The Loss of El Dorado: A Colonial History

by V.S. Naipaul

Pulitzer Prize winner, Naipaul tells in great detail the history of the Caribbean, particularly how Trinidad became a haven for slave trade and revolutionaries.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel, Nobel Prize, World History, Historical

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

V. S. Naipaul was a British writer of Indo-Trinidadian descent known for his sharp, often controversial explorations of postcolonial societies, identity, and displacement. His works, which include both fiction and nonfiction, often depict themes of exile, cultural alienation, and the lingering effects of colonialism.
He gained early recognition with A House for Mr Biswas, a novel inspired by his father’s struggles in Trinidad. His later works, such as The Mimic Men, In a Free State, and A Bend in the River, cemented his reputation as a masterful and incisive writer. Beyond fiction, his travelogues and essays, including Among the Believers and India: A Million Mutinies Now, reflected his critical perspective on societies in transition.
Naipaul received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded for his ability to blend deep observation with literary artistry. While praised for his prose, his often unsparing portrayals of postcolonial nations and controversial statements sparked both admiration and criticism.

Reviews

[Annemiek · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I have to say that this is a very interesting story. this book is about the History of the Caribbean, mainly about Trinidad. The loss of El Dorado, the mythical kingdom of gold, written by V.S. Naipaul a native of Trinidad.

I found the book after finishing the Uncharted games on the Playstation, I know it sounds a little weird but the games were based on several different books and one of them is The loss of El Dorado.
Normally I do not read books like this but I found it very amazing to read and find that the book does not have enough credit for the work V.S. Naipaul put into it.

[Czarny Pies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an absolutely brilliant history of V.S. Naipaul's native Trinidad covering the period from the late 16th Century to the early nineteenth century. Growing up as an Asian Indian in a British Caribbean colony with a large Black population and a small American Indian population, Naipul has proved throughout his carreer to be a brilliant chronicler of the rules of the game that govern relations between racial communities in a colonial setting. His brilliant talent in this area makes the Loss of El Dorado a delightful book to read and stands as a truly great piece of historical writing.

Unfortunately, the Loss of El Dorado which after consuming two years of time to research and write sold very poorly. V.S. Naipaul then returned to the field of fiction which is perhaps a lost because this book however badly it sold is truly first-rate.

[Paloma]

DNF @ 23%.

Reseña en Español | Review in English

Creo que fue una pésima idea intentar acercarme a Naipul a través de este texto. En general disfruto mucho los libros de historia y más sobre la Conquista, pero esta lectura me resultó demasiado densa y aburrida. Además, Naipul toma citas largas escritas en el inglés del siglo XVI y pues nada me hacía sentido. Lamento abandonar el libro, pero esperaba algo más interesante pues, aunque muchos lo duden, la historia de la conquista es apasionante, y quería conocer más sobre esta etapa en la región del Caribe.
_______

I am sorry but I found the writing awfully dense, and very boring. We are talking about the Conquest, about about search for El Dorado! There should be some sense of excitement, of dread. But no. Guess Naipul chose a very formal, historical tone which ended up not working for me.

[Denis Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Antigua native Fuzzy Samuel gave me this book around 1979, for a little background on his homeland. I read it and loved it but Wiki here tells it better than I do (only four stars 'cause even V.S. Naipaul thought he could have done better :))

Naipaul looks at the Spanish/British colonial rivalry in the Orinoco basin, drawing on contemporary sources written in Spanish and English[1:]. The book examines the obsessive quest for gold which was typical of the first Europeans to explore the region. In particular, Sir Walter Raleigh's voyages are examined with a psychological depth more typical of novels than historical works.
In the second half of the book the focus shifts to Trinidad which was under British rule from the end of the eighteenth century, but Naipaul also looks at Venezuela's wars of independence.
Like most of Naipaul's work, "The Loss of El Dorado" has received considerable critical recognition. On publication its admirers included the Cambridge historian John H. Plumb. However, the author has confessed to not being completely happy with his book. He reworked some of its material in a later book, A Way in the World, where historical narrative is treated in a different way, and is in part rendered as fiction.

The parts that impressed me were the simple way in which these places would change hands. Basically whatever gunboat was in the harbor was the ruling entity. The years between Raleigh's voyages were interesting, due in part to his time in the Tower of London and the difficulty raising the confidence and capital for another trip . . . which could only turn a profit by the return of gold or some such valuable commodity.

Another point was the escape of the native Caribs with the onslaught of the Europeans and their African slaves. Also the Orinoco river could be particularly nasty and is home to some of the most gruesome parasites.

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, disappointing. Though interesting at times, it was the fact that the sequences felt highly unorganized that left me confused and having to go back and re-read pages.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would that more fine novelists wrote histories. This is a gripping narrative, probing and pertinent. I read it decades ago, so I shall not belabor the reader with details, though I can say that a few quotations from Naipaul would make this review read better. I do recall being surprised that it was not fiction, since I'd read House for Mr Biswah, Miguel Street, Mystic Masseur and a couple others. He had not yet written all the journalism, like A Tour in the South, or Among the Believers, that came to populate his later works.

[Daniel J. Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps a little too much information. Becomes dry as the story goes on, but full of interesting stories and personalities. An area of the world I knew little about, and now, I know a little more.

