nicholas Horstman, a German surgeon commissioned by the Dutch Governor of Guiana, traveled up the Essequibo River accompanied by two Dutch soldiers and four Indian guides. In April 1741 one of the Indian guides returned reporting that in 1740 Horstman had crossed over to the Rio Branco and descended it to its confluence with the Rio Negro. Horstman discovered Lake Amucu on the [[North Rupununi]] but found neither gold nor any evidence of a city.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/riseofbritishguiana01stor/riseofbritishguiana01stor_djvu.txt C. A. Harris and John Abraham Jacob De Villiers, ''Storm Van's Gravesande: The Rise of British Guiana, Compiled from his Works,'' Hakluyt Society, 1911; University of Michigan.]</ref> In 1740, Don Manuel Centurion, Governor of [[Ciudad Bolívar|Santo Tomé de Guayana de Angostura del Orinoco]] in Venezuela, hearing a report from an Indian about Lake Parima, embarked on a journey up the [[Caura River (Venezuela)|Caura River]] and the [[Paragua River]], causing the deaths of several hundred persons. His survey of the local geography, however, provided the basis for other expeditions starting in 1775.<ref name = "Humboldt">[https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/h/humboldt/alexander/travels/chapter25.html Humboldt, Alexander von, ''Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America During the Years 1799-1804,'' (chapter 25). Henry G. Bohn, London, 1853.]</ref> From 1775 to 1780, Nicholas Rodriguez and Antonio Santos, two entrepreneurs employed by the Spanish Governors, set out on foot and Santos, proceeding by the [[Caroní River]], the [[Paragua River]], and the [[Pacaraima Mountains]], reached the [[Uraricoera River]] and [[Branco River|Rio Branco]], but found nothing.<ref name = "Pierce">[https://books.google.com/books?id=Td4MAAAAYAAJ&dq= Edward M. Pierce, ''The Cottage Cyclopedia of History and Biography: A Copious Dictionary of Memorable Persons, Events, Places and Things, with Notices of the Present State of the Principal Countries and Nations of the Known World, and a Chronological View of American History,'' Case, Lockwood, 1867, Harvard University]</ref> Between 1799 and 1804, [[Alexander von Humboldt]] conducted an extensive and scientific survey of the Guyana river basins and lakes, concluding that a seasonally-flooded confluence of rivers may be what inspired the notion of a mythical [[Lake Parime]], and of the supposed golden city on the shore, nothing was found.<ref name = "Humboldt"/> Further exploration by [[Charles Waterton]] (1812)<ref name = "Waterton">[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/31811/31811-h/31811-h.htm Charles Waterton, ''Wanderings in South America,'' Cassell & Co, Ltd: London, Paris & Melbourne. 1891.]</ref> and [[Robert Schomburgk]] (1840)<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=cuqRdT8zlxYC&pg Peter Rivière, ed. ''The Guiana Travels of Robert Schomburgk, 1835-1844: Explorations on behalf of the Royal Geographical Society, 1835-1839,'' Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2006; p. 274.] ISBN 0904180867</ref> confirmed Humboldt's findings. ==Epilogue: Gold strikes and the extractive wealth of the rainforest== By the mid-1570's, the Spanish silver strike at [[Potosí]] in Upper Peru (modern Bolivia) was producing unprecedented real wealth. In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I of England died, bringing to an end the era of Elizabethan adventurism. A bit later, in 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh, the great inspirer, was beheaded for insubordination and treason. In 1695, ''[[bandeirantes]]'' in the south struck gold along a tributary of the São Francisco River in the highlands of State of [[Minas Gerais]], Brazil. The prospect of real gold overshadowed the illusory promise of "gold men" and "lost cities" in the vast interior of the north. It appears today that the Muisca obtained their gold in trade, and while they possessed large quantities of it over time, no great store of the metal was ever accumulated.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} ==Recent research== In 1987-1988, an expedition led by [[John Hemming (explorer)|John Hemming]] of the [[Royal Geographical Society of London]] failed to uncover any evidence of the ancient city of Manoa on the [[:pt:Reserva Biológica Ilha de Maracá|island of Maracá]] in north-central Roraima. Members of the expedition were accused of looting historic artifacts<ref>[http://www.alertaaustral.cl/articulo.php?id=222 Rafael Videla, "El Dorado: El Gran Descubrimiento de Roland Stevenson."] [Spanish]</ref> but an official report of the expedition described it as "an ecological survey."<ref>[https://www.rgs.org/NR/rdonlyres/5AA89B58-6EAE-4A56-9CA4-2CE555890EB5/0/Maracabibliography.pdf John Hemming, Steve Bowles, and Fiona Watson. "Maracá Rainforest Project Brazil 1987-1988," ''Royal Geographic Society,'' 1988.]