El Hombre Dorado, Spanish for “The Golden Man”, was highly sought out by the Spanish explorers who came to South America. Commonly known as El Dorado, he was a legend said to live in a golden palace in a golden city guarded by golden warriors. All of this gold made it a priority for Spaniards of the 16th century to find. Many of them would risk everything to find The Golden Man.
Though many of the stories are mythical, El Dorado is not completely made up. There may be some truth behind “the golden one”.
Origins
The legend of El Dorado dates back to the Muisca Confederation, whose people resided high in the Andes Mountains in present-day Colombia. This society began around 1270 BCE and lasted until their conquer by the Spanish Empire during the 16th century CE. The Muisca were as advanced as the Aztecs, Mayans, and Inca of the same time period.
A leader of the Muisca, known as the zipa, held a special annual ceremony on the shores of Lake Guatavita. During the ceremony, the zipa was stripped naked, covered in balsam gum, dusted with gold, then rowed out to the middle of the lake. The zipa would then plunge into the water, symbolically cleansing his people of sin. He would have appeared to be covered in gold, giving him the nickname: “The Golden Man”.
About ten years before Christopher Columbus set foot in North America, the last zipa was killed. His land was then taken over by rival tribes. Once the zipa had lost his land, the golden ceremony was ended. Even so, the stories of El Dorado lived on throughout local tribes.
Arrival of the Spanish
When Spanish explorers arrived in South America shortly after Columbus’s visit, they also heard the stories of “the golden one”. After learning of the stories of gold, the Spaniards began referring to the zipa as El Dorado.
The stories told by the Spanish soon became very mythical, possibly from their fantasizing over gold treasures. Spanish explorers soon believed in a golden palace with golden warriors, and were convinced of a golden city hiding somewhere in South America.
Exploration
The Spanish soon after became notorious for stealing large amounts of gold from South American natives, conquering the land and people in the process. This included the Muisca Confederation. Spanish greed made the idea of a golden city too much to pass up, an idea that quickly spread throughout all European explorers. By 1529, several Spanish explorers had set out to find El Dorado.
The greed for gold would convince many explorers to climb the Andes Mountains and search for Lake Guatavita. Dense jungles and difficult mountain ranges were traversed, all in search of the golden ruler. Many of the explorers, and their companions, would never return from the journey.
Gold was eventually found along the journey, though it was never in the amount told through the mythical stories of El Dorado. Explorers pressed on, determined to find the massive fortune. Attempts to locate the golden city would continue throughout the 16th century, by Spanish (and later English) explorers.
English Attempts
As the stories of El Dorado eventually reached Europe, several English explorers were also inclined to make the journey. When the 17th century came about, more trips into the Andes Mountains were made by the English.
One of the most notable English explorations for El Dorado was conducted by Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1617, Raleigh sent his son to undertake the journey to the golden city. His son was to locate and claim the treasures before any Spanish explorer could. However, during the trip, Raleigh’s son was killed in an ambush by the Spanish.
For his failure to stop the Spanish attack, Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded upon his return to England.
Discovering The Lake
The Spanish never found El Dorado, since the last zipa had been killed before the first Spaniards even arrived. They did, however, find Lake Guatavita.
Since the stories told of a man covered in gold dipping into the lake, the Spanish believed the lake itself to be full of the precious metal. In 1845, after nearly three centuries of searching, an attempt was made to drain the lake.
The efforts to drain Lake Guatavita proved to be very difficult, however. Only part of the lake was ever drained, allowing the Spanish to recover some gold. After three months, the draining was found to be too difficult. The fabled gold at the bottom of the lake remained out of their reach.
Conclusion
By the end of the 17th and into the 18th century, rumors began to slow down among Europeans about El Dorado. As the many explorations came up empty-handed, it was finally agreed that the golden city never existed. However, if you were to ask one of the local tribes of Colombia, you may hear a story or two about the golden king, and his mythical stash of golden treasures.
