The Legend of El Dorado

El Dorado, The Golden Man (color litho), English School (20th Century)/English © Look and Learn/Bridgeman Images, Image No. LAL337291. Reprinted under limited license.

For centuries, the legend of El Dorado, promising unimaginable wealth and a city paved with gold, lured European explorers to venture deep into the uncharted jungle of South America. What began as an indigenous ritual quickly transformed into one of the most enduring myths of the age of exploration.

The legend of El Dorado began as a Muisca ritual. The Muisca were a highly organized civilization that lived and thrived on a plateau in the Andean mountains in present-day Columbia. Unlike the centralized empires of the Incas and the Aztecs, the Muisca was a network of independent chiefdoms that formed a loose confederation. At the heart of the confederation was two main political centers, the Zipa and the Zaque. The Zipa governed the southern part of the Muisca territory, with the capital at Bacatá, modern-day Bogatá. The Zaque governed the northern part, with the capital at Hunza, modern-day Tunja. Several lesser chiefdoms, or caciques, existed within the confederation, and while they had a degree of autonomy, they generally followed the chieftain of the Zipa or the Zaque.

The Zipa region was the wealthiest and most influential within the confederation. Although the Zaque had less wealth and less power than the Zipa, their chieftain was still highly respected. 

The Muisca had a highly developed economy, centered around goldworking, salt production, agriculture, and manufacturing. They were master goldsmiths, producing intricate tunjos, small golden figurines, used in religious offerings. They also controlled some of the richest emerald deposits in South America.

  Salt, that was produced in large quantities from natural salt springs, was the Muisca’s most valuable commodity. Salt was a key trading item with other indigenous groups, particularly those in the Amazon and the Llanos, the vast grassland east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela.

  Golden jewelry and cotton blankets were manufactured for trade. While the gold was not mined by the Muisca and the cotton was not grown by them, the Muisca acquired the raw materials by trading salt.

  The Muisca took advantage of the fertile Andean highlands to cultivate quinoa, maize, potatoes, beans and other vegetables. They would fish and hunt deer and rabbits.

  The Muisca religion was deeply tied to nature. Their worship centered around Chiminigagua, the supreme creator god who created the sun and the moon, Sué, the Sun god, and included other deities such as Chia, the moon goddess, and Bochica, the messenger of god of civilization who taught the arts, morals and laws.

The legend of El Dorado (“the golden one” or “the gilded one”) comes from a Muisca ritual associated with the new Zipa, or chieftain. Upon his coronation, he would cover his body with gold dust, board a ceremonial raft on Lake Guatavita, and cast gold and precious items into the lake as an offering to the gods. For over 1,000 years, Lake Guatavita, at almost 1,000 feet above sea level, had been a sacred site for the Muisca people. This small lake was unusual due to its nearly circular shape, 1,500 feet in diameter. Its origin adds to its mystery — a volcanic crater, the impact crater left by a meteor, or a sinkhole fed by underground springs.

  Between 1515 and 1538, the Castilians began colonizing the northern coast of present-day Columbia and Venezuela:

1515 Cumana, Venezuela
The first permanent European settlement in mainland South America. Indigenous resistance was so fierce that the town was attacked and destroyed multiple times before the Castilians firmly established control.

1525 Santa Marta, Columbia
The oldest surviving Castilian city in Columbia.

1527 Coro, Venezuela
The first Castilian capital in Venezuela and an early hub for Castilian control over the region.

1528 Nueva Cádiz, Venezuela
Prospered due to pearl harvesting in the Caribbean until overfishing of pearls, hurricanes, and declining trade led to its abandonment in 1545.

1529 Maracaibo,Venezuela
Initially named Villa de Maracaibo, it became a center for Castilian control over the Lake Maracaibo region. The local Wayuu people’s resistance to Castilian rule forced the city to be abandoned a number of times before it was permanently reestablished in 1574.

1533 Cartagena de Indias, Columbia
Quickly became one of the most important cities in Spanish America due to its stratic port for shipping gold and silver back to Castile along with its role in the slave trade.

1538 Bogotá, Columbia
Although not on the coast, Bogotá became the political and administrative capital of the region.

 
Santa Marta became a base for exploring the interior of South America and Bogotá became the base for Castilian expansion into the Andean highlands.

     Early Castilian explorers observed the Muisca’s sacred ceremony where the new chieftain was covered in gold dust and rafted on Lake Guatavita. Over time, the myth evolved — the golden man became a golden city and then a golden empire.

  The original location of the ceremony of El Dorado was Lake Guatavita, 35 miles northeast of Bogatá. Over time, the location shifted as explorers searched in various parts of South America, including the Amazon basin and the Guiana.

  The allure of El Dorado sparked numerous expeditions into uncharted territories of South America. While the city of gold was never found, these expectations led to significant geographical discoveries and the exploitation, suffering, and near extinction of the Muisca people.

  The first major European expeditions in search of El Dorado were led by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, Sebastián de Belalcázar, Nikolaus Federmannn and Gonzalo Pizarro.

  Quesada set out in 1536 from the Caribbean coast with around 800 men up the Magdalena River and into the highlands of present-day Columbia. Enduring harsh jungle conditions, disease, and resistance from indigenous groups, he reached the highlands of the Eastern Andes Mountains, where he encountered the Muisca Confederation. By this time, he had lost half of his men.

  The Muisca initially welcomed him and offered gifts of gold and emeralds, hoping to establish peaceful relations. The leader of the Bacatá, Zipa Tisquesusa, saw the Castiliains as a threat but did not immediately attack. The Castilians, however, launched a surprise attack, killing many Muisca warriors and forcing Tisquesusa to flee. He was later ambushed and killed leaving the southern Muisca leaderless.

