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La Rivière des ténèbres
L'extraordinaire aventure de deux conquistadors du XVIè siècle, découvreurs d'un monde inconnu, dont l'un descendit pour la première fois l'Amazone, malgré lui, affrontant dangers et mystères au péril de sa vie.
En 1541, Gonzalo Pizarro et son lieutenant, Francisco de Orellana, partent de Quito à la recherche du " pays de la Cannelle " et du mythique El Dorado. À la tête d'une expédition de deux cents hommes, ils arrivent exsangues et les pieds nus de l'autre côté des Andes. Perdus dans un labyrinthe marécageux, voyant leur nombre diminuer chaque jour, les deux conquistadors prennent la décision fatidique de se séparer. Orellana et cinquante-sept soldats descendront un peu plus bas sur la rivière Napo à la recherche de vivres, tandis que les autres les attendront.
Pas un instant Orellana ne se doute que cette expédition de ravitaillement se transformera en exploration d'un continent. Sur son bateau de fortune, il croisera bientôt le cours du mystérieux Marañon, un fleuve aux dimensions gigantesques sur les eaux duquel il rejoindra l'océan.
Buddy Levy raconte l'aventure extraordinaire de ces hommes qui descendirent pour la première fois l'Amazone au péril de leur vie, confrontés aux dangers et aux mystères d'un monde inconnu.
En 1541, Gonzalo Pizarro et son lieutenant, Francisco de Orellana, partent de Quito à la recherche du " pays de la Cannelle " et du mythique El Dorado. À la tête d'une expédition de deux cents hommes, ils arrivent exsangues et les pieds nus de l'autre côté des Andes. Perdus dans un labyrinthe marécageux, voyant leur nombre diminuer chaque jour, les deux conquistadors prennent la décision fatidique de se séparer. Orellana et cinquante-sept soldats descendront un peu plus bas sur la rivière Napo à la recherche de vivres, tandis que les autres les attendront.
Pas un instant Orellana ne se doute que cette expédition de ravitaillement se transformera en exploration d'un continent. Sur son bateau de fortune, il croisera bientôt le cours du mystérieux Marañon, un fleuve aux dimensions gigantesques sur les eaux duquel il rejoindra l'océan.
Buddy Levy raconte l'aventure extraordinaire de ces hommes qui descendirent pour la première fois l'Amazone au péril de leur vie, confrontés aux dangers et aux mystères d'un monde inconnu.
346 pages, Paperback
First published February 22, 2011
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About the author
Buddy Levy
12 books585 followersBuddy Levy BIO--
Writer, educator, public speaker and entertainer, Buddy Levy is the author of Realm of Ice and Sky (St. Martin's Press, 2025); Empire of Ice & Stone (St. Martin's Press, 2022); Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition (St. Martin’s Press, 2019); No Barriers: A Blind Man’s Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon (co-authored with Erik Weihenmayer, Thomas Dunne Books, 2017; a national bestseller and Honorable Mention Award Winner in the Outdoor Literature category of the 2017 National Outdoor Book Awards); Geronimo: Leadership Strategies of An American Warrior (with Mike Leach, Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster, 2014); River of Darkness: Francisco Orellana’s Legendary Voyage of Death and Discovery Down the Amazon (Bantam Dell, 2011). His other books include Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs (Bantam Dell, 2008), which was a finalist for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award, 2009, and nominated for the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, 2009, and the PEN Center USA Award 2009; American Legend: The Real-Life Adventures of David Crockett (Putnam, 2005, Berkley Books, 2006); and Echoes On Rimrock: In Pursuit of the Chukar Partridge (Pruett, 1998). His books have been published in six languages. CONQUISTADOR is currently being considered for a television series.
As a freelance journalist Levy has covered adventure sports and lifestyle/travel subjects around the world, including several Eco-Challenges and other adventure expeditions in Argentina, Borneo, Europe, Greenland, Morocco, and the Philippines. His magazine articles and essays have appeared in Alaska Airlines Magazine, Backpacker, Big Sky Journal, Couloir, Discover, Denver 5280, Hemispheres, High Desert Journal, Poets & Writers, River Teeth, Ski, Trail Runner, Utne Reader, TV Guide, and VIA. He is clinical associate professor of English at Washington State University, and lives in northern Idaho with his wife Camie, and his black Labs Dugan and CJ.
Writer, educator, public speaker and entertainer, Buddy Levy is the author of Realm of Ice and Sky (St. Martin's Press, 2025); Empire of Ice & Stone (St. Martin's Press, 2022); Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition (St. Martin’s Press, 2019); No Barriers: A Blind Man’s Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon (co-authored with Erik Weihenmayer, Thomas Dunne Books, 2017; a national bestseller and Honorable Mention Award Winner in the Outdoor Literature category of the 2017 National Outdoor Book Awards); Geronimo: Leadership Strategies of An American Warrior (with Mike Leach, Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster, 2014); River of Darkness: Francisco Orellana’s Legendary Voyage of Death and Discovery Down the Amazon (Bantam Dell, 2011). His other books include Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs (Bantam Dell, 2008), which was a finalist for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award, 2009, and nominated for the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, 2009, and the PEN Center USA Award 2009; American Legend: The Real-Life Adventures of David Crockett (Putnam, 2005, Berkley Books, 2006); and Echoes On Rimrock: In Pursuit of the Chukar Partridge (Pruett, 1998). His books have been published in six languages. CONQUISTADOR is currently being considered for a television series.
As a freelance journalist Levy has covered adventure sports and lifestyle/travel subjects around the world, including several Eco-Challenges and other adventure expeditions in Argentina, Borneo, Europe, Greenland, Morocco, and the Philippines. His magazine articles and essays have appeared in Alaska Airlines Magazine, Backpacker, Big Sky Journal, Couloir, Discover, Denver 5280, Hemispheres, High Desert Journal, Poets & Writers, River Teeth, Ski, Trail Runner, Utne Reader, TV Guide, and VIA. He is clinical associate professor of English at Washington State University, and lives in northern Idaho with his wife Camie, and his black Labs Dugan and CJ.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 294 reviews
September 4, 2016
I always have a soft spot for books that deal with the "age of exploration ", but at the same time I can't avoid thinking of the destructive aftermath for the native communities these explorations brought. This book deals with the search by the Spanish for "el Dorado" and the discovery and eventual exploration of the Amazon river "the longest river in the world ", it deals with how the idea of conquering the tribes alongside this river drove the Spanish explorers mad , and they launched themselves to conquer a territory they didn't know , their ignorance of the land and the river was their doom and of its people. The dorado legend piqued their interest, their ego drove them on, and their lack of knowledge with a little help from the river and hostile tribes doomed them all. This book has an important anthropological argument , it demonstrates that the tribes along the Amazon river we're sophisticated enough to have civilizations expanding all through its basin , these were not wild people as the Spanish thought they were . I highly recommend this book.
March 6, 2022
Hm. I thought there would be a stronger sense of exploration in this "account of one of history's greatest adventures of discovery." You know, man battling nature instead of man doing battle with man. My bad.
I think this may have worked better for me as a fictional story. >> El país de la canela? >> Maybe a good reason for me to seriously work on my Spanish.
I think this may have worked better for me as a fictional story. >> El país de la canela? >> Maybe a good reason for me to seriously work on my Spanish.
October 16, 2022
As I read this book, I realized that a lot of what I knew about the Amazon was based on reports of nineteenth and early twentieth century expeditions. By then the indigenous populations had been nearly destroyed by European diseases, and their cultures went with them.
The situation was much different when Orellana made the first full length trip through the Amazon basin, from Peru to the Atlantic, in 1541. Fortunately for us, his chaplain, Father Carvahal, took copious notes all through the journey, documenting large communities with sophisticated trading systems, well-established trade routes, and plenty of goods to trade. His account of the trip disappeared for hundreds of years, and when it was finally published was treated with skepticism. But archeological research in recent years has determined that his observations were, in all likelihood, true. The area was densely populated and evidence has been found of impressive buildings and roads, among other things. I was reminded, also, as I read of a book on my TBR shelf recommended by Jenna - Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age.
