![]() The pair spent the next five years in the colonies, covering thousands of miles of territory in the name of science. In 1799, with botanist Aimé Bonpland, Humboldt sailed for the Americas, ThoughtCo reports. Unfortunately, the upheaval of the Napoleonic Wars had made his government unable to sponsor an expedition, so he went to Spain and got permission to visit the Spanish colonies of Central and South America. By the late 1790s, Britannica says, Humboldt had determined that his true purpose in life was to learn everything he could about the planet. It all began with Alexander von Humboldt, a Prussian explorer and polymath. They left for more equipment but, when they returned, mud in the drainage tunnel had also solidified and allowed Lake Guatavita to refill once again. They drained the lake but quickly discovered that the mud of the lakebed was so soft that people sunk into the muck. This time, Contractors Limited, a British company, dug a tunnel connecting to the lake. With rebellion brewing amongst the local people, Sepúlveda and his crew decided to leave.Ĭenturies later, in 1909, another team attempted a similar engineering project, South American Explorerreports. Then, a landslide suddenly blocked the cut and allowed the lake to fill again. Sepúlveda did succeed in draining part of the lake and even found some golden offerings. Presumably, all of the riches deposited there would be revealed. Sepúlveda hatched a scheme that required cutting out a piece of the crater itself in order to drain the lake. One of the boldest ventures took place courtesy of Antonio de Sepúlveda in the 1580s, Ancient History Encyclopedia claims. This led not only to the death of his son Watt but to Raleigh's execution for treason in 1618. The King would release Raleigh from the Tower of London in 1616 to try again for El Dorado, but with the express rule that Raleigh was to leave the Spanish alone. Even worse, he was imprisoned in 1603 for plotting rebellion against the newly-crowned James I. Raleigh returned to England to little fanfare. Raleigh's subsequent expedition was miserable, with torrential rains and little evidence of gold. ![]() Topiawari said there were definitely rich people far up in the mountains. He met with Topiawari, a Native chief who took a liking to Raleigh. Thanks to his new information, Raleigh focused on the Orinoco River in Venezuela, ThoughtCo says. Sarmiento provided just enough intel to give Raleigh a foothold in the New World and make more room for England. Quesada returned with only 25 men and, according to Invading Colombia , died in 1579.Īccording to Live Science, Raleigh probably heard about El Dorado from Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, who had been captured by Raleigh's men in 1586. Either way, the two-year expedition was a disaster. Some speculate that he may have still been searching for a hidden horde of gold. In 1569, he set out with a new expedition of 500 men in an attempt to conquer the Llanos, a grassland east of the Andes. Legends weren't enough for Quesada, The Conquest of New Granadareports. It's possible the Quesada or someone in his party heard of the legend of El Dorado, the gold-covered man said to lead the Muisca. With people fleeing before the Spanish, Quesada counted it as a win and claimed the territory. In 1536, he led a group of 900 men into what they called "New Granada." After months of marching, they made it to the region of modern-day Colombia inhabited by Muisca people. ![]() Though he was supposed to act as the chief magistrate for the town, Quesada quickly caught the exploring bug. Quesada sailed from Spain to the coastal settlement of Santa Marta in 1535, says Britannica. ![]()
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