[Tiara Chutkhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing books packed with the details of Trinidads colonial history. Highly recommend for anyone looking to do research for school, work or personal reasons.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4 this history was an apt pairing with 'a house for mister biswas', naipaul's trinidad-set novel, which i enjoyed imbibing a couple of years ago. 'el dorado' tells much of what happened to trinidad from its discovery by europeans up until the arrival of his forebears - who were the models for 'biswas'. the disconnect between the two books is sharp - imperial uprootings of populations don't make for a smooth organic tale. indeed, naipaul comments at the end of this on how little known by trinidadians their history is.

naipaul brings alive the spanish and british colonial rulers and those they had to contend with, including the venezuelan sometime revolutionary miranda. along with the el dorado-deluded spaniards, one who stood out for me was governor sir thomas picton - an aggressive welsh soldier who was played by jack hawkins in the film 'waterloo' (where he died more gloriously than he administered trinidad).

there are glimpses from several angles of the immigrant and slave melting pot that the island became, including especially punishments, as records were kept of these, including those leading to court cases back in the UK. there wasn't enough social history for my taste, but i understand that the available sources were those of the most literate and influential. the economy seemed to become that of sugar export, but this didn't get much discussed either; nor did the island's natural environment.

still, the occasional brilliant, usually mournful naipaul touch made it worthwhile - including convincing guesses at how miranda must have felt, crossed between his dream of liberating south america, the son he had had with his housekeeper back in grafton street in london, and the frustration that trinidad offered. good to see empire up close and as often petty as cruel. disputes between those you might think would be content to dominate jointly were relentless. strange species we are: so social and so anti-social.

[Abram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know what tour de force actually means, but this book is what those words feel like just on vibes.

It's not quite like anything I've ever read before. I think I have my timelines correct in saying that John McPhee's style and content probably owes a little bit to works like this being in the air and it probably owes a little bit to Frantz Fanon in its subject matter. It's simultaneously a book obsessed with a very small place in a small place in a big world but covers action in London and Trinidad through the right of the novelist to bend space to fit story. It's a great man version of history that's saved from automatic error by the subsuming of whatever voice the author has (I have no idea what V.S. Naipaul thinks about British colonialism or colonialism in general after 400 pages, and that's an achievement in and of itself) into a merry-go-round of the interior thoughts of the men who came, failed, and shuffled off into history elsewhere. The only thing, in fact, that I'm able to learn about Naipaul from these pages is that, regardless of birth, parentage, or tradition, he is British all the way in the most intellectual of ways.

The things that make this one good history of Trinidad would probably disqualify it from real adoption today, but I guess you can get away with some things when you are a Nobel laureate, so who knows. If you read a review describing this book as some sort of bleak indictment of colonialism, imperialism, or whichever Atlantic age empire, know that these are more likely the views of the reviewer than the views of the author as shown forth in this book.

All history that involves great men and the narratives that we invent for them should be written by novelists, I think.

[Cool_guy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A confused, unorganized book about transition from the high drama of the Spanish empire, based on the individual personalities of the conquistadors, cruel and rapacious men from the pre-modern era, to the cold bureaucracy of the British, told through the lens of Trinidad. Its failings as a scholarly work are made up for by Naipaul's literary abilities -- the guy could put together a sentence.

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Völlig atypisch für Naipaul: Eine konzise und interessante Geschichte Trinidads vom 16. bis 19 Jahrhundert.

[Sajith Kumar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul is a Nobel Prize-winning author of Indian origin, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago. He is basically a novelist who has published more than thirty books of fiction as well as non-fiction in the genre of autobiography and history. Medieval Europeans believed in the existence of a city constructed of gold somewhere in South America. Fevered quests for locating the city obviously failed, resulting in considerable loss of life. As a corollary to the pursuit, Spanish conquistadores established many colonies scattered over the area. The British and the French soon intervened, with disastrous results for the Spanish. This historical narrative describes two distinctive phases in the development of Trinidad as a British colony – the wiping off of Indians from the island and two centuries later, of establishing a slave colony. As slavery was abolished in the 19th century, plantations died down. Indentured labour from the Gangetic plains emigrated to the Caribbean to tide over the shortage of labour as a result of manumission. The author himself is a descendant of them.

The dismal plight of the Black slaves who toiled in Trinidad is distressing to modern minds accustomed to social justice and racial equality. They were grabbed from Africa by slave traders and sold to the Caribbean islanders to provide much needed manpower to get its plantations going. Many died due to diseases and overwork, and then unceremoniously disposed off. Naipaul uses the term ‘Negro’ throughout the book to heighten the sense of affront against the despised practice of slavery. They were bought and sold like commodity and the government even taxed the transactions. Immigrants in Trinidad who came with their own slaves would pay no taxes on their Negroes for ten years, and they could import slaves duty-free for ten years. If the money was used to buy Negroes, goods could be taken out of the island and sold subject only to a five per cent tax, whereas trade with foreign nationals were banned in all other cases (p.113). Severe restrictions were imposed on the slaves’ social life after working hours. Negroes from one plantation was not allowed to mix with Negroes from others. Their diversions were to end before prayers. Marriage was to be encouraged between slaves to increase the number of them. The owner of the husband was to have the option of buying the wife at a fair valuation, or he was to sell the husband to the owner of the wife (p.115). The white masters literally ensured conditions ripe for the ‘breeding’ of Negro populations. A woman who had more than three children and kept them healthy was to be given a dollar a year per child; a woman who had seven would be spared all field labour (p.167). The native Indians were free, but their numbers quickly diminished due to diseases, extermination in large numbers and conversion to Christianity. Trinidad’s Indian population of 40,000 dwindled in a century to a tenth of that number, at 4000.