And by the way, it was a hell of a journey - 4,000 miles, with no idea how long it would be or what was around the next bend in the river. At some points Orellana and his troops encountered friendly locals who generously shared food and lodging. But as often as not, they found themselves under siege by tribes who prevented them from landing, which meant they rarely had enough food and were frequently near death from starvation and exhaustion. Unlike many conquistadors, Orellana’s first instinct was to negotiate and to learn what he could from each tribe he interacted with; his facility with learning languages made this much easier. But when he deemed it in their best interests, fight they would.
All in all, this was a remarkable journey that, amazingly, ended with a sail in the Atlantic up the Guyana coast to a Spanish settlement, and a return to Spain. Unfortunately for Orellana, his plans to return to the Amazon and explore more thoroughly in search of El Dorado foundered for various reasons and, as with so many others, he died in the effort, having lost most of his rationality along the way.
My only real criticism was not with the book, but the narrator, who injected the sort of emotional delivery that I consider more appropriate for a work of fiction. This story is quite thrilling enough on its own!
The situation was much different when Orellana made the first full length trip through the Amazon basin, from Peru to the Atlantic, in 1541. Fortunately for us, his chaplain, Father Carvahal, took copious notes all through the journey, documenting large communities with sophisticated trading systems, well-established trade routes, and plenty of goods to trade. His account of the trip disappeared for hundreds of years, and when it was finally published was treated with skepticism. But archeological research in recent years has determined that his observations were, in all likelihood, true. The area was densely populated and evidence has been found of impressive buildings and roads, among other things. I was reminded, also, as I read of a book on my TBR shelf recommended by Jenna - Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age.
And by the way, it was a hell of a journey - 4,000 miles, with no idea how long it would be or what was around the next bend in the river. At some points Orellana and his troops encountered friendly locals who generously shared food and lodging. But as often as not, they found themselves under siege by tribes who prevented them from landing, which meant they rarely had enough food and were frequently near death from starvation and exhaustion. Unlike many conquistadors, Orellana’s first instinct was to negotiate and to learn what he could from each tribe he interacted with; his facility with learning languages made this much easier. But when he deemed it in their best interests, fight they would.
All in all, this was a remarkable journey that, amazingly, ended with a sail in the Atlantic up the Guyana coast to a Spanish settlement, and a return to Spain. Unfortunately for Orellana, his plans to return to the Amazon and explore more thoroughly in search of El Dorado foundered for various reasons and, as with so many others, he died in the effort, having lost most of his rationality along the way.
My only real criticism was not with the book, but the narrator, who injected the sort of emotional delivery that I consider more appropriate for a work of fiction. This story is quite thrilling enough on its own!
June 16, 2023
This true story was so good that I would give it 10 stars if I could. And to think that I almost put it down because I knew that the conquistadors would be killing the Indians in the Amazon But what spurred me on was that I had learned that this was probably the 1st time that white man had seen the amazon and this in 1541.
The Spanish came with many horses and dogs. It was not long before they had eaten Them all. They came with women and use them for sex slaves and cooks. But after this you never heard another word about the Women in their fate. When they arrived at the amazon river they had to build Boats in once on the waters they continued to face starvation.
What actually made this story So Interesting was the things they saw There were thousands and thousands of Indians, in some had farms, some had stores Some were warriors and some were very friendly and shared food with the travelers. It was the friendly Indians that they tried to save and at the same time they had them sign agreements to give over their land. The Indians didn't understand what was happening. And over the years the white man destroyed everything that was good on the amazon and continues to do so to this day.
Note. The author of this book is an environmentalist who also loves the amazon as I do. I have been in jungles and felt at home in them even though I knew they are dangerous. But I didn't really understand the dangers until my friend and I spend the night in the jungle. Yet, I can say that it was the best adventure that I had ever had in my life..
The Spanish came with many horses and dogs. It was not long before they had eaten Them all. They came with women and use them for sex slaves and cooks. But after this you never heard another word about the Women in their fate. When they arrived at the amazon river they had to build Boats in once on the waters they continued to face starvation.
What actually made this story So Interesting was the things they saw There were thousands and thousands of Indians, in some had farms, some had stores Some were warriors and some were very friendly and shared food with the travelers. It was the friendly Indians that they tried to save and at the same time they had them sign agreements to give over their land. The Indians didn't understand what was happening. And over the years the white man destroyed everything that was good on the amazon and continues to do so to this day.
Note. The author of this book is an environmentalist who also loves the amazon as I do. I have been in jungles and felt at home in them even though I knew they are dangerous. But I didn't really understand the dangers until my friend and I spend the night in the jungle. Yet, I can say that it was the best adventure that I had ever had in my life..
July 21, 2014
Exploring seems like a bitch.
February 4, 2024
Narrative non-fiction about Francisco Orellana’s navigation of the Amazon River in 1541-1542. It starts with the Pizarro brothers and the history of Spain’s prior conquests, which provides context. Gonzalo Pizarro and his second-in-command Francisco Orellana were searching for the Land of Cinnamon and the legendary El Dorado. Their expedition included mercenaries, enslaved natives, horses, dogs, and other animals. After crossing the Andes, they descended into the jungles and traveled down a huge river. Facing diminishing resources, they decided to separate. Orellana continued down river, while Pizarro turned back. Orellana and his fifty-seven men encountered diseases, starvation, wildlife, and attacks from indigenous tribes.
It is a tale of colonialism and conquest told as an epic adventure. It also points out the hubris of the explorers and the many reasons behind the conflicts with the indigenous people. It relies heavily on the journals of the religious men who accompanied the expedition. It is richly detailed. Levy focuses on the variety of receptions these men encountered. Some were peaceful and welcoming, providing help and guidance on how to survive in the jungles, while others were hostile. The first three-quarters, which centers on the trip down the Amazon, is the most effective. It gets a bit scattered toward the end but wraps up nicely with an account of what happened to the key players. This book will appeal to fans of epic adventures and the history of exploration.
It is a tale of colonialism and conquest told as an epic adventure. It also points out the hubris of the explorers and the many reasons behind the conflicts with the indigenous people. It relies heavily on the journals of the religious men who accompanied the expedition. It is richly detailed. Levy focuses on the variety of receptions these men encountered. Some were peaceful and welcoming, providing help and guidance on how to survive in the jungles, while others were hostile. The first three-quarters, which centers on the trip down the Amazon, is the most effective. It gets a bit scattered toward the end but wraps up nicely with an account of what happened to the key players. This book will appeal to fans of epic adventures and the history of exploration.
February 21, 2014
River of Darkness tells story Francisco Orellana's journey down the Amazon River from its Andes headwaters to the Atlantic Ocean in the 1540's. Orellana and his small band of Spanish mercenaries were the first Europeans to make the trip. Their survival and discoveries were nothing less than miraculous.
This book merits four or five stars for the effort put into its creation and for its ultimate quality. Still, when I finished reading this history, I found myself not satisfied.
Positives: 1. The prose is flawless. 2. The narrative is engaging and not difficult to follow. 3. It's a great story.
Criticisms: 1. The idea of a river in a jungle inhabited by non-Europeans being a place of darkness has been around since Conrad's Heart of Darkness. This trope is worn out and not particularly particularly appropriate for Orellana's adventures going down river. 2. The author uses the random "guess-look-guess" method of noting sources which I find inconvenient, inconsiderate, and off-putting.
River of Darkness may have been more satisfactory to me if it had been written as fiction. Francisco Orellana and Gonzalo Pizarro began their quest from Quito in search of the Land of Cinnamon and with hopes of finding the Gilded One, a jungle chieftain so wealthy his servants rubbed him down daily in flakes of gold. So abundant were these that the lake where he swam had a bottom of pure gold. The search for cinnamon disappears quickly in River of Darkness and the journey to find the Gilded One devolves too soon simply into a conquistador's quest to find gold and riches. This may reflect the available evidence in the author's sources, but I don't know. (See criticism #2 above.) The story of men risking their lives and fortunes in search of cinnamon and a man of gold seems too rich to disappear so soon in the book.
