1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Dowdy and I'm deblieing chokoateboarding. And I know 4 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: we've been talking a lot about Europe recently, the Bourbon 5 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 1: family and all of that, but we're going to venture 6 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 1: to the New World today and talk a little bit 7 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: about the conquistadors. And something funny I've noticed in a 8 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:34,159 Speaker 1: lot of our New World episodes, but the settlers and 9 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,920 Speaker 1: the conquerors are always completely focused on one thing, and 10 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: unfortunately for them, that's not like how to get food, 11 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: how to farm correctly in an entirely different environment. It's 12 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: always always gold, even when they're in a place where 13 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,160 Speaker 1: there is definitely no gold. As we know now. Yeah, 14 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: we know that now, but at the time it was 15 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 1: kind of no wonder that they were so interested in it. 16 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: For example, the myth of El Dorado had spread like 17 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: wildfire from the Kinkistadors and onward. Here's one account, and 18 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 1: I found this one in David Grant's The Lost City 19 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:09,119 Speaker 1: of z which is a pretty interesting book about El 20 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 1: Dorado in general and one man's quest for it. And 21 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: this quote is from a sixteenth century historian named Gonzalo 22 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: Fernandez to Oviato. And you're gonna notice pretty soon that 23 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 1: El Dorado starts off not as a city, but as 24 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 1: man here goes. The great lord goes about continually covered 25 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: in gold dust, as fine as ground salt. He feels 26 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: that it would be less beautiful to wear any other ornament. 27 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: It would be crude and common to put on armor 28 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 1: plates of hammered or stamped gold for other rich lords 29 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:43,039 Speaker 1: where those when they wish. But to powder one's self 30 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: with gold is something exotic, unusual, novel, and more costly. 31 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: For he washes away at night what he puts on 32 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: each morning, so that it is discarded and lost. And 33 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: he does this every day of the year, so much 34 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 1: gold that you can wash it off in a day. 35 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: That's pretty sounds promising if you're a compete store. So 36 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:08,400 Speaker 1: pretty soon the man, this king, who covers himself in 37 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 1: gold dust comes to mean a kingdom, El Dorado, a 38 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: poll city of gold. And as the Indians tell this 39 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: story to the Spaniards, it goes, you know, the rumor 40 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: starts to spread, and pretty soon the conquette stores are 41 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:28,079 Speaker 1: off looking for this El Dorado determined to find it. Right, So, 42 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: the first expedition to actually find the city of Gold 43 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: happens in fifty one. It's led by a guy named 44 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: Gonzalo Pizarro, who is the half brother to Francisco Pizarro, 45 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: and Francisco Pizzaro was the famous founder of Lima and 46 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: murder of the last independent Incoan emperor. Yeah, and so 47 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:50,359 Speaker 1: Gonzalo Pizarro had heard about El Dorado. He had heard 48 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: enough about the city from other Spaniards and from old 49 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: Indian chiefs, and he thought that it might be worth 50 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: his time and his assement of money to go off 51 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: looking for it. So he sunk his entire fortune into 52 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: funding this mission. You know, his entourage is pretty intense 53 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 1: when you when you check it out. It was two 54 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,240 Speaker 1: hundred soldiers on horseback as nights, and I think they 55 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: even wore iron hats. Iron hats, I mean armor in 56 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: the Amazon, in the middle of Amazon, going to come 57 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 1: back to get them. They also had four thousand enslaved 58 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: Indians along for the ride. Lono pulled cards filled with 59 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,079 Speaker 1: two thousand pigs and two thousand hunting dogs and they 60 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,359 Speaker 1: headed east over the Andies. I know it's it's probably 61 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 1: it seems like they'd be going the other way, but 62 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: imagine them patting east over the Andes and uh, that's 63 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: when trouble really starts to happen. A lot of the 64 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: Indians start to die of cold while they're crossing the 65 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 1: mountains because they're just wearing like a fur, they don't 66 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: have all the armor on. Um. But once they're down 67 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: into the jungle, it's the Spanish men who start to 68 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: suffer because they are encased in these iron suits and 69 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: they're absolute miserable in the heat with all the insects. Yep, 70 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 1: and the Indians they met along the way were tortured 71 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: for info on the city that they actually knew nothing about. 