Though authored by a Nobel laureate, the book is unimpressive to general readers from other parts of the world. Naipaul recounts the history of his native island, which is much relevant only to its society. Perhaps this indifference of other societies in what is going on in the Caribbean and Americas might have been one of the reasons why slavery persisted there for more than it prevailed elsewhere. But anyway, the highly localized narrative of a small colonial island is, unfortunately rather dull. What rescues the readers from boredom is the lucid and artful depiction of the events, suffused thoroughly with dry humour.

We are presented with a ringside view of the rapid changes in colonial equations as far as Trinidad was concerned. The island was first colonized by the Spanish, but adventurers like Walter Raleigh conquered it on behalf of Britain. This ended up in a curious situation, in which the island was administered by British governors under Spanish law, even though people of French, English and other nationalities also inhabited the island. When a case went in appeal to England, its judges were expected to pass verdict based on Spanish law, which they didn’t know. People with an enlightened mind who came to Trinidad with the firm resolve to end slavery, were also forced to put up with the practice on account of prudence. There are a few people who still argue that the condition of the free working class was in fact worse than slaves immediately after slavery was did away with. Their point is basically an economic one, that is, harming a slave physically was not in the interest of the master, because his capacity for work is diminished. But human nature, particularly in its vindictive genre, is unpredictable as can be seen in many places in the book in which owners maltreat their slaves in a fit of anger which may even result in death or mutilation, like cutting off ears.

The book is not recommended.

[Larry Ggggggggggggggggggggggggg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than all his fcition stuff I read idk

[Salvatore · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was at the Atlantic Antic this weekend and while walking around looking for lunch I came across a stand that was selling bake and shark. Of course I had to have it. It had mango and tamarind chutney on top! While waiting for the fish to be fried up, I noticed that the Trinidad and Tobago flag was flying on the side of the stand. Which made me think, I should read The Loss of El Dorado, at long last. It's been sitting at home for ages. Naipaul would want me to get on this. And this bake and shark is amazing.

Towards the end I was skimming, but Naipaul creates two very interesting narrative histories - the search of El Dorado during the Conquistador period of Trinidad's history, and the effects of this search hundreds of years later as the English slave trade is coming to an end. Fascinating stuff, told with engagement. It just became too much for me to take in. Lots of names and specificity that are important for history but got me bogged down. The overall themes and points were what carried me. The bake and shark clearly just exhausted my mind and stomach. But I'd have it again. And again.

[Bert van der Vaart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is probably not for everyone, but for those with an interest in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Venezuela and the history of the Caribbean, and possibly of slavery in the Caribbean. Clearly this is a niche which is important to VS Naipaul--born in Trinidad and Tobago (TT). Naipaul goes into detail over how TT was originally Carib, then Spanish (sort of) and then British (sort of)--all for different reasons. For the Spanish--rumors of the existence of the city of gold brought a number of hapless explorers through--to no profit (at least not to those returning). To the British, a variety of poorly thought through plans: a launch pad to conquering Spanish America being one of the less poorly articulated (if not executed) plans. TT also became the home for French and other colonials from the Caribbean from islands where the slave population rebelled and challenged such colonials--with TT becoming a sort of haven for slave-owning colonialists seeking a more stable home. All to indifferent results--with according to Naipaul, TT (and Venezuela) becoming far too simple and divided colonies which were not based on any solid foundation of laws and common culture, but instead grounds where communities and individuals fought with each other over who could plunder the country to greatest self-advantage. In part, Naipaul argues, this lacking sense of organic history and local culture was due to the "exile's compensating sense of temporariness"--life for many there was a temporary tour--just to make enough money to solve problems in England or to achieve a superior position in colonial administration, etc.

Naipaul displays his characteristic sense of irony and hint that things will not go as planned--whether for the numerous expeditions that seek to overthrow Spain in Venezuela, or successive and poorly prepared English governors who begin thinking they can achieve better results than their predecessors, whether in collecting taxes from the planters or in improving the treatment of the slaves. Naipaul also delves into the various poisoning waves of slaves from unpopular planters (generally apparently perpetrated by hidden cadres of slaves and freed men) and threatened violence and uprising by slaves (especially from the French islands who were transported by their masters leaving the French islands precisely because of revolts from the local slave population.

Naipaul--never kind to his communities of origin, quotes "Generally colonies are peopled by the refuse of the Mother Country, but Trinidad is peopled by the refuse of other colonies."

A potentially fascinating character is "General" Miranda--an exiled Venezuelan, befriended by British nobles in England, who spends his life planning on leading a revolution into Venezuela--for that nation to become free from Spain and somehow loyal to England. But after decades of borrowing and waiting, Miranda quickly fails on two laughably prepared incursions into Venezuela, and before he could try to launch a third, England and Spain become allies against France. According to Naipaul, Miranda thus made the "appalling discovery, at the end of a long political life...that the society was wrong, the cause was wrong and the good words didn't fit." To see a man whose entire life was spent on a cause which turned out to be not the cause he thought it to be--is a level of tragedy worthy of a Shakespearean play.