This book merits four or five stars for the effort put into its creation and for its ultimate quality. Still, when I finished reading this history, I found myself not satisfied.
Positives: 1. The prose is flawless. 2. The narrative is engaging and not difficult to follow. 3. It's a great story.
Criticisms: 1. The idea of a river in a jungle inhabited by non-Europeans being a place of darkness has been around since Conrad's Heart of Darkness. This trope is worn out and not particularly particularly appropriate for Orellana's adventures going down river. 2. The author uses the random "guess-look-guess" method of noting sources which I find inconvenient, inconsiderate, and off-putting.
River of Darkness may have been more satisfactory to me if it had been written as fiction. Francisco Orellana and Gonzalo Pizarro began their quest from Quito in search of the Land of Cinnamon and with hopes of finding the Gilded One, a jungle chieftain so wealthy his servants rubbed him down daily in flakes of gold. So abundant were these that the lake where he swam had a bottom of pure gold. The search for cinnamon disappears quickly in River of Darkness and the journey to find the Gilded One devolves too soon simply into a conquistador's quest to find gold and riches. This may reflect the available evidence in the author's sources, but I don't know. (See criticism #2 above.) The story of men risking their lives and fortunes in search of cinnamon and a man of gold seems too rich to disappear so soon in the book.
March 1, 2023
Francisco Pizzaro and Hernan Cortez are the names I always heard whenever the subject of conquistadors came up. Even I have known about Lope de Aguirre from the famous Werner Herzog's movie "Wrath of God" from early 70s.
But Francisco Orellana is a name I never heard of before. Esply, considering how important of a rediscovery he made of one of the jewels of the mother earth in the new world.
Author has done justice to this important figure by meticulously walking us through the arduous journey Orellana made with his team from Amazon's head waters to her estuary in the Atlantic. He has captured all the details of this grueling voyage in a micro level with out boring the reader. I couldn't put the book down and travelled with Orellana as one of his crew in the mighty Amazon.
I marvelled at his scribe Friar Carvajal's meticulous record keeping discipline even in the midst of constant battle with local tribes, hunger and diseases and Orellana's mostly friendly encounters with the natives unlike other conquistadors with a talent to learn their languages quick. It saved them from lot of hostile encounters.
The chapters about flat headed Omaguas who were the first people to extract wild rubber and find usage in the known history and about the reported fierce female warriors(Hence the name Amazon- "having no breasts" in Greek) are pretty interesting.
Author also introduced me to some more unknown Amazon basin explorers like Sir Walter Raleigh, Alexander Von Humboldt and La Condamine.
So many interesting unknown facts about Amazon are in this book.Unputdownable if you are a New World explorations or Conquistador enthusiast.
But Francisco Orellana is a name I never heard of before. Esply, considering how important of a rediscovery he made of one of the jewels of the mother earth in the new world.
Author has done justice to this important figure by meticulously walking us through the arduous journey Orellana made with his team from Amazon's head waters to her estuary in the Atlantic. He has captured all the details of this grueling voyage in a micro level with out boring the reader. I couldn't put the book down and travelled with Orellana as one of his crew in the mighty Amazon.
I marvelled at his scribe Friar Carvajal's meticulous record keeping discipline even in the midst of constant battle with local tribes, hunger and diseases and Orellana's mostly friendly encounters with the natives unlike other conquistadors with a talent to learn their languages quick. It saved them from lot of hostile encounters.
The chapters about flat headed Omaguas who were the first people to extract wild rubber and find usage in the known history and about the reported fierce female warriors(Hence the name Amazon- "having no breasts" in Greek) are pretty interesting.
Author also introduced me to some more unknown Amazon basin explorers like Sir Walter Raleigh, Alexander Von Humboldt and La Condamine.
So many interesting unknown facts about Amazon are in this book.Unputdownable if you are a New World explorations or Conquistador enthusiast.
May 8, 2025
Orellano's excursion down the Amazon is absolute insanity. It is a story worth every word dedicated to its telling. But I am only giving Levy's book three stars because, as with his other books, I can't help but feel a tiny bit of frustration that Levy didn't go a little deeper. Orellano's second trip to the Amazon is covered in a single chapter, and Levy could've taken more time discussing the tribes the expedition encountered along the way. It felt just a little rushed, in other words. A fast, engaging read, and a well written account, but I wanted a little more. High three stars. Very good book, but not quite excellent.
March 24, 2025
Oh wow, what an incredible book about a time period I’m still learning so much about. In 1540, Francisco de Orellana, as lieutenant to Conquistador Gonzalo Pizarro, arrived in Peru from Spain and set off from Quito, with Pizarro, to find “the land of cinnamon” and “El Dorado”, the city of gold. After Pizarro encountered troubles, he sent Orellana to continue with his men and boats, inadvertently relinquishing the discovery of Amazonian lands to Orellana, who ended up voyaging the entire length of the Amazon River and locating the mouth of the river.
Although thought for a long time to be stories of fiction, the encounters they had with tribes of “Amazonian women” and Mayan cannibals were all true. What a wild adventure that must have been.
The audiobook was fantastic and I recommend it to anyone interested in history or Wonder Woman (okay, not really, haha).
Although thought for a long time to be stories of fiction, the encounters they had with tribes of “Amazonian women” and Mayan cannibals were all true. What a wild adventure that must have been.
The audiobook was fantastic and I recommend it to anyone interested in history or Wonder Woman (okay, not really, haha).
July 6, 2014
I was actually a little disappointed with this book. I had hopes that it would be a lot better than it was. While the subject matter was very interesting, and some of the book was very good, I found that it got quite repetitive after a while. "Travel down the river...encounter some native indians...battle the indians to get some food...continue down the river...repeat..." It came a bit boring and I had some difficulty getting through it.
April 10, 2022
Just completed this excellent book! So much non-fiction is dry and dusty; a collection of facts and figures barely enlivened by the occasional lonely adjective. Levy's work reads like the best thriller, capturing my interest from beginning to end. I find myself sighing when I turn the last page, eagerly awaiting the next book by my favorite author!
August 10, 2017
How any expeditions in the 16th century actually managed to survive going down the Amazon is absolutely beyond me. Everything could kill them, yet people actually made it back alive. Amazing. Even more amazing would have been to see what South America would have been like today without the explorers, colonization and disease. What this author could perhaps have given a bit more attention to are the atrocities committed by these men...
March 28, 2011
Buddy Levy’s most recent two books have been histories focused on the Spanish conquest of the new world. With his latest release, “River of Darkness: Francisco Orellana's Legendary Voyage of Death and Discovery Down the Amazon,” he’s shown to be a master of taking complex historical events and creating consumable, interesting, reliable and accurate narratives.
Levy's "Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztec" was terrific. Cortes' conquest of the Aztecs is a complex story, and Levy's book synthesized the myriad of sources well and told an enlightening and engaging story.
In "Rivers of Darkness", Levy journeys south of Cortes' New Spain (Mexico), hops around the Inca Empire and travels the length of the mighty Amazon River following the travails of conquistador and explorer Francisco Orellana.
Orellana was actually a cousin to the Pizarro clan and, though a generation younger than Francisco Pizarro, established himself as a brave and loyal supporter of the Pizarro’s during their conquest of the Incas in Peru. After providing a small army of support during a particularly tricky stage of the Inca conquest, Orellana was rewarded with a large land holding outside of modern Quito which, at the time, was part of the northernmost reaches of the Inca/Pizarro Empire.
Levy reviews key moments of Pizarro's foray into South America. Francisco Pizarro had been part of Cortes' conquest in Mexico, and he was Balboa's second-in-command when he discovered the Pacific Ocean. Adventure, glory and riches were ingrained on Francisco, as were the methods to achieve them. Taking a page from Cortes' book, Pizarro's entrance into Peru, and rapid conquest of the Incas, was aggressive and bold.
