Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 23, 2025
He made a marvelous march to the head-waters of the Amazon River, where he was deserted by one of his commanders, Orellana, who built a brigantine, sailed down the whole length of the Amazon, finally reaching Europe, while Gonzalo and those few of his wretched followers who survived the terrible hardships of that march, struggled back to Quito. Francisco, the Marquis, was thus left alone in Peru.
He at length emerged from the great river; and, once upon the sea, Orellana made for the isle of Cubagua; thence passing over to Spain, he repaired to court, and told the circumstances of his voyage, of the nations of Amazons whom he had found on the banks of the river, the El Dorado which report assured him existed in the neighborhood, and other marvels, the exaggeration rather than the coinage of a credulous fancy.
Orellana and his followers, though in appearance sufficiently patient and submissive, meditated a severe revenge for all these inhumanities. Having agreed on the measures necessary to be taken, they first furnished themselves with Dutch knives sharp at the point, which, being the common knives used in the ship, they found no difficulty in procuring.
By his voyage Orellana connected the Spanish and Portuguese "spheres of influence" in the New World of Amerigo. By the year 1540 the main outlines of Central and South America and something of the interior had been made known by the Spanish adventurers within half a century of Columbus' first voyage.
Our young Russians had been under the belief, as most people are, that the banks of the Amazon were entirely without civilised settlements that the great river had scarcely been explored that only a few travellers had descended this mighty stream; and that altogether it was still as much of a terra incognita as in the days of Orellana.
This he soon succeeded in doing, and they started down the Amazon. It was no easy journey. He and the soldiers suffered greatly. But in August, 1541, after seven months of hardships, they reached the ocean, and a short time after this they sailed to Spain. When Orellana reached Spain, he gave a glowing account of a wonderful country, rich in precious metals, through which he had passed.
There, with great difficulty they built a brigantine, which was manned by fifty soldiers under the command of Francisco Orellana.
Orellana, of whom the river of Amazons taketh name, was the first, and Don Antonio de Berreo, whom we displanted, the last: and I doubt much whether he himself or any of his yet know the best way into the said empire.
Not only the Maypures, but also the Guaypunaves, the Caribs, the Ottomacs, and even the Guamos, are distinguished at the Orinoco as makers of painted pottery, and this manufacture extended formerly towards the banks of the Amazon. Orellana was struck with the painted ornaments on the ware of the Omaguas, who in his time were a populous commercial nation.
And then the experienced Dunkerley, being one of the kindest young men alive, forgot certain private ambitions of his own he cherished dreams of amazing patents and bethought him of agents. He proceeded to give a list of these necessary helpers of the assistant master at the gangway Orellana, Gabbitas, The Lancaster Gate Agency, and the rest of them. He knew them all intimately.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking