Eldorado And The Quest For Fortune And Glory In South America

This book traces the origin of the legend of El Dorado and the various expeditions that set out to locate that mysterious land of untold wealth in South America. Motivated by both fanciful rumors of a golden city ruled by a man who coated himself daily with gold dust, and the more practical allure of a region abundant in cinnamon trees (a spice that was worth its weight in gold to Europeans), many conquistadors convinced themselves that another native empire awaited their conquest. These quests for fortune and glory would lead to an encounter with fierce female warriors who were believed to be the Amazons of ancient Greek lore, and the discovery of the mighty river later named for the legendary Amazon tribe. The first half of this book details the lesser-known accounts of German interest in locating the wealth of a golden kingdom called Xerira and an elusive passage at Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo which supposedly led to the Pacific Ocean. The second section focuses on the various Spanish efforts to discover El Dorado, each of which was eventually doomed to despair, disappointment, and death.

The real land of El Dorado, deep in the Amazon rainforest, is a far cry from the mythical city of gold: though its soil could potentially yield billions of dollars, Guyana is a nation of “gilded paupers,” one of the very poorest countries in the western hemisphere. In this adventure-filled narrative, journalist Marc Herman takes us down a supply road in a limping cargo truck, treks into a muggy and muddy mine on foot, and soars above the forest canopy in a skittering plane. He falls in with a rowdy crew of gold miners who measure manliness by the number of times they’ve had malaria, and wear their life savings in the form of oversized rings and huge gold necklaces. He also penetrates the corporate façade of international strip-mining operations, which despite tremendous technological and political power have failed to alleivate the area’s poverty. Searching for El Dorado is an eyeopening look at the scandals, the business, the mythology of gold—reaveling a fascinating, contradictory part of the world and of the human psyche. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Embark on a thrilling journey with "The Gilded Man (El Dorado)" by Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier. Set in the 1890s, this classic tale revolves around the legendary city of El Dorado and its fabled treasures. Bandelier's narrative weaves history, adventure, and intrigue, capturing the allure of the mythical city and the relentless human quest for wealth and power.

Excerpt from The Quest of El Dorado: The Most Romantic Episode in the History of South American Conquest "There are epochs in which the reason is bewildered by the contemplation of new and unusual objects. And even the most clear-sighted man, when exposed to a continuous series of violent impressions, ceases to analyze them and descends to the level of common intelligences which exaggerate and marvel at everything. To comply with the precepts of the sage nil admirari, one must be in the full exercise of his faculties and have acquired a certain dominion over his senses which are always prone to bewitch and deceive him. How far were the Conquistadores of America from this state of intellectual calm? For them everything was matter for surprise. The spectacle of a new world, new peoples, new customs, and, more than all else, those inexhaustible fountains of riches which gushed forth everywhere with greater rapidity than their desire to possess them, maintained them in a sweet, and perpetual ecstasy. Without taking opium, like the Mussulmans, they experienced the same sensations from which they could not free themselves without great effort." Pedro De Angelis, in "Coleccion de Obras y Documentos Relativos a la Historia Antigua y Moderna de las Provincias del Rio de la Plata." About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from The Quest of El Dorado: The Most Romantic Episode in the History of South American Conquest Two and a half centuries scoured the whole of the continent from the Pilcomayo to the Strait of Ma gellan in search of that fabulous Ciudad Enorm tada de los C(esares - The Enchanted City of the Caesars - a city which according to the sworn statements of those who pretended to have been in it, was as vast and as rich as Nineveh of old, and greater in area than Pekin or London - a city that held within its carefully fortified walls all the delights of Eden and all the wonders of the New Jerusalem. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This book was written by the travel writer Stephen Graham and documents his quest in search of El Dorado, the hidden kingdom made entirely from gold. He voyaged to Spain, Mexico, and Panama to seek this undiscovered empire and though he did not find it in the end, his notes on the places he visited are of great value to those who'd like to follow in his footsteps.