Levy makes it clear that Orellana was cut from the same Extremaduran Spanish mold as his cousin (Extremadura was a poverty-stricken part of Spain that produced an inordinately large amount of conquistadors). He wanted glory and he wanted gold. Like all conquistadors in the New World, he had heard the whispers and rumors of the famed El Dorado. By the 1530's, the legend was burned into the consciousness of every Spaniard with an adventurous set of mind. Rumors spread wildly of a fabulously wealthy king in a fabulously wealthy land existing just over the horizon - whichever horizon one was facing, in most cases. The rumors were strong that El Dorado lay just on the eastern side of the Andes. One of Pizarro’s half-brothers, Gonzalo, the hardheaded, reactive and most violent of the clan (three Pizarro half brothers and another cousin were part of the Peruvian conquest), was pulling together an expedition to conquer new lands and find new riches.
Orellana offered up supplies and troops and was rewarded by being named second-in-command to Gonzalo. Through the first horrible months of the journey, Gonzalo thoroughly played his role as conquering Pizarro - act first and ask questions later; lead with violence. Unsurprisingly, they didn't get far. Nobody knew how to hunt for food in the jungles and they only just barely knew how to survive, while making enemies of every tribe they encountered.
After almost a year and barely out of sight of the mighty Andes, Gonzalo ordered Orellana to take some of his troops further into the jungle in the hopes of finding a village rumored to be friendly towards visitors and where they could find food and rest. Orellana descended the Napo River many miles and for several days without finding an appropriate place to stop en masse, and decided (at least according to his records and chroniclers) that it would be impossible to fight back up river and reconnect with Gonzalo's troops.
Pizarro’s group circled around the jungle for another six months and eventually dragged back into Quito with only a fraction of his original Spanish troops, unrecognizable and barely alive. Their return home would be referred to as “the worst march ever in the Indies.” Orellana, however, continued on.
Orella attempted to communicate with the native peoples with more than just sign language and violence. He had a gift for languages and he used that to his strength throughout his conquests. Orellana kept a diary of vocabulary during his early interactions with new tribes.
Levy compares the style of the two cousins after Orellana's first encounter with a native village had been a peaceful one: "It is clear that his (Orellana) approach of using language and diplomacy before violence was effective...and a diametric departure from the techniques favored by his own captain, Gonzalo Pizarro, who no doubt would have already tortured and killed a good portion of the villagers." Levy points to Orellana's skill with oratory and communication and languages were a deciding factor in their early successes.
Orellana's story is one of first contact...over and over and over again. Cortes' first meetings with polities and tribes across Mexico are well documented, and his first meeting with Montezuma is legend. Pizarro's first meeting with the Inca Atahaulpa is one of the most famous first contacts in world history. Orellana had first contact after first contact - all along the winding, rushing river that would ultimately be identified as the largest in the world. Some first meetings were civil and almost friendly. More than once did Orellana and his troops find welcoming arms, food and rest along their journey. Most first meetings, despite Orellana’s friendlier outlook, were violent and angry.
Orellana took advantage of the enormous river highway by building two boats to ferry his troops through the jungle (an amazing feat considering their circumstances, resources and knowledge base). What eventually became known as the Amazon River was initially called the Maranon and several explorers had come across it in the early 1500s. Orellana would have known that a massive river shot from the Atlantic Ocean into the heart of the new world. Though he had no idea how far he would have to travel, Orellana, while seeking El Dorado, was aiming for the Atlantic.
One of the more fascinating tales in Levy’s book is his overview of the legend of the Amazonian Women. Orellana’s troops documented a battle against a number of tall, pale skinned and pale haired women. It was a relatively brief encounter, but later Orellana learned more about these women warriors from a captive native. Levy provides more detail around the rumors and reports about these warrior women who supposedly lived in a female-only society, capturing male slaves only as needed to ensure the propagation of their kind. Modern researchers suggest that the plethora of native tales, in combination with reports from explorers lend credence to the fact that some type of female warrior tribe that was seen by Orellana’s crew. These women ultimately gave the world’s largest river its name.
Orellana and his chroniclers also describe seeing “large cities glistening white as seashells” and large “roads made by hand”. They would certainly float past miles and miles of jungle, but then they would float for miles more where the shore was lined with homes, people and the clear signs of civilization.
In the last two or three years, archaeologists have discovered evidence that, historically, the Amazon was far more populous than originally believed. Those scientists have found evidence of large interconnected thoroughfares that led from one population center to another. They’ve determined that natives found ways to make the nutrient poor Amazonian soil more fertile, creating what’s now called ‘terra preta’ or “Amazonian dark earth”. Orellana’s crew also pointed out this “dark earth” in their journals.
It was clear early on in Orellana’s 8-month long adventure that his journey was becoming one of survival rather than conquest. He and his chroniclers, however, continued to observe and record what they saw. And after a time, Levy points out that they were "conquistadors no more." They were explorers and they were survivors.
Months later, after being spit out of the Amazon into the ocean, Orellana’s two ships worked their way north until they cam across a small Spanish pearl fishing island. Levy writes: “Captain Francisco Orellana … completed one of the most remarkable, daring, and improbable journeys in the history of navigation and discovery. (His) achievement would later be called one of the world’s greatest explorations, ‘something more than a journey, and more like a miraculous event.’” 43 of his original 57-man expedition survived; the rest succumbed to disease, starvation, poisoning or death in battle.
The book is richly detailed, includes copious notes, references and a robust bibliography. Even the black and white ebook version contains a well-reproduced series of drawings representative of the New World Spanish Conquest and the Amazon. The ebook’s version of Levy’s maps present terribly in the format I was using, however. This certainly would’ve helped track Orellana’s progress, specifically in regards to keeping up with the sheer number of tribes he ran into along his journey. I would encourage readers to review the “Notes on the Text and Sources” before starting the story, to gather perspective on Levy’s myriad of source material. While he includes some footnotes in each chapter, the detail of sources is presented as endnotes. It makes the reading easier, but one has to hunt a little bit if interested in the source material.
Levy's "Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztec" was terrific. Cortes' conquest of the Aztecs is a complex story, and Levy's book synthesized the myriad of sources well and told an enlightening and engaging story.
In "Rivers of Darkness", Levy journeys south of Cortes' New Spain (Mexico), hops around the Inca Empire and travels the length of the mighty Amazon River following the travails of conquistador and explorer Francisco Orellana.
Orellana was actually a cousin to the Pizarro clan and, though a generation younger than Francisco Pizarro, established himself as a brave and loyal supporter of the Pizarro’s during their conquest of the Incas in Peru. After providing a small army of support during a particularly tricky stage of the Inca conquest, Orellana was rewarded with a large land holding outside of modern Quito which, at the time, was part of the northernmost reaches of the Inca/Pizarro Empire.
Levy reviews key moments of Pizarro's foray into South America. Francisco Pizarro had been part of Cortes' conquest in Mexico, and he was Balboa's second-in-command when he discovered the Pacific Ocean. Adventure, glory and riches were ingrained on Francisco, as were the methods to achieve them. Taking a page from Cortes' book, Pizarro's entrance into Peru, and rapid conquest of the Incas, was aggressive and bold.
Levy makes it clear that Orellana was cut from the same Extremaduran Spanish mold as his cousin (Extremadura was a poverty-stricken part of Spain that produced an inordinately large amount of conquistadors). He wanted glory and he wanted gold. Like all conquistadors in the New World, he had heard the whispers and rumors of the famed El Dorado. By the 1530's, the legend was burned into the consciousness of every Spaniard with an adventurous set of mind. Rumors spread wildly of a fabulously wealthy king in a fabulously wealthy land existing just over the horizon - whichever horizon one was facing, in most cases. The rumors were strong that El Dorado lay just on the eastern side of the Andes. One of Pizarro’s half-brothers, Gonzalo, the hardheaded, reactive and most violent of the clan (three Pizarro half brothers and another cousin were part of the Peruvian conquest), was pulling together an expedition to conquer new lands and find new riches.
Orellana offered up supplies and troops and was rewarded by being named second-in-command to Gonzalo. Through the first horrible months of the journey, Gonzalo thoroughly played his role as conquering Pizarro - act first and ask questions later; lead with violence. Unsurprisingly, they didn't get far. Nobody knew how to hunt for food in the jungles and they only just barely knew how to survive, while making enemies of every tribe they encountered.