At the end of the book, Naipaul concludes that Trinidad was a bust, a chimera, not only for Spanish dreams of the city of gold, but also of English dreams of being the gateway to Latin America--whether by trade or by conquest. With imported slaves and indentured servants from not only Africa and England itself, but also from Asia--Trinidad became "the Empire in little"--with settlers from South Asia, West Africa, the Middle East and America, as well as Latin America and the various French Caribbean islands. Too far away from Europe, it was not strategically or resource-wise (at least until the post WWII discovery of off shore oil and gas) worth enough to deploy significant resources. Naipaul concludes his glum assessment with the death of the major domo of an Englishman-owned plantation--who is discovered to have poisoned 130 slaves and the master's new born son. The lack of trust between communities and between even members of the same communities--to Naipaul, this seems to characterize the superficial but dangerous life in Trinidad and by implication to all colonies. Naipaul's later "The Killings in Trinidad"--pick up with this and other themes in post-independence Trinidad and Tobago. I have thankfully had better experiences in Trinidad--nevertheless, Naipul's story interjects notes of caution, as well as reasons to be thankful of having been brought up in the USA and the Netherlands.

If you care about Trinidad and want to discover that country's historical roots, this is a very good book If you are not interested, I would guess you would give this book a miss.

[Astrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chaos, Rechtlosigkeit, Willkür – mit einer Mischung aus Humor und Sarkasmus beobachtet Naipaul minutiös und ziemlich abgeklärt, wie Beamte, tausende von Kilometern weit weg vom Zentralstaat, Ordnung und Struktur auf der Insel Trinidad zu schaffen versuchen, die erst spanisch, dann englisch kolonisiert war. Und dabei selbst den Verführungen der Willkür erliegen, ihre Werte verlieren – oder daran zerbrechen, sie durchzusetzen zu versuchen.

Sehr erheiternd schildert Naipaul, wie die Spanier am Anfang ihre Ordnung durchzusetzen versuchen, und der „cabildo“ (eine Art Gemeinderat) der damaligen Hauptstadt St. Joseph ihnen mitteilt, sie hätten nicht einmal eine Kiste, in der sie offizielle Dokumente verwahren könnten, und auch keine Werkzeuge oder Fertigkeiten, eine solche herzustellen.
Richter kommen und gehen; sie können Recht und Gesetz nicht durchsetzen oder gar nachhaltig etablieren.

Eine Zeitlang setzen Gefängniswärter und Gouverneur gemeinsam ihre seltsame, brutale Ordnung durch. Es wird gefoltert, vergiftet, hingerichtet. Kein Mensch weiß, nach welchen Gesetzen. Jahrzehnte lang wird nicht entschieden, ob auf Trinidad englische oder spanische Gesetze gelten, und es gilt letztlich das Recht des Stärkeren.

Die Kolonialmacht ist nackt, und Naipaul zeigt ihre Nacktheit in allen Facetten der Hilflosigkeit, Gleichgültigkeit, Vernachlässigung, Inkompetenz. Wie der spanische König so gerne schreibt: „No hay che risponder“ – es gibt nichts zu antworten. Egal, wie dringlich die Klagen und Bitten sein mögen. Sie ist nicht wichtig genug, im Weltreich, diese kleine Insel mit ihren verkommenen Siedlern und ihren erst gefährlichen, dann durch Ausbeutung und Alkoholmissbrauch unschädlich gemachten Ureinwohnern.

Eine sehr interessante, eindringliche Blaupause auf das, was uns womöglich erwartet, wenn nach Zusammenbrüchen der Zentralstaaten (derzeit noch außerhalb Europas) die Anarchie einkehrt. Der Kampf von Faktionen, größenwahnsinnigen Individuen, Banden, und die Instrumentalisierung der Bevölkerung.

Die Irrationalität des Ganzen, der meisten Akteure, ist wirklich beeindruckend. Das herauszuarbeiten, ist vielleicht die größte Stärke dieses Buchs, die Macht von Fantasien, Skripten, Wünschen, Mythen; wie sehr diese das Agieren von vielen bestimmen und (meist) ins Nichts führen. Eldorado – der Mythos, dem Raleigh erliegt. Die Revolution, das Volk, das frei sein will (was auch immer das bedeutet) und sich erhebt – das Ideal, dem Miranda erliegt.

Der gute Staat, der Menschenrechte durchsetzt – das Ideal, das durchzusetzen für einen der Gouverneure zur tödlichen (und desillusionierenden) Obsession wird.

Die Realität der Sklaverei und ihre Brutalität, aber auch das wirtschaftliche Interesse daran, überrollt die Idee während der französischen Revolution neu formulierten Menschenrechte gnadenlos. Die Mittel, sie durchzusetzen, fehlen. Der Wille sowieso – der einzige Gouverneur von Trinidad, der von den damals neuen Ideen durchdrungen ist, kapituliert sofort. Die Abschaffung der Sklaverei auf Trinidad würde eine Revolution bedeuten, und alternative Wirtschaftsmodelle / Geschäftsmodelle erfordern. Dafür fühlt sich der Idealist und Verwaltungsbeamte aber nicht zuständig.

