Descent of the Amazon

Francisco de Orellana · 1541 CE – 1542 CE · Earth

Find food and a route down the great river.

Historical context

Spanish expeditions into the Amazon sought El Dorado and found instead a vast river system and populous societies. Orellana's descent was an accident that became a first.

The voyage, step by step

1. Into the Amazon

   1541 CE

   Orellana's party, separated from Pizarro, builds a boat in the Amazon basin.

2. No way back upstream

   1541 CE

   Below the first rapids the current is too strong to row against, and fifty-seven men are committed to the river.

3. Building the Victoria

   1542 CE

   Fed by a riverside lord they call Aparia the Great, the men spend two months making nails and a second brigantine.

4. Downriver

   1542 CE

   Unable to return upstream, they float downriver for months, trading and fighting.

5. The black river

   1542 CE

   A tributary as dark as ink runs beside the brown main stream for leagues without mixing.

6. The fight that named the river

   1542 CE

   In a battle below the Tapajós, Carvajal reports women fighting at the head of the warriors.

7. The Atlantic at last

   1542 CE

   They reach the sea, the first Europeans to travel the length of the Amazon.

Outcome

Reached the Atlantic after descending the Amazon.

Francisco de Orellana

Spanish conquistador who became the first European to travel the length of the Amazon River.

Read on Wikipedia

Sources

• Francisco de Orellana — Wikipedia

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