72 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: So even people who weren't part of their journey were 73 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: suffering too. Yeah, you can imagine this Spanish dude comes 74 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: up to you and asks where El Dorado is and 75 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:21,839 Speaker 1: probably don't even really understand him. You've never heard of 76 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 1: El Dorado. So it's a very bloody scene. And um, 77 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: eventually the party starts to die, I mean in larger 78 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: larger numbers because they're starving and um. Over time, most 79 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,119 Speaker 1: of the Indians die, the animals die of the heat, 80 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: and finally even most of the dogs have been eaten, 81 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,800 Speaker 1: so to survive, Pizzaro decides the only way to get 82 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: through is to split up the party, send half of 83 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,159 Speaker 1: the group down the river to hopefully try to find food. 84 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 1: And while Pizarro's group eventually retreats over the Andes and 85 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: this back with only eighty men, I mean, think of 86 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,479 Speaker 1: how many they left with. The other groups sort of 87 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: has the more adventurous yet equally harrowing time, definitely. The 88 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 1: guy who's in charge of the second group is Pizarro's 89 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:17,559 Speaker 1: number two, Francisco day Oriyana, and he takes fifty seven 90 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 1: men and two slaves downriver to find food and they 91 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: don't know what they're going to find out there, basically, 92 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:26,120 Speaker 1: so just an example of some of the things they 93 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: ran into. If they happened to have Dominican friar guess 94 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 1: bar de Carba Hall along for the ride, and he 95 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: kept a diary of things that went on during their journey, 96 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:39,280 Speaker 1: and he described the men mad with hunger. He says 97 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:41,720 Speaker 1: that they were actually so hungry that they were reduced 98 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: to eating their shoes and belts, which he said were 99 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: quote cooked with certain herbs, which for some reason that 100 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: makes it sound just doubly worse to me. And you're 101 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: trying to you know, like trying to make it real food. 102 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:58,480 Speaker 1: You would almost see it softening belts, animals, flesh. I 103 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 1: don't know, it's risky too to pick random herbs out 104 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,600 Speaker 1: of the rainforest, but you know, the group decides to 105 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,400 Speaker 1: see what's going to happen. They're they're clearly starving if 106 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:09,720 Speaker 1: they were duced to eating their shoes and belts, and 107 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 1: they're the point of their whole mission was to find 108 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:14,360 Speaker 1: food for the other guys and bring it back. They 109 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 1: know that's not going to happen. They're not going to 110 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: be able to make it back to the rest of 111 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: the party. So they decide, let's get down the river 112 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: or die trying to see what happened. See what happens, 113 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 1: and so it's very tough going there. Indian attacks, uh, 114 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:35,480 Speaker 1: they describe what sounds like Amazon woman attacks. And then 115 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: finally on August two, they shoot out into the Atlantic. 116 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: So they're the first European men to travel the length 117 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:49,400 Speaker 1: of the Amazon River. But still, even after all that way, 118 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:53,599 Speaker 1: the whole Amazon no El Dorado, no El Dorado, and 119 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:57,280 Speaker 1: that's what they wanted. And Oriana, he can't get his 120 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: mind off of the place. Even when he's back into Vain, 121 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: he's still thinking about it, and he decides to try 122 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:07,120 Speaker 1: to put together another little mission. Spends all his money 123 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: trying to put this together, and he has a ship. 124 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: First he's denied permission to sail, and then a ship. 125 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:18,320 Speaker 1: People on it get plague, they get sick and die. Finally, 126 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: when they get there, they reached the mouth of the Amazon. 