The myth of El Dorado (translated as "the golden one" or "the gilded one"), is of direct relevance to the colonial history of Caribbean Amerindians insofar as this myth helped to drive the ambitions of European colonizers in penetrating Amerindian territories and incorporating Amerindian allies, in the vain search for a fabled city of gold ruled by a native who was reputed to cover his body in gold dust.

• DISCOVERY OF GUIANA. By Sir Walter Ralegh, 1595—Full text of book. Download for free. Click here for a Plain Text copy of the book.

• El Dorado: “…Columbus opened up the way for treasure seekers when he discovered gold in San Salvador and Hispaniola. The news imparted to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain soon spread throughout Europe, and there began the settlement of the West Indies under the guise of Christianity completely decimating the local Amerindian population….”

• El Dorado: multiple pages of information on El Dorado Myth, Christopher Columbus, along with full texts of Columbus's documents

• Encyclopaedia Britannica, Sir Walter Raleigh, 1154-1618: Excerpt—“Raleigh also spelled RALEGH, English adventurer and writer, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, who knighted him in 1585. Accused of treason by Elizabeth's successor, James I, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and eventually put to death….Between 1584 and 1589 he had tried to establish a colony near Roanoke Island (in present North Carolina), which he named Virginia; but he never set foot there himself. In 1595 he led an expedition to what is now Guyana, in South America, sailing up the Orinoco River in the heart of Spain's colonial empire. He described the expedition in his book The Discoverie of Guiana (1596). Spanish documents and stories told by Indians had convinced him of the existence of Eldorado, a fabulous city of gold in the interior of South America. He did locate some gold mines, but no one supported his project for colonizing the area. In 1596 he went with Robert Devereux, earl of Essex, on an unsuccessful expedition against the Spanish city of Cádiz, and he was Essex' rear admiral on the Islands voyage, in 1597, an expedition to the Azores….He still hoped to exploit the wealth of Guyana, arguing that the country had been ceded to England by its native chiefs in 1595. With the King's permission, he financed and led a second expedition there, promising to open a gold mine without offending Spain. A severe fever prevented his leading his men upriver. His lieutenant, Lawrence Kemys, burned a Spanish settlement but found no gold. Raleigh's son Walter died in the action. King James invoked the suspended sentence of 1603, and in 1618, after writing a spirited defense of his acts, Raleigh was executed….”

• MSN Encarta, “Omagua”: “…At the time of the Spanish conquest of South America in the 16th century, an erroneous report credited the Omagua with having tremendous stores of gold, and in 1536, 1541, and 1560 unsuccessful attempts were made by the Spanish to conquer their lands….”

• The Search for El Dorado, Volume VIII of Theodor De Bry's Grand Voyages, from the Internet Archive: Excerpt—“The story of El Dorado was one of the most influential myths connected with the ‘New World.’ The legend first appeared in the 1530s or 40s as a story of an Indian chief who was rich enough to cover himself with gold dust during certain ceremonies; this chief was the golden man, “El Hombre Dorado.” The legend had its source in the Colombian highlands, near present-day Bogota, but when the Spanish conquistadors reached this region they found no such rich chief or kingdom. The legend didn’t die, however, but instead transformed itself and moved slowly across the continent. After an amazing series of horrific and unsuccessful searches for El Dorado, the myth finally solidified as a story about a rich city of El Dorado, called Manoa by the natives, located on a huge lake in the highlands of Guiana….”

• "Trinidad's first governor confused El Dorado with fountain of youth", by Kim Johnson, Trinidad Express, Sunday, 27 June, 1999: [look 80% of the way down this page to find the article] "Juan Ponce de Leon (1466-1521) sought the Fountain of Youth in Florida. But El Dorado-The Gilded Man, an Amerindian king who annointed himself daily with gold dust- was supposed to live somewhere in Peru. Alas, like any rainbow's pot of gold, his kingdom retreated from its seekers. It migrated east and ended up in North-eastern Venezuela or Guyana. Thus Trinidad became important as the launching pad for its conquest. Antonio de Berrio, Trinidad's first Governor, was already an old retired soldier when he was recruited to the search for El Dorado…"

HOME