Francisco de Orellana

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Bust of Francisco de Orellana in Trujillo

Francisco de Orellana (* 1511 in Trujillo , Spain ; † 1546 ) was a Spanish conquistador who was the first European to sail the Amazon from west to east. Orellana had probably come to the New World in 1527 . When Francisco Pizarro set out to conquer Peru , he went into battle with him. Orellana lost an eye during the conquest of Cusco in 1533. After the conquest of the Inca Empire , Orellana settled in Portoviejo in what is now Ecuador . During the civil war between Pizarro and Diego de Almagro , he fought on Pizarro's side.

Through the rainforest

In 1541 Orellana agreed to take part in an expedition across the Andes with Francisco Pizarro's younger brother Gonzalo . The Gonzalo Pizarro expedition was looking for cinnamon trees and the fabulous gold country Eldorado .

A total of 350 Spaniards and 4,000 Indians left Quito . After the dangerous descent into the Amazon lowlands and months of searching and wandering around in the jungle, you came to a large river that it was impossible to cross without a ship. A base camp was established and a ship was built with the help of the local Indians. It was baptized “Victoria” by Father Carvajal. After the army had crossed several trips, the search for the Eldorado was continued. But now the equipment could be transported by ship.

It was the rainy season and it wasn't long before every second man was sick. Malaria also weakened Pizarro . So he had no choice but to send Orellana down the river with the Victoria, 57 of his best people and a large part of the equipment as barter goods. He was supposed to get food and a second ship for the rest of the army. After his return they wanted to move on to the water.

Amazon

The expedition started on December 25, 1541. The Spaniards drove about 1,000 kilometers downstream but could not find anything to eat. The crew was finally on the verge of starvation without being able to bring provisions to the men who were left behind.

But when hope was almost given up, they finally reached the Río Curaray , a forest river that flows further southeast into the Río Napo . A second ship was built there with the help of the local Indians, the Cotos. It was named "San Pedro".

It was still the rainy season, and it would have been too difficult and dangerous to row back against the current on the increasingly swelling river. So they decided to go further downstream. Disappointed with Orellana, Pizarro finally decided to give up the base camp in order to start the march back. With fewer than 80 survivors, Pizarro reached Quito six months later.

Orellana's dangerous journey across the vast Amazon and its tributaries was accompanied by constant Indian attacks. On June 24, 1542 there was an unusual encounter about which the fellow traveler Dominican Fray Gaspar de Carvajal reported the following in his diary:

“As we got closer and closer to the bank, the Indians began shooting arrows at us, and since there were numerous warriors, it seemed as if it was raining arrows. But our arquebusiers and crossbows weren't lazy either. Although they killed many, the Indians did not seem to notice, because despite the damage that was done to them, they continued tirelessly, some fighting, others performing war dances ... I want you to know why this one Indios defended themselves in this way. It must be declared that they are tributary subjects of the Amazons . When they heard of our coming, the Indians turned to them for help, and around ten to twelve of them came because we saw these women who fought as female captains in the front line of all the Indians. The women are very fair-skinned and tall, with long hair that they have braided and wrapped around their heads. They are very strong and go completely naked, although their pubic parts are covered. "

Orellana thus also supported the ancient myth of the Amazons and inspired the imagination of European adventurers. Because of this, the river was later given its current name Amazon.

Finally, Francisco de Orellana reached the giant on Aug. 26, 1542 Delta of the Amazon. He had only lost a dozen of his companions to Indian attacks. But the odyssey was not over yet, because the nearest Spanish port was in Trinidad . For months he fought his way along the coast with his two ships that were not suitable for the sea. The ships lost sight of each other, but both eventually reached Trinidad.

Expedition Route (1541–1542) ( interactive map )

death

A trial brought against Orellana by Pizarro came to nothing; Crown Prince Philip acquitted him, whereupon the authorities declared Orellana the owner of huge lands on the Amazon. Orellana equipped a second expedition to obtain evidence for his reports. After long negotiations, he was finally given four ships, but they were so decrepit that one of them was separated from the fleet in severe storms and never reappeared. The other three reached the Amazon estuary and landed on a large island, where smaller river boats brought with them were assembled. Orellana then started with a large vanguard to Manaus , where he wanted to create a permanent place. The rest of the crew was supposed to build more river barges and then wait for news, but that didn't come even after three months. So the team mutinied against the project and left Orellana and his vanguard behind. None of that party ever returned.

Orellana reported in his notes of large cities and millions of people who settled the banks of the Amazon. When later expeditions sailed the river, they found nothing but rainforest. Orellana was believed to have lied. But the latest research has shown that there were indeed many people and large cities - the terra preta provides clues for this . The people may have perished from epidemics brought in by the European conquerors.

The province of Orellana and the city of Puerto Francisco de Orellana are named after Orellana in Ecuador . In addition, the herb Annatto has been given the botanical name Orellana americana or Bixa orellana .

In fiction

In the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , de Orellana went missing in the jungle while searching for Eldorado and was buried together with a (also fictional) crystal skull .

The novel El país de la canela (Caracas, 2008) by the Colombian author William Ospina is based on the historical events of the Orellana expedition and won the Premio Rómulo Gallegos, one of the highest awards in modern Latin American literature.

literature

Web links

Commons : Francisco de Orellana  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfram zu Mondfeld: Blood, Gold and Honor. The conquistadors conquer America. Munich 1981, p. 294.
personal data
SURNAME Orellana, Francisco de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish conquistador
DATE OF BIRTH 1511
PLACE OF BIRTH Trujillo
DATE OF DEATH 1546