127 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: More people die there, and finally Orianna dies, presumably feeling 128 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: rather defeated. You could imagine, I would imagine so um so, 129 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:33,440 Speaker 1: I mean, that sounds that's our first trip down the Amazon, 130 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,560 Speaker 1: and it's um the events that came immediately after, and 131 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: it sounds pretty bad already. It sounds like it can't 132 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: get a whole lot worse looking for El Dorado. But 133 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: as bad as that one expedition sounds, the truly notorious 134 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:53,520 Speaker 1: mission came two decades later, in fifteen sixty, and the 135 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: leader of that party, um Pedro de Orsua, wasn't the 136 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 1: issue with a mission, or at least it seems. He's 137 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: described by historian Bart L. Lewis as a thirty five 138 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:09,760 Speaker 1: year old wunderkind, and writer Stephen mint To described him 139 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 1: as a handsome and respected soldier, um but still a 140 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: soldier who had some misjudgments, including bringing along his mistress 141 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: on this trip to the amazon Um. But the issue 142 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:23,240 Speaker 1: wasn't with him, it was with some of the men 143 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: on the party, right. So the men that he brought 144 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: along with him were considered undesirables. So getting them away 145 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: from settlements and into the rainforest was actually thought of 146 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: as a pretty pretty good thing and it was um 147 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 1: one option to kind of minimize I guess the risk 148 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:41,360 Speaker 1: they posed to those settlements. But one of the men 149 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 1: who was on the expedition, one of those undesirable characters, 150 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 1: was a guy named Lope Day a gray and uh, 151 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: he sort of was the instigator. He's got quite the reputation. 152 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:57,080 Speaker 1: Maybe you've seen the Verner his Zog movie about him. 153 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 1: He's uh, yeah, we'll find out soon. He's pretty wild guy. 154 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,680 Speaker 1: So Dave Geary was actually a lot older than the 155 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: leader of the party. He had been around the block 156 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 1: a few times. He was pushing fifty. We're not exactly 157 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 1: sure when he was born, but he was definitely middle 158 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:18,200 Speaker 1: aged during this expedition. In his pre Peruvian life is 159 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:23,319 Speaker 1: extremely obscure. He was probably born fifteen ten to fifteen 160 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:27,959 Speaker 1: eighteen in Onate, Spain, and he came to South America 161 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: as a young man and then just went through a 162 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: series of jobs. To Plina and I were laughing about that. 163 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:37,000 Speaker 1: Some of these are considered jobs, but they include grave 164 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: robbing and alderman and horse breaker. Um, so he got 165 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,720 Speaker 1: out of the grave robbing business early on. Do you 166 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: imagine that job posting I wanted grave robber. Yeah, both, 167 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,319 Speaker 1: that would be good money, better than um el Dorado 168 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: hunting it scenes. Um, but a Geary didn't really like Spain. 169 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:01,960 Speaker 1: I mean, if he had come to the colonies with 170 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 1: a love of Spain, he lost it pretty quickly. Um. 171 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 1: He served with Gonzalo Pizarro, who was, you know, the 172 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,760 Speaker 1: earlier guy we mentioned, and when he wasn't rewarded for 173 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 1: that service, he served in an uprising against him, and 174 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 1: that was really just the beginning of trouble. Right. He 175 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:20,560 Speaker 1: spent a lot of time fleeing from one part of 176 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 1: South or Central America to another, and he was pretty 177 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 1: much always in trouble an entire time. Just a few 178 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:28,960 Speaker 1: examples of things that he did. He broke a law 179 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,120 Speaker 1: against hiring Indian porters and was punished with a hundred 180 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,680 Speaker 1: to two hundred lashes and salt in the wounds, which 181 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: sounds rather painful. He stabbed the magistrate who sentenced him 182 00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:42,719 Speaker 1: in his temple and escaped the city of Cuzco in disguise. 