</ref> ===Evidence for the existence of Lake Parime=== {{main|Lake Parime}} Dismissed in the 19th century as a myth, some evidence for the existence of a lake in northern Brazil has been uncovered. In 1977 Brazilian geologists Gert Woeltje and Frederico Guimarães Cruz along with [[Roland Stevenson]]<ref>[http://www.netium.com.br/parime/Parime_English.htm Roland Stevenson, "Parime: Finding the Legendary Lake."]</ref> found that on all the surrounding hillsides a horizontal line appears at a uniform level approximately {{convert|120|m|ft}} above sea level.<ref>[http://www.arqueologiamericana.com.br/artigos/artigo_01.htm Dalton Delfini Maziero, "El Dorado Em busca dos antigos mistérios Amazônicos," ''Arqueologiamericana.''] [Portuguese]</ref> This line registers the water level of an extinct lake which existed until relatively recent times. Researchers who studied it found that the lake's previous diameter measured {{convert|400|km|mi}} and its area was about {{convert|80000|km2|mi2}}. About 700 years ago this giant lake began to drain due to [[tectonic movement]]. In June 1690, a massive earthquake opened a bedrock [[Fault (geology)|fault]], forming a [[rift]] or a [[graben]] that permitted the water to flow into the Rio Branco.<ref>[http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0001-37652014000301115&script=sci_arttext Alberto V. Veloso, "On the footprints of a major Brazilian Amazon earthquake," ''An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.,'' vol. 86 no.3 Rio de Janeiro Sept. 2014.]</ref> By the early 19th century it had dried up completely.<ref>[https://explorers.org/pdf/SHEA_FLAG_REPORT_V35-C_013014.pdf Jeff Shea, ''The March 2013 Paragua River Expedition: Penetration into The Meseta de Ichún of Venezuela,'' Explorers Club Report #60.]</ref> Roraima's well-known [[Pedra Pintada, Roraima|Pedra Pintada]] is the site of numerous pictograms dating to the Pre-Columbian era. Designs on the sheer exterior face of the rock were most likely painted by people standing in canoes on the surface of the now-vanished lake.<ref>[https://moiseslima.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/a-misteriosa-pedra-pintada-roraima/ J. A. Fonseca, "A Misteriosa Pedra Pintada (Roraima)"]</ref> Gold, which was reported to be washed up on the shores of the lake, was most likely carried by streams and rivers out of the mountains where it can be found today.<ref>[http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/archives/03/22/significant-gold-deposits-in-roraima-basin-study/ "Significant gold deposits in Roraima Basin – study," March 22, 2009]</ref> ==See also== * [[List of mythological places]] * [[Montezuma's treasure]], a somewhat similar [[Mexico|Mexican]]/[[Southwestern United States|southwestern]] American legend * [[Seven Cities of Gold (myth)|Seven Cities of Gold]], mythological locations in [[New Mexico]], United States (some accounts call El Dorado one of the seven) * ''[[The Narrative of Robert Adams]]'' (1816), which dispelled a then-prevalent European misconception that Timbuktu was an African El Dorado * [[Timbuktu]] * [[Lost City of Z]] * [[Lake Parime]] {{Portal|Mythology}} ==Notes== {{reflist|group=Note}} ==References== {{Reflist|2}} ==Further reading== * [[John Hemming (explorer)|Hemming, John]], [http://books.google.com/books/about/Red_Gold.html?id=_JEJAQAAIAAJ ''Red Gold: The Conquest of the Brazilian Indians, 1500-1760,'' Harvard University Press, 1978.] ISBN 0674751078 * [[Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier|Bandelier, A. F. A.]]; ''The Gilded Man, El Dorado'' (New York, 1893). * [[Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés|Fernandez de Oviedo, Gonzalo]]; ''Historia General y Natural de las India, islas y Tierra-Firme del Mar Oceano'', Madrid: [[Real Academia de la Historia]], 1851. * Freyle, Juan Rodriguez (:es:Juan Rodríguez Freyle|es); ''[[El Carnero|El Carnero: Conquista y descubrimiento del Nuevo Reino de Granada]]''. ISBN 84-660-0025-9 * [[Victor Wolfgang von Hagen|Hagen, Victor Wolfgang von]]; ''The Gold of El Dorado: The Quest for the Golden Man'' * [[V.S. Naipaul|Naipaul, V.S.]]; ''[[The Loss of El Dorado]]''; André Deutsch, UK, 1969 * [[Charles Nicholl|Nicholl, Charles]]; ''The Creature in the Map: A Journey to El Dorado''; London, 1995, ISBN 0-09-959521-4 ==External links== * [http://www.banrepcultural.org/gold-museum/eldorado-raft Precolumbian Golden Boat] Famous golden figure based on El Dorado rite (housed in the [[Gold Museum, Bogotá|Gold Museum]] at [[Bogotá]], [[Colombia]]) * [http://tairona.myzen.co.uk/index.php/history/the_legend_of_el_dorado/ The Legend of 'El Dorado'] by Tairona Heritage Trust {{Authority control}} [[Category:History of South America]] [[Category:Utopias]] [[Category:Mythological kingdoms, empires, and countries]] [[Category:Muisca]] [[Category:Exploration of South America]] [[Category:Mythical lost cities and towns]] [[Category:Gold]]'