After almost a year and barely out of sight of the mighty Andes, Gonzalo ordered Orellana to take some of his troops further into the jungle in the hopes of finding a village rumored to be friendly towards visitors and where they could find food and rest. Orellana descended the Napo River many miles and for several days without finding an appropriate place to stop en masse, and decided (at least according to his records and chroniclers) that it would be impossible to fight back up river and reconnect with Gonzalo's troops.
Pizarro’s group circled around the jungle for another six months and eventually dragged back into Quito with only a fraction of his original Spanish troops, unrecognizable and barely alive. Their return home would be referred to as “the worst march ever in the Indies.” Orellana, however, continued on.
Orella attempted to communicate with the native peoples with more than just sign language and violence. He had a gift for languages and he used that to his strength throughout his conquests. Orellana kept a diary of vocabulary during his early interactions with new tribes.
Levy compares the style of the two cousins after Orellana's first encounter with a native village had been a peaceful one: "It is clear that his (Orellana) approach of using language and diplomacy before violence was effective...and a diametric departure from the techniques favored by his own captain, Gonzalo Pizarro, who no doubt would have already tortured and killed a good portion of the villagers." Levy points to Orellana's skill with oratory and communication and languages were a deciding factor in their early successes.
Orellana's story is one of first contact...over and over and over again. Cortes' first meetings with polities and tribes across Mexico are well documented, and his first meeting with Montezuma is legend. Pizarro's first meeting with the Inca Atahaulpa is one of the most famous first contacts in world history. Orellana had first contact after first contact - all along the winding, rushing river that would ultimately be identified as the largest in the world. Some first meetings were civil and almost friendly. More than once did Orellana and his troops find welcoming arms, food and rest along their journey. Most first meetings, despite Orellana’s friendlier outlook, were violent and angry.
Orellana took advantage of the enormous river highway by building two boats to ferry his troops through the jungle (an amazing feat considering their circumstances, resources and knowledge base). What eventually became known as the Amazon River was initially called the Maranon and several explorers had come across it in the early 1500s. Orellana would have known that a massive river shot from the Atlantic Ocean into the heart of the new world. Though he had no idea how far he would have to travel, Orellana, while seeking El Dorado, was aiming for the Atlantic.
One of the more fascinating tales in Levy’s book is his overview of the legend of the Amazonian Women. Orellana’s troops documented a battle against a number of tall, pale skinned and pale haired women. It was a relatively brief encounter, but later Orellana learned more about these women warriors from a captive native. Levy provides more detail around the rumors and reports about these warrior women who supposedly lived in a female-only society, capturing male slaves only as needed to ensure the propagation of their kind. Modern researchers suggest that the plethora of native tales, in combination with reports from explorers lend credence to the fact that some type of female warrior tribe that was seen by Orellana’s crew. These women ultimately gave the world’s largest river its name.
Orellana and his chroniclers also describe seeing “large cities glistening white as seashells” and large “roads made by hand”. They would certainly float past miles and miles of jungle, but then they would float for miles more where the shore was lined with homes, people and the clear signs of civilization.
In the last two or three years, archaeologists have discovered evidence that, historically, the Amazon was far more populous than originally believed. Those scientists have found evidence of large interconnected thoroughfares that led from one population center to another. They’ve determined that natives found ways to make the nutrient poor Amazonian soil more fertile, creating what’s now called ‘terra preta’ or “Amazonian dark earth”. Orellana’s crew also pointed out this “dark earth” in their journals.
It was clear early on in Orellana’s 8-month long adventure that his journey was becoming one of survival rather than conquest. He and his chroniclers, however, continued to observe and record what they saw. And after a time, Levy points out that they were "conquistadors no more." They were explorers and they were survivors.
Months later, after being spit out of the Amazon into the ocean, Orellana’s two ships worked their way north until they cam across a small Spanish pearl fishing island. Levy writes: “Captain Francisco Orellana … completed one of the most remarkable, daring, and improbable journeys in the history of navigation and discovery. (His) achievement would later be called one of the world’s greatest explorations, ‘something more than a journey, and more like a miraculous event.’” 43 of his original 57-man expedition survived; the rest succumbed to disease, starvation, poisoning or death in battle.
The book is richly detailed, includes copious notes, references and a robust bibliography. Even the black and white ebook version contains a well-reproduced series of drawings representative of the New World Spanish Conquest and the Amazon. The ebook’s version of Levy’s maps present terribly in the format I was using, however. This certainly would’ve helped track Orellana’s progress, specifically in regards to keeping up with the sheer number of tribes he ran into along his journey. I would encourage readers to review the “Notes on the Text and Sources” before starting the story, to gather perspective on Levy’s myriad of source material. While he includes some footnotes in each chapter, the detail of sources is presented as endnotes. It makes the reading easier, but one has to hunt a little bit if interested in the source material.
July 2, 2024
Levy’s books are exciting and informative to read. They read like fiction. If I compare him to someone like Harry Thompson (who sadly died so young) in his book This Thing of Darkness, which is described as fiction, though heavily based on fact, I actually don’t think there is very much difference. Levy takes liberties, the finer details of Orellana’s incredible voyage must be guessed at. He frequently refers to the Friar who travelled with him and chronicled to voyage, but there must be gaps.
I hastily add that I have no issue with that at all. It is why his books work so well.
Francisco Orellana’s incredible voyage down the Amazon was accidentally, we learn early in the piece. He came to South America as second-in-command of an expedition led by Gonzalo Pizarro, one of the famous, swashbuckling Pizarro brothers, in pursuit of El Dorado in 1541, searching in particular for gold and cinnamon in the unknown jungles east of the Andes. The mouth of the Amazon had been discovered by Columbus in 1500 but no one had descended the river.
These were two arrogant Spaniards determined to let nothing stop them in following Cortés to go down in history as one of the great conquistadores. But after only a few months they had to split up for survival, after Pizarro had the idea to build a boat. Orellana took the boat with a crew of 60, and Pizarro followed, slowly, of foot.
It’s an astonishing adventure story as they encounter the dangers of the jungle and rainforest, starvation, and local riverside populations both ferocious and friendly.
I hastily add that I have no issue with that at all. It is why his books work so well.
Francisco Orellana’s incredible voyage down the Amazon was accidentally, we learn early in the piece. He came to South America as second-in-command of an expedition led by Gonzalo Pizarro, one of the famous, swashbuckling Pizarro brothers, in pursuit of El Dorado in 1541, searching in particular for gold and cinnamon in the unknown jungles east of the Andes. The mouth of the Amazon had been discovered by Columbus in 1500 but no one had descended the river.
These were two arrogant Spaniards determined to let nothing stop them in following Cortés to go down in history as one of the great conquistadores. But after only a few months they had to split up for survival, after Pizarro had the idea to build a boat. Orellana took the boat with a crew of 60, and Pizarro followed, slowly, of foot.
It’s an astonishing adventure story as they encounter the dangers of the jungle and rainforest, starvation, and local riverside populations both ferocious and friendly.
November 11, 2024
“He who goes to the Amazon goes mad and dies” warns one explorer.
Swarms of mosquitoes so thick that men would gather in circles of twelve trying to keep mosquitoes off each other while one man in the middle ate quickly. Unable to keep fires lit or charcoal dry. Clothes rotting off their backs.
The author complains at the end (reading between the lines) that the latest invasion of the Amazon is by Eco tourists who wish to see the Amazon kept as a pre-civilization petting zoo but in reality everyone in the Amazon knows Portuguese or Spanish.
Swarms of mosquitoes so thick that men would gather in circles of twelve trying to keep mosquitoes off each other while one man in the middle ate quickly. Unable to keep fires lit or charcoal dry. Clothes rotting off their backs.
The author complains at the end (reading between the lines) that the latest invasion of the Amazon is by Eco tourists who wish to see the Amazon kept as a pre-civilization petting zoo but in reality everyone in the Amazon knows Portuguese or Spanish.