183 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 1: And he also fought with rebels then against them, and 184 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: he wounded his leg in hand. And finally he had 185 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,559 Speaker 1: a daughter with an Indian woman, which was considered controversial 186 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 1: at the time. So, I mean, the basic situation here 187 00:10:55,800 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: is that he needed a way to escape from his reputation, 188 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,320 Speaker 1: redeem his name if he could, um or just go 189 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:07,160 Speaker 1: off the map, if if he couldn't redeem his name, 190 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:12,800 Speaker 1: start something new away from what he considered civilization. Um 191 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:16,439 Speaker 1: folks in charge didn't mind this convenient way to get 192 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:19,040 Speaker 1: rid of kind of a troublesome guy. So on September 193 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:25,200 Speaker 1: fifteen sixty a gear A joined the expedition and went 194 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:28,120 Speaker 1: looking for El Dorado. And El Dorado was thought to 195 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 1: be at the headwaters of the Amazon River, so that's 196 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: where they were headed. Yeah, the Amazon was kind of 197 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:35,760 Speaker 1: attractive to them now, and I guess they had sort 198 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:37,800 Speaker 1: of changed their mind about the exact location that I 199 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 1: thought it was. But part of the way into the 200 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:43,560 Speaker 1: trip a gear A he started a rebellion against Ursua, 201 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:47,040 Speaker 1: who he thought was too cautious, so in an Indian 202 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:50,559 Speaker 1: village he had him hacked to death. Yeah, he's pretty 203 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:53,880 Speaker 1: serious about his uh his rebellions way of taking care 204 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: of things. So immediately after that murder, he swears allegiance 205 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:04,079 Speaker 1: to der Sue's replacement, a man named Fernando D. Guzman. 206 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 1: And this is where things start to get a little weird. 207 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:12,920 Speaker 1: Um less, just killing one leader and installing a new one. 208 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,160 Speaker 1: He raises Gooseman, and the party as a whole raises 209 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,640 Speaker 1: Gooseman to king. So he's not just the leader of 210 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:23,520 Speaker 1: the party. They're swearing allegiance to him as king forget 211 00:12:23,559 --> 00:12:26,560 Speaker 1: the King of Spain. Uh so, yeah, this is their 212 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:30,800 Speaker 1: first act of disobedience to the crown. But this guy 213 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 1: Guzman doesn't really suit a Geary either, and he's murdered too. 214 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 1: As a Geary later writes and a letter to the 215 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: King of Spain about the murder of Da Guzman. He 216 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 1: he says this, they appointed me their field commander, and 217 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: because I did not consent to their insults and evil deeds, 218 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:48,440 Speaker 1: they tried to kill me, and I killed the new king, 219 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:51,840 Speaker 1: the captain of his guard, the lieutenant general, his majordomo, 220 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:55,600 Speaker 1: his chaplain, a woman in league against me, a night 221 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:59,719 Speaker 1: of Rhodes, an admiral, two endsigns, and six other of 222 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:02,680 Speaker 1: his allies. It was my intention to carry this war 223 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,680 Speaker 1: through and die in it. For the cruelties your ministers 224 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 1: practiced on us, and I again appointed captains in a 225 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,320 Speaker 1: sergeant major. They tried to kill me and I hung 226 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:15,319 Speaker 1: them all. That really gives you the gist of Age 227 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:19,719 Speaker 1: as decision making process. He does not mess around, No, 228 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 1: he doesn't. Anybody who opposes him might as well be dead. Um. 229 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 1: So he himself is the new head of the Party 230 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:30,079 Speaker 1: of Men. And he supposedly said that quote, I am 231 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,079 Speaker 1: the wrath of God, the Prince of Freedom, lord of 232 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 1: the Tierra Firma and the provinces of Chile. And from 233 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,480 Speaker 1: there he sailed down the Amazon or perhaps the Ornoco River, 234 00:13:40,559 --> 00:13:44,959 Speaker 1: We're not sure, and kept killing, massacring pretty much all 235 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 1: a lot of people that he met along the way, 236 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,680 Speaker 1: and thirty nine people in his own party too. A 237 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:51,960 Speaker 1: witness in the party later wrote that Age was so 238 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:54,040 Speaker 1: sure that his soul could not be saved that he 239 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: might as well commit acts of cruelty and wickedness by 240 00:13:57,160 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: which the name of age A would ring throughout the earth, 241 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:03,320 Speaker 1: even to the ninth Heaven. So he figured, I'm not 242 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 1: going to heaven anyway, so I might as well just 243 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: be as bad as I want to be. Yeah, and 244 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:12,560 Speaker 1: the reputation spreads, and by fifteen sixty one, when he 245 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,600 