The Quest for El Dorado : Sir Walter Ralegh and the City of Gold

A new history of one the greatest feats of exploration - Walter Ralegh’s search for El Dorado, the legendary City of Gold. In 1594, English adventurer Sir Walter Ralegh heard the story of a lost city in South America from a Spanish conquistador.Setting out from Plymouth in February 1595, Ralegh reached the mouth of the Orinoco River and travelled over 400 miles inland to find it.Along the way, he captured galleons full of treasure, fought the Spanish and befriended the indigenous peoples. Hoping to win favour with Queen Elizabeth I, he was convinced that a ‘gold-rich empire more lucrative than Peru’ lay just beyond reach.He vowed to return once more, so he could finally earn fame and fortune.The book that he wrote about his voyage, Discoverie, reveals the worldview of Europeans on the cusp of the modern era and the enormous drive that the search for unimaginable riches gave men such as Ralegh during the Age of Exploration.But, after he was imprisoned by James I, with a death sentence h