SURVIVING the Amazon: How the First Conquistadors SURVIVED the DEADLY River of Darkness

In late 1541 Francisco de Orellana and 57 conquistadors began the first documented journey by Europeans down the Amazon River. Beginning their expedition in the west from Quito, the party had to travel the entire length of the river to its mouth in order to escape the jungle with their lives. Friar Gaspar de Carvajal will chronicle the experience. He writes about starvation, attack, massive cities, poison arrows, cannibals, and fighting the legendary Amazonian women. Nearly 100 years later the Portuguese will travel the river in their own adventure but their accounts don’t write about the same glory as Carvajal. The jungle they move through is largely uninhabited. So was the Friar’s description a lie or is there another explanation?

This episode is part one in a multi-part series on the Amazon Jungle. Here, we will tell Carvajal’s story. In the next few episodes, we will look at the evidence behind the legend and examine his claims.

Resources

River of Darkness by Buddy Levy (book)

The Discovery of the Amazon: According to the Account of Friar Gaspar De Carvajal and Other Documents (Book)

Amazon Jungle Once Home to Millions More Than Previously Thought
By Erin Blakemore

Archaeologists find vast network of Amazon villages laid out like the cosmos
By Laura Geggel published December 09, 2020

[DaleSides]

Having been to the Amazon nothing surprises me there. Patrol boats, cocaine smugglers, naked natives chewing on cocoa leaves for energy, dolphins, bull sharks, piranha, anaconda, poisonous frogs, crazy monkeys, cayman, not to mention insects, a native indian soccer team (all boys, they were wearing lion clothes) in a dugout canoe going to the next village to play. Saw all of that. It was an amazing place and would love to go back.

[drabbit]

These early civilizations in the Amazon are truly one of the great mysteries left. It's a wonderful tale

[trb]

The ability for those early Spaniards to survive in the jungle was truly remarkable.

[masterofrockets]

Man I wish there were more movies about conquistadors

[speakupriseup]

This is absolutely incredible, Lidar can open up the hidden treasures all over the world. There is a 2022 Lidar survey just reported in the Bolivian region of the Amazon, they found just the area they surveyed had large areas of open savannah with roads interconnecting settlements.
Talk about being on the verge of locating a massive archaeological goldmine that will rewrite the history books.

[historyfellow]

Love your summary of this account. Pizarro "was beheaded, which is fatal"🤣🤣 Love that line.

[dominicconnor]

Those men were some tough dudes as well as enterprising and cruel.

[Wonkabar]

Its amazing how tough and resilient people can be, when consumed by gold fever.

[matsteeuw]

Just stumbled on your channel. While watching Paul Rosoli on the Koncrete podcast I wanted to find more on de Orellano and his travels. This one came up. Liked it very much. Hope you manage to get your hands on a good microphone, the quality of the channel deserves a better sound!

[johnharrison]

There's something to this content. Keep it up, give it time, and I see this blowing up in popularity

[JohnJohniskilla]

Amazing content Iv been obsessed with these topics lately

[VisitaInteriora]

dude, you got an awsome channel. I love all these stories.

[microb]

1k !!! I enjoyed the video! Look forward to some more new ones and see the older ones will subscribe

[dankspain]

Thanks for this summary of the expedition and for taking a very neutral and nuanced view of the story. As as spaniard I am a bit tired both the spanish centric view in which Conquistadores seem human right activists but also the black legend type of view in which the conquistadores were akin to Hitler. Contextualization and taking historical documents and recounts with a pinch of salt is key.

[PawgSlayer]

Wow love the content, ur on2 somthing. Fascinating subjects and great edit style Cant wait to watch you grow and improve.

[judithcampbell]

Thank you for the very interesting and informative video. I have a hard time sometimes with history, but listening to you makes it easy to understand! When I was a kid in school, teachers made history class boring. But now I have found you, and my interest is peeked. So, thanks again and I look forward to next lesson.

[winstonslone]

Great content Sir! Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you.

[NDjinnn]

We know European pathogens killed North American natives decades before the Europeans arrived on the west coast. It follows that the same would happen in the south. The jungle also being so unforgiving and without maintenance would reclaim almost all trace of inhabitants.

[kyleolson]

I know everyone has commented on the bad sound. Given I know you've got the sound working much better now, I think this intriguing content deserves a do-over.

[kdbzbkg]

I just came across your videos and I love them! I love the little bits of humor scattered within. Keep up the great work 👍🏻 I look forward to seeing what else you post