Speaker 1: takes the island of Margharito off of what is now 246 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 1: the Venezuelan coast and displaces a bunch of Spanish settlers, 247 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 1: he's notorious. Um. The Spanish armies know who he is, 248 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,640 Speaker 1: and they're out to get him. Taking the island definitely 249 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: means war um. But when he learned that the King's 250 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: armies in Venezuela and New Granada were after him, he 251 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 1: writes off this letter to fill up the second and uh. 252 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:41,760 Speaker 1: You can find the whole letter online. It's pretty interesting, 253 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:47,800 Speaker 1: but it's a mixture of very rational complaints and just 254 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 1: complete insanity. Like it sounds like a Garay out in 255 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 1: the rainforest who's gone off as Rocker, but luckily through 256 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 1: a letter and not in person, luckily for the king. 257 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: For the king, he's mostly criticizing the King for spending 258 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:05,040 Speaker 1: so much of the money brought home by the conquist 259 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:08,520 Speaker 1: stores from the New World on these German wars, and 260 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:11,760 Speaker 1: not leaving enough for the men when they're old. Um. 261 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 1: But the most famous part of the letter, even though 262 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:18,080 Speaker 1: it's coming from a man who has clearly gone crazy, 263 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 1: seems like actually it's pretty good advice for future El 264 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: Dorado mission. He writes, I advise you, King and Lord, 265 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:28,920 Speaker 1: not to attempt nor allow a fleet to be sent 266 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: to this ill fated river, because in Christian faith, I 267 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 1: swear King and Lord that if a hundred thousand men come, 268 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:39,120 Speaker 1: none will escape, because the stories are false, and in 269 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 1: this river there is nothing but despair. So finally, the 270 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:47,280 Speaker 1: King's armies do catch up with him, and they capture 271 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:49,760 Speaker 1: him after he crosses back to the mainland, but not 272 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:52,240 Speaker 1: before he has a chance to murder his own daughter, 273 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,960 Speaker 1: so no mercy even for his kin, and he is 274 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 1: beheaded on October six e one, and his body parts 275 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: are sent throughout the realm and his head displayed in 276 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 1: a cage as a warning to other traders. We keep 277 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: on having me. These head heads kind of become a 278 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:16,040 Speaker 1: new sub theme. I think of exhimation, honest um. But 279 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:20,800 Speaker 1: according to Encyclopedia, Britannica. A Gary's name is quote practically 280 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:25,560 Speaker 1: synonymous with cruelty and treachery in colonial Spanish America. UM Yet, 281 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 1: I think it's so interesting. Despite this terrible example of 282 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:35,080 Speaker 1: this man losing it and becoming so power hungry and 283 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 1: depraved that he kills his daughter, he kills all these 284 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,040 Speaker 1: men in his own party, he kills all the settlers, 285 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: he's coming across all the Indians, He's coming across that. 286 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:48,520 Speaker 1: People still go out looking for El Dorado. Nobody can 287 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: give up that myth. And it's interesting. The book I 288 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:54,440 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier, the Lost City of z is dealing with 289 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:58,680 Speaker 1: um hunts for the for El Dorado that go into 290 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: the twentieth century. I mean, people just they can't let 291 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,359 Speaker 1: it go. Gold is a pretty attractive, when pretty treasure 292 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:08,239 Speaker 1: if you can find it. I think that's about all 293 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 1: for today. But if you want to learn a little 294 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:13,240 Speaker 1: bit more about conquistadors and the Incan Empire, we have 295 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:16,400 Speaker 1: an article called how did one d and sixty eight 296 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,920 Speaker 1: Conquistadors take down the Incan Empire? And you can find 297 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 1: that by visiting our homepage and entering in Incan Empire 298 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:32,840 Speaker 1: at www dot how stuff works dot com. For more 299 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:35,399 Speaker 1: on this and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff 300 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,200 Speaker 1: works dot com. To learn more about the podcast, click 301 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:40,600 Speaker 1: on the podcast icon in the upper right corner of 302 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:44,000 Speaker 1: our homepage. The house Stuff Works iPhone app has a rise. 303 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:46,080 Speaker 1: Download it today on iTunes.