EL DORADO
The Legend
Gold is the most exquisite of all things…’wrote Christopher Columbus. ‘ Whoever possesses gold can acquire all that he desires in the world.
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Truly, for with gold he can gain entrance for his soul into paradise. ’Such was the view that, after 1492 when Columbus first crossed the Atlantic, launched the Spanish conquest of The New World.
Within 50 years the Aztecs of Mexico, and the Incas of Peru had succumbed to the conquistadors’ voracious appetite for gold.
In its various forms, the myth of EL DORADO helped drive the conquest of Latin America. The legend can be traced back to stories of the indigenous Chibcha tribe of what is now Colombia, Servants of the Emperor having prepared gold made into fine powder blow it [through] hollow canes upon their naked bodies, until they be all shining from the foot to the head who each year rolled their King in Gold dust, then bathed him in the sacred lake.
In the high Andes of Colombia, there had been expeditions inland to loot the rich tombs of the Sinú Indians, and in 1539 Europeans first entered the territory of the Muisca people and founded the city of Bogotá.
Among the Muiscas the Spaniards first heard of a ceremony that took place a little to the north of Bogotá at Lake Guatavita. Indians were still alive who had seen the last of these ceremonies acknowledging a new king. The following is an eyewitness recorded in 1636 by a Spanish Chronicler.
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‘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 witch took place at the lagoon, they made a raft of rushes, embellishing and decorating it with the most attractive and beautiful things they had, Gold Pendants, Bracelets, Rings, Earrings, Brooches, Pins, Narigueras, Necklaces made out Ceramic, Jade, Agate, Lapizlazuli, Onyx, Obsidian, and Pots full of gold figures and Emeralds for him to offer to his god. 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 loads with an infinity of men and women dressed in fine plumes, golden plaques and crowns…’At this time they stripped the king 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 on which he remained motionless, On the raft with him went four principal Chiefs, decked in plumes, crowns, bracelets, pendants and earrings all of gold. They too were naked and each one carried his offering. As the raft left the shore the music began, with trumpets, flutes and other instruments singing which shook the mountains and valleys, until, when the raft reached the center of the lagoon, they raised a banner as a signal for silence. ’The gilded Indian then made his offering, ceremonially washed off in the sacred lake and throwing out all the pile of gold and emeralds into the middle of lake and the chiefs who had accompanied him did the same on their own accounts. With this ceremony their ruler was confirm, and recognized as lord and king.’
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The ceremony of El DORADO was the beginning of the legend. The conquistadors, although they had managed to loot many hundreds of Tons of Gold from the Muiscas and their neighbors, were convinced that the best was yet to come. This was a vast treasure, which they thought lay at the bottom of lake Guatavita.
The first attempted to dredge the lake Guatavita was in 1545 but the most serious of the early ventures was that of a merchant from Bogotá, Antonio de Sepulveda, who began drainage operations in the 1580s. Using a labor force of 8.000 Indians he cut a great notch in the rim of the lake through which the water flowed, reducing the level by 20m(61ft) before the cut collapsed killing many workmen. The scheme was abandoned, even though gold had been found: the share sent back to Spain to king Philip II included a gold breastplate, a staff covered with gold plaques and an emerald the size of a hens egg.
" The rumors about the Gold men grew into tales of extravagant wealth, passed on to Europeans who optimistically added "EL DORADO" to their maps. Starting in the early 1500s, the Spanish governors of the new colonies vied for resources to fund the search, while petitioning the monarchy back in Spain for authority over the Golden City they hoped to find.
Various European prospectors, financed by their respective monarchies, set out throughout the 16th century to search for the City of Gold. Some came with thousands of troops, some with a few small boats. After crossing the Atlantic, or coming east over the Andes from Spanish settlements in what is now Colombia, they arrived in the Orinoco area well-equipped with weaponry and provisions but with little idea of where to find the City of Gold
Indians took advantage of the explorers' ignorance to send them up the Orinoco River or into the jungles off its south bank. The searchers were rarely heard from again.
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The Governors of Spanish colonies in the New World competed to find EL DORADO until late in the century. In 1595, European politics intruded. Sir Walter Raleigh arrived from England, attacked Spanish coastal settlements and sailed up the Orinoco, toward the reputed site of EL DORADO. Locals confirmed that there was a City of Gold nearby. Deciding that he needed more preparation, Raleigh left, planning to return the following year, He didn't come back in a year but 22 years later, in 1617, after a long stint in the Tower of London. Too old and sick to finish the journey himself, he stayed in Trinidad and sent his son, Wat, and a lieutenant, Laurence Keymis, up the Orinoco, with strict orders not to fight any Spanish they encountered. Two months later, the elder Raleigh received word of a debacle. Wat and Keymis had ignored their orders, attacking a Spanish settlement they had stumbled onto along the river. Both were to die--Wat Raleigh in the fight and Keymis a subsequent suicide. Back in London, King James was furious: The expedition had upset the delicate balance of peace between England and Spain. The elder Raleigh returned to England, where he was put to death shortly afterward.
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