Vor den Sklaven haben natürlich alle Angst, sie bleiben für die Herrschenden eine gesichtslose Masse, die unterdrückt werden muss, um der Ordnung willen.

Auch sie leben übrigens in ihren Fantasien, die einige (buchstäblich) den Kopf kosten – Könige und Hofstaat zu haben und entsprechende Beziehungen zu pflegen, und sich mit Hoffnungen auf Revolution und Rache (völlig unausgereift) über Wasser zu halten.

Und natürlich gibt es ehemalige Sklaven, die, einmal frei gekommen, selbst Sklaven halten. Der Folterknecht des Gefängnis-Aufsehers, ein Schwarzer und selbst Sklave, hat keine Schwierigkeiten damit, seinesgleichen zu foltern oder zu töten.

Am Ende geht Naipaul noch kurz auf die Auswirkungen der gewalttätigen Sklavenhalter-Gesellschaft auch auf die Freien und ihre Beziehungen ein – die durch die Gewalt ebenfalls vergiftete ist. Ich fasse zum Schluss noch seine Schilderungen der Auswirkungen auf den Umgang mit Kindern zusammen:


Die Gewalt wird ritualisiert: Verprügelte Kinder gelten als „gesegnet“, der Gewalttäter als „Gesandter“, „Segnender“, der während des Gewaltexzesses quasi in „heiliger“ Trance sei, und dem mit Ehrfurcht zu begegnen sei. Das Kind bekommt danach was Süßes. Und: „Menschen stehen einander näher nach einer Segnung“.

„Das Drama der Auspeitschungen auf den Plantagen wird hier in einen Traum von Gemeinschaft umgewandelt. In den nächtlichen Königreichen der Sklaven spielte der „große Richter“, der in der Nacht straft wie bei Tag der Aufseher, eine wichtige Rolle.“

Tja, so geht's zu bei Menschheits. Besser, man weiß es.

[Bob Newman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trinidad in the bush of ghosts*

In the early days the Americas were unknown but surely full of marvels, not to mention riches beyond belief. Cortes went to Mexico, Pizarro to Peru and look what they found. For sure there must have been more and then there was the legend of El Dorado, another Indian realm where the king, coated in gold dust, was dipped in a lake from time to time. The Spaniards and other Europeans wasted treasure and lives looking for that elusive place. They were chasing their own imaginations, gone feverish thanks to the stories of liars and tales thought up by Indians who just told the white guys what they wanted to hear. Trinidad was the sparsely-settled base for many an expedition that set off in search. The Indians of Trinidad were milder than the fierce, cannibalistic Caribs to the north. The island offered more territory than any other between there and Puerto Rico, yet it remained an obscure corner of the Spanish imperial domain, famous only for what might be found BEYOND. Naipaul calls Trinidad “a ghost province”. Nobody even wanted to be governor. By the end of the 17th century, Trinidad was off the map, the end of the line, Empire-wise! Columbus had arrived in 1498, but nothing much happened afterwards. Even by 1757, the so-called capital was a tumbledown, half-abandoned wreck of a dead-endsville.
If you read the first section of this strange book, you will imbibe a rather weird atmosphere that seemed to prevail, at least in Naipaul’s telling. It’s a skillful book, part history, part novel but very hard to define which is which. Not only did the dream of El Dorado fade away, the island itself failed to prosper. The dream of prosperity foundered on the rocks of weak government, lack of attention, and slavery. A few immigrants appeared, but stagnation was the name of the game of Spain.
Suddenly, when Europe was going through the grand upheavals of the Napoleonic wars, Britain took over Trinidad in 1797. Smaller islands to the north had long since thriven on sugar; a wealthy class of plantation owners had mansions in London and even seats in Parliament. The rest of this strange book dwells not on a history of how the British took over and led the island to greater prosperity—though they did—but on the endless petty quarrels among the “ruling class”. The personalities of various characters loom much larger than what Trinidad was like overall. There are jailings, tortures, extra-judicial killings, angry letters, return voyages to England to seek vindication, confiscations, liaisons with people of the “lower races” (shock, horror), intrigues ad infinitum. Some characters prove harsh and violent, others more benevolent, but all were in it for what they could get. Court cases run for years, governors come and go, almost always leaving some scandals behind. One astute fellow managed to return to England with the entire contents of the Trinidad treasury. The slave trade, the waste of human life, and the horrific punishments meted out for peanuts will sadden you to a pain in your heart.
So, I can’t say that the book provides a thorough view of Trinidad, but it’s certainly a rare one. What if we looked at colonial America through the prism of the judges at the Salem witch trials—trying to explain the whole through the part? I kept having this feeling that I was looking through a keyhole into a room where a lot was going on, but I could only see a small amount. This view led to me feeling somewhat alienated. It’s a very interesting story written in a very unusual style. Naipaul proves his usual pessimistic, critical self.

*I have ripped off my title from a fantastic but great Nigerian novel “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” by Amos Tutuola.

