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El Dorado |
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El Dorado, legendary country of South AmericaEl Dorado (ĕl`dərä`dō, –rā`–) [Span.,=the gilded man], legendary country of the Golden Man sought by adventurers in South America. The legend supposedly originated in a custom of the Chibcha Chibcha , indigenous people of the eastern cordillera of the Andes of Colombia. Although trade with neighboring tribes was common, the Chibcha seem to have evolved their culture in comparative isolation...... Click the link for more information. people of Colombia who each year anointed a chieftain and rolled him in gold, which he then ceremonially washed off in a sacred lake, casting offerings of emeralds and gold into the waters at the same time. This custom had apparently disappeared long before the coming of the conquistadors, but the tales lived on and grew into a legend of a land of gold and plenty. Gonzalo Pizarro Pizarro, Gonzalo , c.1506–1548, Spanish conquistador, brother of Francisco Pizarro. A lieutenant of his brother in the conquest of Peru, Gonzalo aided in the defense of Cuzco (1536–37) against the Inca Manco Capac, subdued Charcas (present Bolivia), and ..... Click the link for more information. and Francisco de Orellana set out in quest for it, the latter drifting down the length of the Amazon River in the process. From the middle of the 16th cent. a series of adventurers searched for El Dorado and its fabulous variants—Omagua, the Land of Cinnamon, or the golden land of Manoa. El Dorado passed into European literature and found its way to the maps. The conquistadors of Venezuela and New Granada—Federmann Federmann, Nikolaus , 1501–42, German adventurer in Venezuela and Colombia. In the service of the Welser brothers, Augsburg bankers to whom Charles V had granted rights in Venezuela, Federmann first landed at Santa Ana de Coro in 1530. ..... Click the link for more information. , Benalcázar Benalcázar or Belalcázar, Sebastián de , c.1479–1551, Spanish conquistador. ..... Click the link for more information. , and Jiménez de Quesada Jiménez de Quesada, Gonzalo , c.1499–1579, Spanish conquistador in Colombia. Chief magistrate of Santa Marta, he was commissioned to explore the Magdalena in search of El Dorado. ..... Click the link for more information. —all searched for El Dorado. Perhaps best known to English-speaking peoples is the expedition of Sir Walter Raleigh Raleigh or Ralegh, Sir Walter , 1554?–1618, English soldier, explorer, courtier, and man of letters. ..... Click the link for more information. in 1595. The location of the mythical land shifted as new regions were explored, and similar legends appeared in W United States. Cabeza de Vaca told of the Seven Cities of Cibola; interest in these treasure-laden cities reached a peak with the stories of Fray Marcos de Niza Marcos de Niza , c.1495–1558, missionary explorer in Spanish North America. A Franciscan friar, he served in Peru and Guatemala before going to Mexico. ..... Click the link for more information. and culminated in a tremendous but fruitless expedition under Francisco Vásquez de Coronado Coronado, Francisco Vásquez de , c.1510–1554, Spanish explorer. He went to Mexico with Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza and in 1538 was made governor of Nueva Galicia. ..... Click the link for more information. . El Dorado is used figuratively to mean any place of fabulous wealth, a utopian dream, or the land of desire. BibliographySee A. F. Bandelier, The Gilded Man (1893, repr. 1962); G. Arciniegas, The Knight of El Dorado (tr. 1942); R. Silverberg, The Golden Dream (1967); V. S. Naipaul, The Loss of El Dorado (1970). El Dorado, city, United StatesEl Dorado (ĕl dərā`də), city (1990 pop. 23,146), seat of Union co., S central Ark; inc. 1845. The discovery of oil in 1921 made it the oil center of the state. The city has oil refineries, chemical plants, and poultry-packing houses, as well as diverse manufactures.El Dorado(Spanish: “The Golden”) Legendary golden city sought by Spanish explorers in the New World. It was the fabulously wealthy land of a king who was said to have been covered with gold dust so many times that he was permanently gilded. Many Spanish and English expeditions in the Americas were sent in search of El Dorado. In 1540 Francisco Vazquez de Coronado ventured as far north as Kansas seeking the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola. Walter Raleigh searched for El Dorado in vain in South America, leading an expedition up the Orinoco River in 1595. El Dorado a fabled city in South America, rich in treasure and sought by Spanish explorers in the 16th century El Dorado mythical land of gold treasures, object of Spanish expeditions. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 159] See : Quest El Dorado legendary land of gold in South America. [Span. Myth.: NCE, 846] See : Treasure El Dorado legendary place of fabulous wealth. [Am. Hist.: Espy, 335] See : Utopia El Dorado a country rich in gold and jewels that was sought by the Spanish conquistadores in the 16th and 17th centuries in South America, mainly in the basin of the Orinoco and Amazon rivers. According to the legend that had reached the conquistadores, the ruler of El Dorado sprinkled himself with gold dust every morning and washed it off in the waters of a sacred lake. The legend and the name of the country stem from the custom that existed among the Chibcha (Muisca) of consecrating their rulers in Lake Guatavita (Colombia). In a figurative sense, “El Dorado” means a land of fabulous wealth. REFERENCESozina, S. A. Na gorizonte—El’dorado! Moscow, 1972.Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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