February 4, 2015
This book is primarily a history of the 1541-42 expedition of the conquistador Francisco Orellano. He left Quito as the second-in-command of the expedition of Gonzalo Pizarro to search for the Land of Cinnamon and El Dorado; when the expedition bogged down on the Rio Napo, Orellano took the expedition's boat and 57 men downstream to look for food. When he finally found an Indian village with available food, he was too far downstream to return against the current (or at least that was his justification for not returning with the food; Pizarro reported him as a traitor) and so continued down the Rio Napo and eventually discovered the Rio Maranon, which was later named for him -- the Rio Orellano -- but soon became known as the Amazon, the world's largest river. (Although the mouth of the river had already been discovered, of course.)
The book describes his journey for more than 4000 miles down the river to the Atlantic. There are also chapters on the later fate of Gonzalo Pizarro (he returned to Peru, starving, with about 80 of his original force of over 200 men, to find that his older brother Francisco -- the conqueror and governor of Peru -- had been assassinated; he later rebelled against the new government and was executed), the second expedition of Orellano to the Amazon, and a brief epilog on the expeditions of Aguirre (a.k.a. The Wrath of God) and Sir Walter Raleigh. One weakeness is that there is only one map, which is hard to match with the text.
The author treats the expedition mainly as an epic adventure story; the tone is non-academic, although there are endnotes giving the sources for his statements. The book is based almost entirely on the record of the expedition by its official historian, Father Carvajal, and thus reflects Orellano's own version of the events; there is little if any attempt to evaluate whether he is telling the truth, although the record was designed to justify his actions and gain support for his second expedition. For example, it records almost daily battles for months with thousands of armed Indian warriors at a time, including hand-to-hand combat lasting for twenty-four hours straight; the Indians are killed like flies -- but Orellano loses only three men to the Indians in the whole trip. Even with superior armor and weaponry, this sounds too much like a Sylvester Stallone movie to be believable to me. Perhaps he exaggerated the numbers or the warlike nature of the interactions? The author reports the battles in exciting "you-are-there" style without any skepticism.
Perhaps more seriously, he also idealizes and justifies Orellano as a hero. He contrasts his "peaceful nature" and "respect" for both his own men and the Indians to the cruelty and brutality of the Pizarro brothers -- this is a little like praising Mussolini for not being Hitler. Where the Indians are friendly, Orellano takes all the food he can get and kidnaps their leaders as guides; where they're hostile he shoots them, steals their food and burns their villages. The author continually reminds us that this is all "self-defense", but the fact is that the farther he goes the more the Indians forewarned come out to fight and keep him moving along. Naturally he is peaceful when he is totally outnumbered, but if he sees a small village without many warriors he raids it for food. The author also tells us repeatedly that what had started out as a conquest becomes an expedition of discovery -- of course, with his 57 men left he couldn't try to conquer anything except food, but that doesn't make it a voyage of scientific discovery -- there are no records of Lewis and Clarke, for example, massacring thousands of Indians and burning their villages.
I did learn much about the early history of Peru after the conquest, and about the Amazon Basin. One thing which I was surprised at was the numbers (even if Orellano exaggerated, since he was trying to get a second expedition he needed there to be a prosperous Empire with gold and silver) and the level of organization and trade of the Amazonian natives. I had always assumed that the Amazon Indians were always small tribes of hunter-gatherers as they are today, and were even in the time of von Humboldt (my last reading). But Orellano describes extensive chieftainships -- as large as many small countries today -- with large towns and continuous habitations for hundreds of miles, agriculture, turtle-farming, and even whole villages given to specialized occupations for trade. According to the notes, archaeologists since I was in school have discovered that this may be correct after all, and that rather than being sparsely settled by hunter-gatherers the Amazon Basin may have been one of the most densely populated areas in the world, before the Europeans and their diseases decimated their numbers and culture. It was worth reading the book just to learn this.
The book describes his journey for more than 4000 miles down the river to the Atlantic. There are also chapters on the later fate of Gonzalo Pizarro (he returned to Peru, starving, with about 80 of his original force of over 200 men, to find that his older brother Francisco -- the conqueror and governor of Peru -- had been assassinated; he later rebelled against the new government and was executed), the second expedition of Orellano to the Amazon, and a brief epilog on the expeditions of Aguirre (a.k.a. The Wrath of God) and Sir Walter Raleigh. One weakeness is that there is only one map, which is hard to match with the text.
The author treats the expedition mainly as an epic adventure story; the tone is non-academic, although there are endnotes giving the sources for his statements. The book is based almost entirely on the record of the expedition by its official historian, Father Carvajal, and thus reflects Orellano's own version of the events; there is little if any attempt to evaluate whether he is telling the truth, although the record was designed to justify his actions and gain support for his second expedition. For example, it records almost daily battles for months with thousands of armed Indian warriors at a time, including hand-to-hand combat lasting for twenty-four hours straight; the Indians are killed like flies -- but Orellano loses only three men to the Indians in the whole trip. Even with superior armor and weaponry, this sounds too much like a Sylvester Stallone movie to be believable to me. Perhaps he exaggerated the numbers or the warlike nature of the interactions? The author reports the battles in exciting "you-are-there" style without any skepticism.
Perhaps more seriously, he also idealizes and justifies Orellano as a hero. He contrasts his "peaceful nature" and "respect" for both his own men and the Indians to the cruelty and brutality of the Pizarro brothers -- this is a little like praising Mussolini for not being Hitler. Where the Indians are friendly, Orellano takes all the food he can get and kidnaps their leaders as guides; where they're hostile he shoots them, steals their food and burns their villages. The author continually reminds us that this is all "self-defense", but the fact is that the farther he goes the more the Indians forewarned come out to fight and keep him moving along. Naturally he is peaceful when he is totally outnumbered, but if he sees a small village without many warriors he raids it for food. The author also tells us repeatedly that what had started out as a conquest becomes an expedition of discovery -- of course, with his 57 men left he couldn't try to conquer anything except food, but that doesn't make it a voyage of scientific discovery -- there are no records of Lewis and Clarke, for example, massacring thousands of Indians and burning their villages.
I did learn much about the early history of Peru after the conquest, and about the Amazon Basin. One thing which I was surprised at was the numbers (even if Orellano exaggerated, since he was trying to get a second expedition he needed there to be a prosperous Empire with gold and silver) and the level of organization and trade of the Amazonian natives. I had always assumed that the Amazon Indians were always small tribes of hunter-gatherers as they are today, and were even in the time of von Humboldt (my last reading). But Orellano describes extensive chieftainships -- as large as many small countries today -- with large towns and continuous habitations for hundreds of miles, agriculture, turtle-farming, and even whole villages given to specialized occupations for trade. According to the notes, archaeologists since I was in school have discovered that this may be correct after all, and that rather than being sparsely settled by hunter-gatherers the Amazon Basin may have been one of the most densely populated areas in the world, before the Europeans and their diseases decimated their numbers and culture. It was worth reading the book just to learn this.
