Villavicencio Mr. Fiore English 9 Honors 5/20/13 El Dorado A man gilded in gold, a city constructed of gold, all a marvelous illusion told to explorers by Native Americans for centuries, but was there ever any truth behind it all, or did the Natives just want to be left in peace? There has been countless research done on the matter, both with and against, it is no doubt an amazing dream which inspired several throughout the years.
El Dorado’s misinterpretation by the Spanish began with “El Dorado” or “The Gilded Man” the several rituals the Natives spoke of sounded like great fantasies to the Spaniards, after all, a newly inaugurated chief, diving into a lake while sprinkled in gold dust, how can that not draw up speculation. (7-10) The great legend that is El Dorado is always changing; “the place where El Dorado is “supposed” to be kept changing” the people that supposedly settled there however were always the same.
Among the several Indian tribes associated with El Dorado, the Chibcha, a sub tribe of South American Indians, a tribe that had a cult devoted to the god of the sun (Legend of El Dorado).
They were an unusual people, with their several strange ceremonies they devoted to their many gods, but much like the majority of the Natives, they were most likely abused and enslaved. The several expeditions the Spaniards took were conducted by “desperate, ruthless men who only wanted gold; they often attacked native populace” stealing all their food and gold (Minster).
The Term Paper on European Colonization of the Americas and What It Meant for Native Tribes
European colonization of what would become North America was motivated by various reasons, including the desire for religious freedom, profit, or a chance to start over. The colonies were populated by religious groups seeking freedom to practice their religions without interference from England, indentured servants, debtors seeking a clean slate, settlers hoping to find a profit and people who ...
The natives were quite smart however, the entire fabrication of “El Dorado” is most likely a lie that allowed the natives to diverge the explorers away, in search of, very literal, “fools gold”(Minster).
In the legendary city of gold, El Dorado, there were several different rituals the Natives conducted. “Offerings of gold and emeralds were made to the Indian ruler who sprinkled gold dust on his skin”(7).
In lake Guatavita, when a new ruler was ordained, precious jewels were tossed into the lake to appease a god that the natives believed, lived underwater (Drye).
These various “offerings to the gods” were what set the tone for the very lifestyle of the native people, in El Dorado especially, sacrifices were involved in most of them. “A Moche ceremonial life, a human sacrifice; with bound prisoners having their throats cut beneath them”(86).
These various Moche ceremonies, especially the “blood drinking”, when the warrior priest drank the blood of the sacrificed (86).
The Natives that supposedly inhabited El Dorado were even said to give back he gold to the god of the sun who gave it all to them (Legend of El Dorado).
Throughout the years of the discovery of the New World, it was no secret that many conquistadors that made the voyage mostly came for wealth and power. When the legends of El Dorado first spread, it became usual for explorers to devote their lives to finding the fabled city, for surely, if it was found, they would be one of the richest people in the world during the time (Legend of El Dorado).
However, “when the phrase “El Dorado” was first used, it referred to an individual… The Gilded Man” (Minster).
When the rumors spread there was an entire city made of gold, the explorers “scoured South America for two centuries” (Minster).
And in these two centuries, great explorers like Gonzalo Pizzaro, Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett, Sir Walter Raleigh, Hernan Perez and even Hernan Cortes. (“The Search For El Dorado”) One of the most famous stories of El Dorado’s fabled exploration, was the story of Sir Walter Raleigh and how he devoted two separate trips to Guiana, in search of El Dorado. During his second trip in 1617, he sent his so, Watt Raleigh, with an expedition up the Orinoco River”(Drye).
The Essay on The Early Explorer’s Journals
Christopher Columbus and Samuel de Champlain were two of the most influential explorers in the history of the Americas. Columbus “discovered” the area near Caribbean Islands while Champlain explored the St. Lawrence Seaway. Their journals were very similar in the way they described what the two explorers saw. Yet they have some differences as well. There are some small differences that ...
After his son did not return however, Raleigh was furious, and returned to England, only to be executed by King James (Drye).
Today, the search for El Dorado continues, and although it may have taken a more scientific approach, it still sparks in the mind of both scientists and modern explorers. Like any myth however, there are two sides to the story, one very likely possibility, is that the Native Americans simply fabricated the myth to keep the Europeans from conquering them.
On the other hand a big clue came to a pair of workers in 1969; while digging in a small cave in Bogota, they discovered a gold statue, depicting a Indian chief, a raft, and eight men riding on it (Legend of El Dorado).
“A 3D mapping technique called lidar has shown what appear to e ruins, including roads and building foundations in the Mosquitia region in Honduras”(Ruins of El Dorado).
With the new LiDAR, cinematographers are making the dreams of countless explorers a reality by uncovering acres of this forest canopy in seconds, making it easier to find the secrets buried underground.
Although no scientific proof of the city has been provided several researchers, much like the explorers in the New World so long Ago, have devoted their lives to the discovery of this Ancient legend (Ruins of El Dorado).
Work Cited Drye, Willie. El Dorado Legend Snared Sir Walter Raleigh. Willie Drye, n. d. Web. 15 May. 2013. <http://science. nationalgeographic. com/science/archaeology/el-dorado/>. Legends Breakfast. Legend of El Dorado and The Lost City of Gold. Legends Breakfast, 2009. Web. 19 May. 2013 <http://www. legendsbreakfast. com/legend-of-el-dorado-and-the-lost-city-of-gold>. Lost Gold city legendary El Dorado in Central America under-covered / Latin America News” 16 May. 2013. Web. 19 May. 2013. <http://www. nationalturk. com/en/lost-gold-city-legendary-el-dorado-in-central-america-undercovered-latin-america-news-37780>. Minster, Christopher. Ten Facts About El Dorado: The Truth About the Legendary City of Gold. Christopher Minster, 2013. Web. 15 May. 2013. <http://latinamericanhistory. about. com/od/ latinamericatheconquest/tp/Ten-Facts-About-El-Dorado. htm>. Time-Life Books. Lost Civilizations: The Search For El Dorado. Richmond, Virginia, 1994. Print
The Essay on Oklahoma City Bombing Web Mcveigh Government
Timothy McVeigh said that the Federal Building in Oklahoma City was chosen as a target because it housed so many government offices and because it was more architecturally vulnerable than other federal buildings. McVeigh has also said he did not know there was a day care center in the building and was surprised when he learned from newspapers that children had died in the bombing, according to ...