[Bob Newman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trinidad in the bush of ghosts*

In the early days the Americas were unknown but surely full of marvels, not to mention riches beyond belief. Cortes went to Mexico, Pizarro to Peru and look what they found. For sure there must have been more and then there was the legend of El Dorado, another Indian realm where the king, coated in gold dust, was dipped in a lake from time to time. The Spaniards and other Europeans wasted treasure and lives looking for that elusive place. They were chasing their own imaginations, gone feverish thanks to the stories of liars and tales thought up by Indians who just told the white guys what they wanted to hear. Trinidad was the sparsely-settled base for many an expedition that set off in search. The Indians of Trinidad were milder than the fierce, cannibalistic Caribs to the north. The island offered more territory than any other between there and Puerto Rico, yet it remained an obscure corner of the Spanish imperial domain, famous only for what might be found BEYOND. Naipaul calls Trinidad “a ghost province”. Nobody even wanted to be governor. By the end of the 17th century, Trinidad was off the map, the end of the line, Empire-wise! Columbus had arrived in 1498, but nothing much happened afterwards. Even by 1757, the so-called capital was a tumbledown, half-abandoned wreck of a dead-endsville.
If you read the first section of this strange book, you will imbibe a rather weird atmosphere that seemed to prevail, at least in Naipaul’s telling. It’s a skillful book, part history, part novel but very hard to define which is which. Not only did the dream of El Dorado fade away, the island itself failed to prosper. A few immigrants appeared, but stagnation was the name of the game of Spain.
Suddenly, when Europe was going through the grand upheavals of the Napoleonic wars, Britain took over Trinidad in 1797. Smaller islands to the north had long since thriven on sugar; a wealthy class of plantation owners had mansions in London and even seats in Parliament. The rest of this strange book dwells not on a history of how the British took over and led the island to greater prosperity—though they did—but on the endless petty quarrels among the “ruling class”. The personalities of various characters loom much larger than what Trinidad was like overall. There are jailings, tortures, extra-judicial killings, angry letters, return voyages to England to seek vindication, confiscations, liaisons with people of the “lower races” (shock, horror), intrigues ad infinitum. Some characters prove harsh and violent, others more benevolent, but all were in it for what they could get. Court cases run for years, governors come and go, almost always leaving some scandals behind. One astute fellow managed to return to England with the entire contents of the Trinidad treasury. The slave trade, the waste of human life, and the horrific punishments meted out for peanuts will sadden you to a pain in your heart.
So, I can’t say that the book provides a thorough view of Trinidad, but it’s certainly a rare one. What if we looked at colonial America through the prism of the judges at the Salem witch trials—trying to explain the whole through the part? I kept having this feeling that I was looking through a keyhole into a room where a lot was going on, but I could only see a small amount. This view led to me feeling somewhat alienated. It’s a very interesting story written in a very unusual style. Naipaul proves his usual pessimistic, critical self.

*I have ripped off my title from a fantastic but great Nigerian novel “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” by Amos Tutuola.

[Tom Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

my low expectations were greatly exceeded. Painstaking investigation into Trinidad's sad history. Slavery leaves a cursed past.

trivia: Robinson Crusoe's island was based on Tobago.

trivia: the word for tobacco was first Trinidado.

"new evidence now suggests humans have been shooting poison arrows through the last 72,000 years." the Caribbean natives were adept at the use of poisoned arrows. what the native Indians could not adapt to was the many European diseases. Of course it appears that the New World did give the Old World syphilis. I thought that had been somewhat debunked but nope, a Google check shows that opinion prevails.

given the numbers of colonial powers vying for control of the Caribbean, the history of the struggle gets complicated. British, Spanish, French (Royalists and Republican) and later on African slave revolutionaries makes this read, at times, head spinning. Today's enemy could be tomorrow's ally. Following the convolutions of this story was, for some chapters, tedious which is why I gave the book 4-stars instead of 5.

The chapters on the torture of Luisa Calderón are the most gripping. Looking at where we find ourselves today, it doesn't appear that we have progressed much; if at all.

Racism; the French identified 128 variations of color; mulatto, quadroon, marabou, socatra, sang-mêlé...sheesh.

the piquet; "a form of military punishment used by the British in the late 17th century in which a soldier was forced to stand on one foot on a pointed stake." just one aspect of the torture used on Luisa. Luisa was not a slave, about 14, she was the daughter of a manumitted Venezuelan mulatto woman, so a different standard in court applied. Page 229 - "Under Spanish law a slave's evidence was valid only if given under torture." Here it would seem that the words slave and Negro were interchangeable. Thomas Picton was at that time governor of Trinidad and wound up being tried in Britain for the illegal use of torture. The trial garnered a great deal of interest in London.
https://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/ne...
page 288 - during the early 1800s, four of five inhabitants of Trinidad were slaves.

There is so much in this book (slave poisoning, slave dirt eating) maybe I should have given it 5 stars. V.S. Naipaul was a complicated man.

Page 326 - "It is how history is rewritten: people don't lie, they elide."

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imperial uprooting of populations don't make for a smooth organic tale writes V S Naipaul halfway through the narrative. Naipaul won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. He has written many novels but this was a departure from his fiction. The book is well researched, he spent two years working on it. The Loss of El Dorado is an attempt to draw out an older, deeper history of Trinidad, one preceding its commonly taught history as a British-run plantation economy of slaves and indentured workers. The history focuses on two important historical figures, Sir Walter Raleigh and Francisco Miranda. In 1595 Raleigh made a raid on Port of Spain, in Trinidad, a port established by the Spanish as a base for their delusional search for El Dorado, a mythical city of gold. 

