El Dorado: The Legendary South American City Of Gold

The myth of El Dorado, the legendary South American City of Gold, promotes visions of opulence and glory at mere mention of the name. It is no wonder that the story served as the an ideal romanticized vision of possible marvels of discovery that expeditions to the New World may yield in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The myth did its part to stoke the minds of explorers and draw them into unknown territories in pursuit of such a vision, consumed by the same wealth-obsessed minds as those that fostered the myth. The myth is said to have been born from a story told by native peoples to two unidentified explorers. The stories told of a king who, daily, is doused in gold dust, smeared on with oil. Every night is bathed in a lake, now theorized
In 1498, after having failed a massively impactful law case which ended in his family’s financial devastation, Quesada immediately joined a voyage to the Spanish main, drawn by promises of wealth. Quesada enlisted for the voyage as chief magistrate and second in command, under Commander Columbus. The expedition founded the Island of Margarita, soon renowned as “Pearl Island,” for its abundance. The King of Spain’s wealth flourished from the incalculable number of pearls obtained off the coast of this island. A colony was established on the island purely for the purpose of collecting the precious pearls. The colony used slaves collected from indigenous tribes on the island. “The Spaniards forced the Indians to endure a rigorous training and to live on half rations so that they could stand the pressure under water and hold their breath for long periods of time. Many of them burst their eardrums and blood vessels, but the pearl fishing never ceased.” (Crow 1992, 119) However, with such incessant collecting, soon the numbers of pearls began to wane, “slave-gathering expeditions aroused the savage cannibalistic natives, and the place was abandoned.” (Crow 1992,
When, on an expedition in Colombia in 1536, Quesada heard of a city littered with gold, and immediately shifted his explorations to chase after the legendary El Dorado. On his quest, Quesada encountered Indians who told him “that Chief Bogotá, who lived to the South, was the richest of them all.” (Crow 1992, 124) Bogotá, chief of the Muisca people, had fled to the mountains to escape Spaniards thieving his treasure. However, these Spaniards had already caught up to him and had accidentally killed the Chief. Bogotá was replaced by Sagipa, and that was whom Quesada and his men pursued. But the indigenous peoples were not as submissive as often portrayed and that is seen in Sagipa’s clever resistance of Quesada. When captured by Quesada, Sagipa promised to send his couriers to retrieve the treasure Quesada pursued. Sagipa assured him “they would bring huge piles of gold and handfuls of emeralds. Within forty days it would be piled up in a room next to his cell, but he must be allowed to proceed in his own fashion, without any snooping or interference. That was the Indian way.” (Crow, 1992, 124) For forty days bags filled with gold were brought into the cell and the deliverers emerged empty handed to fetch more. At the end of the forty days, Quesada entered the cell to behold the spectacle of his wealth and found nothing. As Sagipa’s couriers had