August 9, 2024
The Green Hell:
The unknown has always beckoned to the human spirit. It's what compels us to seek out the most foreboding lands, the highest mountains and the darkest rivers. Whether it's for God, Country, King or Riches. There's no stoping us and the ends often justify the means. Anything or anyone who stands in our way does so at their own peril. It wasn't long, after Columbus first made land-fall in the Western Hemisphere, before the European maritime kingdoms saw the potential of unlimited riches and land that this "New World" presented. Certainly one of the most important nations of the 15th Century was Spain who sent out fleets of ships to explore, conquer and convert the "native" population to a proper religious belief. But they weren't doing all this exploring just for God, their main goals were to acquire land, to expand their kingdom beyond the horizon and to fill Spain's Royal coffers with Gold. So it was that Conquistadors Gonzalo Pizarro and Francisco Orellana found themselves on the north-west coast of South America (Ecuador) in search of fame and fortune, the spice cinnamon and the fabled "Gilded One"- El Dorado. But between the explorers and their dreams of glory stood a mighty fortress of rock, ice and snow: the Andes. And beyond the Andes; an impenetrable jungle of unknown dangers that stretched as far as the eye could see. If ever there was a "Hell on Earth", this was it! In "River of Darkness" author Buddy Levy traces Pizarro and Orellana's terrifying expedition into the Amazon Basin and their appointment with deprivation and death. There had been previous expeditions into the region but they never got far; short trips up the Amazon from the Atlantic Delta; brief missions from the Pacific side, over the Andes and into the rain-forest. But no one had ever made the connection between Quito on the Pacific side and Marajo Island on the Atlantic side. With Pizarro in command and Orellana as his 2nd the expedition set off into the unknown early in 1541 intending to find and conquer the fabled La Canela (the Land of Cinnamon) and plunder El Dorado for it's gold. For 9 months the party would fight its way over mountains and through jungles without ever coming any nearer to their goals than the day they started. Sick, exhausted and near starving the expedition stopped to review their options. The two commanders knew they could not continue without fresh supplies so it was decided to split the party. Orellana would take half of the men and proceed down the Napo River by boat, somehow find food and return to the main party. Pizarro's party would follow on foot and, hopefully, meet Orellana on his way back. "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" and so it was with the explorers. After days of fighting their way down river without rest or much food, Pizarro came to the realization that they would never see their compatriots again. Feeling betrayed, Pizarro decided to return to Quito, the Land of Christians. Orellana, meanwhile, found that the river's savage currents made it impossible for them to return to Pizarro, even after the had found food. Now each party would face their own private Hell. While Pizarro fought his way back "home", Orellana would discover the true nature of the world's mightiest river: the Amazon. Levy's well written book is by turn, spellbinding and horrifying, a real page turner that, once started, was hard to put down. His research was thorough, using journals and official documents to support his narrative. The lengths that men will go to in achieving their goals is incredible and the "River of Darkness" will expose the obsessions that drove these Conquistadors to edge of damnation and madness. Whatever your views are on the Conquistadores and their methods, you have to give them credit for unfailing courage and ambition. In the end Orellana would travel over 5,000 miles, face unimaginable dangers and make history as the first man to navigate "Rio de Orellana" from it's source in the Andes to the "Sweet Water Sea" and beyond.
Last Ranger
The unknown has always beckoned to the human spirit. It's what compels us to seek out the most foreboding lands, the highest mountains and the darkest rivers. Whether it's for God, Country, King or Riches. There's no stoping us and the ends often justify the means. Anything or anyone who stands in our way does so at their own peril. It wasn't long, after Columbus first made land-fall in the Western Hemisphere, before the European maritime kingdoms saw the potential of unlimited riches and land that this "New World" presented. Certainly one of the most important nations of the 15th Century was Spain who sent out fleets of ships to explore, conquer and convert the "native" population to a proper religious belief. But they weren't doing all this exploring just for God, their main goals were to acquire land, to expand their kingdom beyond the horizon and to fill Spain's Royal coffers with Gold. So it was that Conquistadors Gonzalo Pizarro and Francisco Orellana found themselves on the north-west coast of South America (Ecuador) in search of fame and fortune, the spice cinnamon and the fabled "Gilded One"- El Dorado. But between the explorers and their dreams of glory stood a mighty fortress of rock, ice and snow: the Andes. And beyond the Andes; an impenetrable jungle of unknown dangers that stretched as far as the eye could see. If ever there was a "Hell on Earth", this was it! In "River of Darkness" author Buddy Levy traces Pizarro and Orellana's terrifying expedition into the Amazon Basin and their appointment with deprivation and death. There had been previous expeditions into the region but they never got far; short trips up the Amazon from the Atlantic Delta; brief missions from the Pacific side, over the Andes and into the rain-forest. But no one had ever made the connection between Quito on the Pacific side and Marajo Island on the Atlantic side. With Pizarro in command and Orellana as his 2nd the expedition set off into the unknown early in 1541 intending to find and conquer the fabled La Canela (the Land of Cinnamon) and plunder El Dorado for it's gold. For 9 months the party would fight its way over mountains and through jungles without ever coming any nearer to their goals than the day they started. Sick, exhausted and near starving the expedition stopped to review their options. The two commanders knew they could not continue without fresh supplies so it was decided to split the party. Orellana would take half of the men and proceed down the Napo River by boat, somehow find food and return to the main party. Pizarro's party would follow on foot and, hopefully, meet Orellana on his way back. "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" and so it was with the explorers. After days of fighting their way down river without rest or much food, Pizarro came to the realization that they would never see their compatriots again. Feeling betrayed, Pizarro decided to return to Quito, the Land of Christians. Orellana, meanwhile, found that the river's savage currents made it impossible for them to return to Pizarro, even after the had found food. Now each party would face their own private Hell. While Pizarro fought his way back "home", Orellana would discover the true nature of the world's mightiest river: the Amazon. Levy's well written book is by turn, spellbinding and horrifying, a real page turner that, once started, was hard to put down. His research was thorough, using journals and official documents to support his narrative. The lengths that men will go to in achieving their goals is incredible and the "River of Darkness" will expose the obsessions that drove these Conquistadors to edge of damnation and madness. Whatever your views are on the Conquistadores and their methods, you have to give them credit for unfailing courage and ambition. In the end Orellana would travel over 5,000 miles, face unimaginable dangers and make history as the first man to navigate "Rio de Orellana" from it's source in the Andes to the "Sweet Water Sea" and beyond.
Last Ranger
July 29, 2017
Buddy Levy ha recreado la historia de Francisco de Orellana, quien al separarse del grupo de exploración de Gonzalo Pizarro (hermano del conquistador del Imperio Inca, Francisco Pizarro), cuya finalidad era encontrar el Valle de la Canela y el pueblo donde se encontraba "el Dorado", descubre el nacimiento y curso del río Amazonas. Para tal efecto, tuvieron que cruzar los Andes y continuar a pie vadeando ríos tributarios del impresionante y poderoso río Napa. Con las aventuras de Hernán Cortés en la mente, en especial las referentes a la conquista de Tenochtitlán, deciden construir una barcaza para moverse más rápido y conseguir comida en algunas poblaciones indígenas luego de muchas semanas en la selva Ecuatoriana. Una parte del contingente se separa y navega en la barca recién hecha llamada "San Pedro", al mando de Francisco Orellana; la otra parte, se queda con Gonzalo Pizarro en medio de la jungla. Orellana gozaba de la gran ventaja de hablar la lengua de los Incas y podía aprender con gran rapidez los rudimentos de cualquier otra, de modo que se comunicaba fácilmente y obtuvo la comida que necesitaba, pero no contaba con la imposibilidad de regresar con Pizarro, ya que la fortísima corriente de los ríos que desaguan en el Amazonas no lo permitieron.
Mientras Gonzalo Pizarro y sus hombres muertos de hambre y andrajosos, tuvieron que regresar a la civilización derrotados.
Es por un encuentro de Francisco Orellana y sus hombres con un pueblo de mujeres guerreras que el río recibe el nombre de Amazonas, que originalmente recibió el nombre del descubridor.
Es un libro interesantísimo y permite conocer lo que sucedió en la otra mitad del Continente Americano en tiempos de la Conquista española.
Mientras Gonzalo Pizarro y sus hombres muertos de hambre y andrajosos, tuvieron que regresar a la civilización derrotados.
Es por un encuentro de Francisco Orellana y sus hombres con un pueblo de mujeres guerreras que el río recibe el nombre de Amazonas, que originalmente recibió el nombre del descubridor.
Es un libro interesantísimo y permite conocer lo que sucedió en la otra mitad del Continente Americano en tiempos de la Conquista española.
January 6, 2016
This is a really great book. I almost gave it five stars. The story of the men in this, especially Orellano, is just fascinating. I only wish the maps were easier to see on my Kindle and that the stories focused more on the heart of the journeys and less on the other people who went to El Dorado or what happened once they got back from the Amazon. Still very much worth a read for anyone interested in history, adventure, etc.
August 19, 2024
4.5/5
What a read! This is my second book by Buddy Levy, who writes pop history books with a narrative. These books read more like a novel than your “classic” style history book, and his formula is extremely readable. He seems to specialize in the early modern period of exploration—the era of the Conquistadors.