The first part of the book focuses on Raleigh's exploits in the New World, the second part is dominated by the handling of Trinidad at the time of the Napoleonic wars. The British, French, Dutch and Spanish all had interests in Trinidad, control frequently changing hands.   Basically whatever gunboat was in the harbor was the ruling entity. Trinidad was officially Spanish until 1797, largely settled by French colonists, then it was administered by the British using Spanish law until 1814 when it fell officially into British hands by the Treaty of Paris (1814).

It is a rather dry history of colonialism. Lots of names and specificity that are important for history but got me bogged down. In 1797 there were 159 sugar estates, 130 coffee estates, 60 cocoa estates, and 103 cotton estates. The black slaves throughout the book are referred to as "Negroes", there is much detail of their punishments and poisonings, which makes for grim reading.  Empire viewed up close is often petty as cruel. There was no El Dorado to be found and apart from a few sparks Trinidad in the nineteenth century fell into being a colonial backwater of little interest. The highly localized narrative of a small colonial island is, unfortunately rather dull. What rescues the readers from boredom is the lucid and artful depiction of the events, suffused thoroughly with dry humour.

This is the first book I have read relating to the history of the Caribbean. Previous histories I have read have tended to be related to Europe or Australia. I would be interested to read some of Naipaul's fiction. 

[André · Rating 4 out of 5]

Citaat : Tussen de blanke en de neger bestonden voor de Fransen nog honderdachtentwintig verschillende kleurnuances, van het half-om-half van de echte mulat, tot de quadrone, de maraboe, de sacatra en de mengrassen, die ondanks een blankheid van honderdzevenentwintig graden, toch gekleurd waren.

Review : Het verlies van Eldorado dateert uit 1969 en werd in 1978 voor het eerst in Nederlandse vettaling uitgebracht. De herdenking van de niet zo kiese heldendaden van Colombus en zijn companen in 1992 maakte een heruitgave van dit historisch document, dat amper iemand kende, haast noodzakelijk. Het is non fiction die met de vlotheid van een roman geschreven werd.


Met een haast pijnlijke precisie geeft Naipaul een gedetailleerd overzicht van de 'beschavingswerken' in Trinidad van 1595 tot 1813. We kunnen dan ook terug met hem in de geschiedenis duiken en bijna visueel de goudzoekers van Spaanse origine aan het werk zien. De hebzucht van de Spaanse overheersers is dermate groot dat de oorspronkelijke bewoners van het eiland, de Indianen, hier hevig onder te lijden hebben. Het land verpaupert en de Indianen die te weerbarstig worden slacht men af of stuurt men voor heropvoeding naar Europa. Na de Spaanse overheersing neemt Engeland het roer over en maakt er, in navolging van de Amerikaanse 'broeder', een slavenkolonie van. De negers die uit Afrika werden otnvoerd om als slaven aan een nieuw Trinidad te werken, kenden onder de Spanjaarden nog een vrij mild bestaan. Onder de Engelsen werden ze als werkbeesten behandeld die probleemloos mochten worden gemarteld of vermoord, afhankelijk van de stemming van hun eigenaars of die van de Britse gezaghebbers in Trinidad. Om de lezer duidelijk te maken dat hij niets verzonnen heeft, voegde Naipaul een uitgebreid postscriptum toe waarin hij zijn werkwijze verantwoordt. 'Het verlies van Eldorado' is een monument van een boek, dat spijtig genoeg andermaal de wreedheid van het menselijk wezen beklemtoont.

[Marie Belcredi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as a preparation for a trip to the Caribbean with my daughter and grandson. The book goes into great detail into the history of Trinidad, the country of Naipaul's birth, in the 17th and 18th century.
Trinidad was first colonialised by the Spanish in the delusional search of the fabulous wealth of El Dorado. It brought adventurers who sought this wealth, travelling into the jungles of Venezuela but returning empty handed. The colony always lacked basic needs but Spain was many months away and bankrupt and never provided much in the way of needs. The advent of the English saw a complicated rule of Spanish law applied in a random way. Add into the cocktail French revolutionaries and negro slaves and the overriding government of Picton and you have a colony that is savage and arbitrary. Negro slaves are a possession only and to wreak revenge on the owner you can poison hundreds at a time and the only consideration is the money lost. The jailer Vallot does his daily routine of hanging, torturing, flogging and his special, cutting off ears of the negro slaves. If he is sloppy, the negro dies. If the owner does not pay his jail money then Vallot will repossess the slave and work him to death. Some of the cells are nasty cachot-brulents where negros were chained to the walls or placed in metal boxes. All in a days work!
Fullerton is sent by London to inspect Picton's rule and together with Hood who sides with Picton, the two parties wrangle. Eventually the two fight it out back in London's courts where truth is malleable and false fact fly about with meticulous legal detail.

