The legend of el dorado by julian green in 1541 rumors be - GED Practice Questions

Question

The Legend of El Dorado

By Julian Green

In 1541, rumors began to spread throughout the colonial city of Quito, Ecuador. Spanish conquerors heard tales of a rich king from a faraway land. The great ruler was said to cover his body from head to toe in gold dust. At the end of each day, the king would wash away the gold. The next day, he would be painted all over again. The Spaniards referred to this wealthy king as El Dorado, which is Spanish for the golden man.

The Spanish already believed that beyond the mountains east of Quito lay wide, flat lands. They thought these lands were thick with cinnamon, which was a valuable spice. They also thought these lands were rich with gold. The Spanish had been amazed by the gold dust in the soil of the Timaná region and by the wealth of the Muisca tribe nearby. Also, the Yalcones people had fought to keep the Spanish invaders out of Timaná. This made the Spaniards suspect that the native tribes were protecting great riches. The conquerors also knew that many of the native tribes painted their bodies to keep cool and to keep insects away. So it made sense to them that the king of a rich land would paint himself with gold dust. Eager to find gold and cinnamon, the explorers began to seek the golden man's kingdom. They called the kingdom El Dorado.

Over the next few years, new details were added to the legend of El Dorado. Many believed that the golden man rode a raft out onto a holy lake. On the lake, he offered a sacrifice of gold and jewels, which he dumped into the water. Stories like this just made the conquerors even more eager to find El Dorado.

The Quests for El Dorado

Gonzalo Pizarro, a Spanish explorer, was the first to attempt the great search for cinnamon trees and the land of El Dorado. In 1541, he gathered more than 200 Spanish soldiers and 4,000 native slaves. He led them eastward, from Quito. Like many of the Spanish conquerors, Pizarro was a hard-hearted leader.

The expedition ended in dense, hilly forests with no rich, flat lands in sight. Pizarro then commanded his men to torture the natives until they revealed the secret location of El Dorado. Under Pizarro's command, the Spaniards put hundreds of natives to miserable deaths. But none of the natives revealed the location of the mysterious land.

Meanwhile, conditions were terrible for Pizarro's men. Pizarro had led them into the wild Amazon rain forest, where they had to hack through thick vines, bushes, and trees. They were attacked by mosquitoes and vampire bats, alligators and snakes, and a fog that seemed to carry disease. They became so hungry that they ate their horses and even their shoes. Hundreds of Spaniards died on the quest for El Dorado.

Pizarro eventually returned to Quito without finding the fabled city of El Dorado. He regretted ever beginning the quest. Yet his failure did nothing to stop others from going on the same journey. Another Spaniard, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, and a German explorer, Philipp von Hutten, both led expeditions in search of gold that year. Over the next century, dozens of groups would set out looking for the mythical land. All of them failed. Even the famous British explorer Sir Walter Raleigh ignored the dangers of the jungle and the poor results of others' attempts. He tried twice to find El Dorado and failed each time. On his second trip, Raleigh's son was killed, and Raleigh returned to England in shame.

Paradise Found

The real El Dorado was never found, but its name can be found everywhere on U.S. maps. There is an El Dorado or Eldorado in Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas. There is an Eldorado Springs in both Colorado and Missouri. Hardly a grain of gold was mined in most of these places.

The legend of El Dorado makes people think about the possibility of gaining unimaginable wealth. It is easy to see why pioneer settlers chose to name their towns after the mythical kingdom of the golden man.

What is the primary theme explored in the story of El Dorado?