  After taking Bacatá, Quesada turned his attention to Hunza, ruled by Zaque Quenuenchatocha. Unlike the Zipa, the Zaque did not resist militarily and were captured.

While Quesada plundered their gold and emeralds, there was no golden city, only religious offerings tied to the El Dorado ritual. By looting gold and emeralds from the Muisca temples and palaces, Quesada reinforced the legend of El Dorado.

  The conquest of the Muisca was swift compared to the conquest of other indigenous civilizations. There were a number of reasons why the Muisca fell so quickly. The Muisca lacked a centralized military so they did not have a standing army capable of repelling the Castilians.

Their wooden clubs and stone weapons were no match for the Castilian steel swords, firearms and cavalry. The Muisca leadership was divided between the Zipa and the Zaque and did not coordinate a defensive strategy thereby making it easier for the Castilians to take over each region, separately, and the Castilians exploited rivalries between different Muisca chiefdoms, using some as allies against others. Finally, like other indigenous groups, the Muisca were devastated by smallpox and other European diseases.

  As Quesada was conquering the Muisca, Sebastián de Belalcázar, a former lieutenant of Francisco Pizarro, and one who helped Pizarro conquer the Inca Empire, became obsessed with the legend of El Dorado. He traveled from Quito, Ecuador, marching northward in search of the legendary city of gold. His forces clashed with indigenous groups, but instead of finding gold, he found Quesada’s forces already in control of the region.

  Around this time, Nikolaus Federmannn, a German in Castilian service, arrived from the plains of Venezuela, having endured a brutal trek through the Llanos and Andes. By the time he reached Bogotá, both Quesada and Belalcázar had already staked their claims. With three rivals, rather than engage in open warfare, they agreed to sail together to Castile to petition the Council of the Indies to resolve their dispute. None emerged victorious. The Council appointed a new governor, thereby discouraging independent conquest in the region.

  After the conquest of the Muisca, the Castilians established Bogotá as its center of colonial administration in New Granada, the former Muisca lands. The Muisca were forced into encomiendas, where they worked in Castilian-controlled agriculture and gold mines. The Muisca religion, culture, and language (Muysccubun) declined under Castilian rule.

Several years after Quesada, Gonzalo Pizarro, the younger half-brother of Francisco Pizarro, was ordered to explore east of Quito to investigate the rumors of a rich native kingdom to the east, called El Dorado. Among those he recruited was Francisco de Orellana, a veteran of the conquest of the Incas and a dependable supporter of the Pizarro brothers. As the expedition was running low on food, Orellana was sent to scout for supplies but ended up journeying down the entire Amazon River. Along the way, his men heard indigenous stories of great wealth, which he interpreted as El Dorado. He became the first European to navigate the Amazon River – but he found no city of gold. When he attempted a second expedition to claim lands in the region, his fleet became stranded and he died at sea.

  Following the initial expedition of Quesada, Belalcázar, Federmann, Gonzalo Pizarro and Orellana in the late 1530s and early 1540s, there was a notable pause in major quests for El Dorado. This pause can be attributed to several factors. The early explorers’ failure to discover the city of gold despite enduring significant hardships, led to a decline in enthusiasm. This was followed by the directives of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor (who also was Charles I of Castile and Aragon) in 1550 when he ordered the suspension of all expeditions as he convened the Valladolid Debate to address the ethical implications of Spanish conquest in the Americas.

  By the late 1500s, the legend of El Dorado experienced a resurgence. Renewed interest was spurred by persistent tales of a golden city, coupled with geopolitical ambitions and the desire for wealth. Explorers such as Pedro de Ursúa, Lope de Aguirre, Antonio de Berrio and Sir Walter Raleigh embarked on new expeditions with the benefit of earlier accounts and maps as they ventured into even more remote and uncharted territories.

  In 1559, Pedro de Ursúa received permission from the Viceroy of Peru to equip an expedition to the Amazon. He believed that El Dorado was in the lands of the Omagua people along the Amazon River. His venture was marred by internal dissent, culminating in a mutiny led by Lope de Aguirre. Ursúa was murdered in his sleep by Aguirre who seized command, and abandoned the quest for El Dorado, opting instead to navigate the Amazon River with the intention of conquering Peru. His journey ended in Barquisimeto where he was either killed by his own men or captured and executed by the Castilians.

  Antonio de Berrio, the Castilian governor of Trinidad and nephew to Quesada, undertook multiple expeditions between 1583 and 1595 in search of El Dorado. His endeavors led him through the Colombian plains and along the Orinoco River. During his third expedition, Berrio was captured by Sir Walter Raleigh who became intrigued by the legend. Raleigh compelled Berrio to serve as his guide as they ventured up the Orinoco River. Despite their efforts, the city of gold eluded them. After Raleigh returned to England, he wrote a book, The Discovery of Guiana, exaggerating his discoveries, including the golden city. His second expedition was also a failure. His men attacked a Castillian outpost, violating a peace treaty and direct orders from King James I. During this battle, Raleigh’s son was killed. When Raleigh returned to England, the king had him executed for treason.

  While the Muisca did not have the gold reserves as did the Incas, their legendary gold working skills fueled the El Dorado myth, driving further Castalian exploration in South America.

Although the search for El Dorado was a failure in terms of finding the city of gold, its impact on the indigenous populations, colonial expansion, and South American geography was enormous. Entire civilizations were wiped out, new territories were incorporated into the Castilian Empire, and the obsession with gold reshaped global trade and economics.

  The legend of El Dorado, despite being just a myth, continues to captivate imaginations, symbolizing the eternal human question for wealth, glory, and the unknown.

Martin A. Frey
February 10, 2025