[Langosta Literaria]

Por Carina Vallejo

Los discursos que tomamos como verdad suelen ser producto de historias protagonizadas y contadas por los que dominan. A LA PÉRDIDA DE EL DORADO la resguardan archivos, diarios, mapas, libros; pero si la cuestionamos y cambiamos de perspectiva, advertiremos las ausencias que guardan tales documentos. De las otras versiones casi nunca hay rastro —la grabación de testimonios orales no ha estado presente desde que nuestra especie aprendió y valoró el hecho de contar una historia—. Introducir la ficción cuando contamos la realidad ha sido un recurso ante la falta de registros; a veces, gracias a ella, no conocemos los hechos como son, sino como alguien quiso que hubieran sido.

Surajprasad Naipaul, escritor de origen trinitense-hindú, estructuró LA PÉRDIDA DE EL DORADO a partir de la pesquisa hecha en documentos del Museo Británico, en los Archivos Públicos de Londres y en la Biblioteca de la capital inglesa. LA PÉRDIDA DE EL DORADO conserva el ritmo lento que demanda la reconstrucción de un relato cuando sus partes están dispersas en diversos soportes; la sorpresa del hallazgo es otro rasgo documental que no falta en el texto. Más que para confirmar la versión de los colonizadores, la búsqueda de Naipaul en tales archivos desemboca en una narración que restaura, hasta donde es posible, la historia de un lugar “en el que habían pasado cosas pero no se notaba”: Puerto España, Trinidad.

Lee la reseña completa aquí: http://www.langostaliteraria.com/naip...

[Timothy Riley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not going to write too much on this. A book on Trinidad and its characters seemed interesting. It turns out there were a few intriguing people, mostly fractious British governors. First a Spanish colony, it was pretty much taken by the British with a vague hope of using it as a base to find El Dorado on the mainland. Then they hoped to use it as a gateway to a new British colony of South America that they were hoping to wrestle from Spain through causing revolution and confusion to minor military ways. Sir Walter Raleigh was an early adventurer here who failed miserably.

Naipaul does not speak highly of the Spanish methods of colonial administration and pretty much calls them lazy and incompetent. He seems to have the same perspective on 300 Chinese who were brought over as agricultural workers, slaves being too expensive, and had them being sent back to China. Then of course later they brought Indian laborers. Naipaul himself a descendent.

There were some interesting fights over titles and power within British ranks. Picton being barbarous and corrupt and later a hero at Waterloo. Fullarton trying to reform slave treatment without getting rid of it. And pretty much everyone agreeing that slavery was a must for the success of the islands sugar cane industry and terrified of French Republicans influence in the whole Caribbean.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Trinidadian-born writer V.S. Naipaul’s The Loss of El Dorado: A Colonial History is a Colonial History of Trinidad. The edition I read of The Loss of El Dorado was published in 2003. Naipaul’s Colonial History of Trinidad is a very literary book. The book is focused on the two times in the colonial history of Trinidad when Trinidad was important in global history in terms of the world of imagination. The first part was when European explorers used the island of Trinidad as a base to find El Dorado, “the mythical kingdom of gold in the South American mainland” according to the back cover of the book. The other era was during the Revolutionary Era and the Napoleonic War. This was a period when Venezuelan revolutionaries hoped to use the British colony of Trinidad as a base for a failed revolution to gain the independence of Venezuela and the rest of South America from the Spanish Empire. The leader of this effort was the Venezuelan-born Francisco de Miranda. During these two eras, the island of Trinidad was the basis of dreams. The book includes maps, a postscript (Naipaul 357-366), and an index. V.S. Naipaul’s The Loss of El Dorado is a well-written history book.

[Daniel Polansky]

The history of Trinidad, from its first occupation by the Spanish to the importation of the Indian workers who would become Naipaul's ancestors. Told largely from primary sources, it is the story of human corruption given free vent by the distance from the 'real', that is to say, European world. Over the course of hundreds of years the blind quest for non-existent gold and the importation of African slave labor gives birth to an inescapably immoral society, one in which no amount of decency or good intention can free an actor from the inevitable decay of colonialism. Such, at least, is Naipaul's claim, which certainly seems convincing though I imagine their must be a few Trinidadian nationalists who would take umbrage. Also, in its defense, Trini cuisine, with is distinct mix of Africa, Indian and Chinese influences is one of the great delights of the region (and to my admittedly peculiar tastebuds, the Western world), something which Naipaul tends to completely overlook in discussing his homeland. Not that any of that's anything one way or the other, I suppose, but damn if I don't love me a double.

[Barlaensdoonn · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the story itself can be shocking at times, equally as shocking is the distinct way in which Naipaul tells the history of Trinidad and the surrounding area through the myth of this city that stands as a surrogate for all that the "conquering" parties hope to extract from this foreign land, and how it swallows them whole one by one.

[Sarah F. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was difficult to read at times because of the depth of research into the trials and tortures of the native population by the Europeans and British who were interested in their own ambitions. The research was impressively thorough, but I found it hard to focus on the narrative without feeling drained. It puts the current state of the Caribbean into perspective.

[Toni Padilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

El Nobel de literatura explora el pasado de su tierra, Trinidad y Tobago, en un libro poco literario aunque maravillosamente trabajado. Un ensayo histórico que nos lleva de los españoles buscando el Dorado a los debates sobre la esclavitud, contando casos con nombre y apellido.