This book is about Francisco Orellana and Gonzalo Pizarro, and their absolutely unbelievable trip(s?) down the Amazon River, traveling from basically its headwaters in the Andes to the Atlantic. This is truly a remarkable tale as well—an example of Europeans who got in way over their heads in the New World. And though many lives were lost, Orellana himself survived the trip and returned to Spain, where the he heard the siren song of the Amazon immediately begin calling him back. The story is amazing. What could go wrong went wrong, and then things got worse, over and over again. They also jumped into this trip without doing some of the seemingly obvious prep work, like getting together with locals and learning how to forage for local plant foods, how to hunt, and how to prepare manioc (a vital staple in the tropics that is toxic in its raw form) properly. About 150 miles into the trip, on a river that stretches nearly 4,000 miles from the headwaters to the coast, this crew was already beginning to starve. Ahead of them stretched a seemingly endless expanse of green….and they thought that surely the coast must be close. And they pressed on. Friendly American Indians saved their asses many times, both directly and indirectly, and interestingly, Orellana was a bit more open minded and not so quick to attack as many conquistadores of the era. This saved their lives for sure. But on the other hand, not all the local tribes were so friendly.
This book also covers the period after the journey, what happened between Orellana and Pizarro, and their ultimate fates. I’ve seen that some other reviewers weren’t thrilled about this, but I found both of their stories to be pretty wild and well worth reading. The book does indeed cover more than just their trip into the Amazon, but that wasn’t an issue for me. This is an incredible story that deserves to be read, and there are so many moments within that I’d love to discuss here, but I also don’t want to give too much away (despite being something that happened 500 years ago). If you’re interested in the “age of exploration” / the era of the conquistadores, this is a must read. If it’s a period in history you have extensively studied, there may not be a whole lot new here, but this is a great starting point for the armchair historian with an interest in the period, and the insanity that played out all over North and South America when Europeans first arrived.
December 21, 2024
An inspiring tale of exploration, survival, and pre/early-Spanish South America.
March 8, 2019
Travel down the Amazon river at your own peril....
This was a fairly even-handed account of the drama of the Spanish conquistadors in South America in the 16th century. Not all hero, not all monster, you get a sense of their human experience, and the sheer struggle for survival that the grand search for El Dorado devolved into.
This was a fairly even-handed account of the drama of the Spanish conquistadors in South America in the 16th century. Not all hero, not all monster, you get a sense of their human experience, and the sheer struggle for survival that the grand search for El Dorado devolved into.
November 22, 2017
A great adventure/survival book about Francisco Orellana's pioneering voyage down the Amazon river, from its source in the Andes all the way to the Atlantic. Between Cortes' conquest and Sir Walter Raleigh's voyage, I know just about nothing, so this was a fascinating story, full of tantalizing possibilities. WAS there any basis to the El Dorado myth? Were there really women warriors?
I was only sorry that the epilogue didn't fill in the blanks after Raleigh. What has archaeology managed to unearth, after the tribes were decimated by disease? They've found so many supposedly mythical cities in Central America that I'm sure the same must be true of the lost millions inhabiting the Amazon basin.
I was only sorry that the epilogue didn't fill in the blanks after Raleigh. What has archaeology managed to unearth, after the tribes were decimated by disease? They've found so many supposedly mythical cities in Central America that I'm sure the same must be true of the lost millions inhabiting the Amazon basin.
April 5, 2011
I'm normally not a hugely enthusiastic reader of stories about conquistadors, since said stories usually make me rather ill. For a conquistador story, this one was pretty interesting--it is actually more of a survivalist narrative of Francisco Orellano's 1542 navigation of the Amazon River. Fairly well written, pretty good survivalist story, alas, the guy was still a conquistador (at one point, he roasts the women and children of an entire village by setting the town on fire because the men were firing on them when they landed their boats below the town. I'd have fired on them, too.)
December 9, 2024
Banger absolu
July 18, 2013
Really well written account of the first European exploration of the Amazon River, which was actually unintentional and quite harrowing. If this was fiction, the plot twists would be hard to swallow.
June 7, 2011
Loved it!
January 11, 2019
I found this book to be very interesting. I had no idea of the extensive exploration done along the Amazon by the conquistadores. It’s incredible what they accomplished with so few men and so little in the way of supplies. The suffering they endured is amazing. The men and equipment they lost to hostile natives and the elements is staggering. Just the fact that it was a successful expedition deserves more recognition.
Levy carefully explains the personal, political, and economic circumstances that motivated first Pizarro and then the Orellana to start down an unknown hostile river. The expedition itself is covered in great detail. The book just doesn’t end with the end of that expedition though. It goes on and explains the impact it had on following expeditions, the lives of the explorers, and international politics.
I learned so much about the workings of the Spanish empire. I had no idea the struggles the King faced to control the conquistadores. Did you know that for several years slavery was outlawed in the New World? Did you know that the Pizarros ended their lives in jail or dying leading rebellions against the crown? Do you know how the Amazon got its name?
Due to no fault of the author’s; I did struggle following the narrative occasionally. I think the problem was I listened to the audiobook version instead of reading it. Because Levy was so thorough explaining the background and political setting, it required the introduction of a great many people besides the Pizarro brothers and Orellana. I struggled to remember which long Spanish name referred to which character. I would recommend reading it instead of listening.
Some of the native's practices are described in gruesome detail, but overall it was an extremely clean book.
Levy carefully explains the personal, political, and economic circumstances that motivated first Pizarro and then the Orellana to start down an unknown hostile river. The expedition itself is covered in great detail. The book just doesn’t end with the end of that expedition though. It goes on and explains the impact it had on following expeditions, the lives of the explorers, and international politics.
I learned so much about the workings of the Spanish empire. I had no idea the struggles the King faced to control the conquistadores. Did you know that for several years slavery was outlawed in the New World? Did you know that the Pizarros ended their lives in jail or dying leading rebellions against the crown? Do you know how the Amazon got its name?
Due to no fault of the author’s; I did struggle following the narrative occasionally. I think the problem was I listened to the audiobook version instead of reading it. Because Levy was so thorough explaining the background and political setting, it required the introduction of a great many people besides the Pizarro brothers and Orellana. I struggled to remember which long Spanish name referred to which character. I would recommend reading it instead of listening.
Some of the native's practices are described in gruesome detail, but overall it was an extremely clean book.
February 28, 2025
I know that furthering my education is a lifelong process, but I can’t help but feel inadequate when I read a book like this and ask myself: how was I ever a history teacher and NEVER heard of Francisco Orellana? Or the OTHER Pizarros?
There is a lot of information in this book, but the most surprising or revealing that I’ll briefly mention are:
1. How largely populated some of the Amazon villages were (I always assumed the rainforest would have prevented large communities from existing)
2. The River of the Amazons (shortened to The Amazon) is named after a powerful tribe of women who ruled a large swath of land and allowed no men in their camp. How did they procreate, you might ask? Well, that is a dicey answer. You’ll have to read to find out. Or ask me in person. Spoiler: it wasn’t good.
3. Some people have 9 lives, and Orellana was one of them. How this man and a few of his original crew survived the tumultuous Amazon for 2 years is baffling. They absolutely should have died at least a dozen time.
Despite my feelings of inadequacy, I will continue to read these types of books. Good guy, bad guy, or somewhere in between, humanity needs to be studied, and Orellana is no exception.
There is a lot of information in this book, but the most surprising or revealing that I’ll briefly mention are:
1. How largely populated some of the Amazon villages were (I always assumed the rainforest would have prevented large communities from existing)
2. The River of the Amazons (shortened to The Amazon) is named after a powerful tribe of women who ruled a large swath of land and allowed no men in their camp. How did they procreate, you might ask? Well, that is a dicey answer. You’ll have to read to find out. Or ask me in person. Spoiler: it wasn’t good.
3. Some people have 9 lives, and Orellana was one of them. How this man and a few of his original crew survived the tumultuous Amazon for 2 years is baffling. They absolutely should have died at least a dozen time.
Despite my feelings of inadequacy, I will continue to read these types of books. Good guy, bad guy, or somewhere in between, humanity needs to be studied, and Orellana is no exception.
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